Fig Filling For Cucudatti Grandma W Recipes

CUCCIDATI - ITALIAN FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl of food processor add all dry ingredients: sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cold butter cut in cubes. Process until you get a crumbly dough without big lumps.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract. Process again until dough starts to come together.
• The whole process can be done with dough blender which is really handy.
• Transfer the dough onto a work surface and shape it quickly with your hands forming a smooth ball. Add some milk if the dough doesn't come together.
• Cover with a plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
• You can also make the dough the night before and keep it in the fridge. Make sure to take it out at least 2 hours before making cooking, otherwise it'll be too hard to roll.
• Steep dried figs in hot water for about 30 minutes. Take them out on a paper towel or linen towel and pat-dry to remove excess liquid.
• In a food processor add figs, candied fruit and Marsala wine. Process until you get a nice paste.
• In a food processor pulse nuts and dark chocolate. Or you can roughly chop them with a sharp knife. Set aside.
• In a big bowl mix together fig paste, chopped nuts with chocolate, raisins and cinnamon.
• Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
• Cut off a piece of the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to approx. ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Cut out a rectangular shape and save trimmed edges.
• Place fig filling lengthwise closer to one edge of the rectangle and fold the dough over to the other side brushing with some water the very end of the dough before closing it. This helps to seal the seam.
• Place formed log seam side down and using a pastry cutter or a sharp floured knife cut it into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cookies.
• Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet line with parchment paper or a silicone mat about ½ inch apart from each other.
• Bake in preheated to 350F (175C) oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges.
• Let cool.
• Repeat with the remaining dough (including trimmed dough leftovers) and fig filling.
• Beat egg white until foamy, add a pinch of salt and lemon juice.
• Continue to beat, slowly adding confectioners sugar. Increase speed to high and beat for another few minutes until soft peaks form.
• Once cookies are chilled to room temperature, dip them in the icing and top with color sprinkles.
• Let dry for a few hours before packing.
• If it's too cold or humid inside you can turn on the oven and heat to 85F (30C) and let your cookies dry in the oven for 20-60 minutes, checking on them occasionally.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES (CUCIDATI) RECIPE

Steps:

• Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse again.
• Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. Process until the dough just starts to combine (like pie dough). Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until it comes together completely and looks smooth.
• Divide the dough into four equal pieces and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
• Place the dried figs, dates, pecans, raisins, and orange zest in the food processor. Give it a couple of pulses to start grinding the fruit.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
• Add the water and sugar mixture to the food processor and pulse until it grinds everything and comes together.
• Place in an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least overnight or longer.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Form the fig filling into ropes about the size of your little finger. To make it easier form all the filling and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Using only one dough round at a time (leave the remaining dough refrigerated) on a well-floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it becomes smooth, roll the dough out fairly thin, about 1/8 inch thick.
• Trim the rough edges from the dough, place a rope on the dough edge. Lift the outer edge and start rolling it over the filling. Roll it completely over and trim it off. Place the seam side down.
• Slice each strip on the diagonal into about 1-inch pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
• Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops a light golden and bottoms are browned. Watch them closely, all ovens are different. You may need to rotate the baking sheets for even browning.
• Allow them to cool on the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

FIG-STUFFED COOKIES: CUCCIDATI ITALIAN

Steps:

• Make the Filling: In a bowl, combine the figs with 4 tablespoons of brandy and let soak overnight or up to 4 weeks.
• In a food processor, combine the soaked figs, the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy, and all the remaining filling ingredients. Process until chopped and well combined. (Alternatively, run all the ingredients through a meat grinder. Some Italian women bring their filling ingredients to the butcher and have him grind it for them.) Keep chilled until ready to use.
• Make the Pastry: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like fine crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and milk. While the motor in running, pour the liquid through the feed tube until just combined and a dough is formed. Form the dough into a disk and chill 30 minutes.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut out large (3-inch long) almond shaped pieces from the dough. Transfer the pieces to a sheet pan; then chill.
• To form the cookies, have ready the filling, the chilled dough pieces, the egg wash with a pastry brush, and a sharp knife. Paint the edges of the dough pieces with egg wash and place 1 teaspoon of filling shaped into an oval in the center of half the pieces. Top each with a second piece of dough and carefully pinch the edges together to seal. Trim the excess dough from around the edges.
• Make each dough package look like a bird or fish, by shaping and cutting decorative lines. You can split 1 end to look like a tail, carve rows of lines to look like feathers or fins, cut a curved line for the gills or beak opening, and a hole for the eye. (There are many different shapes they're made into, such as wreaths, slippers, and crescents.) Re-chill the cookies
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush the cookies with the egg wash. Bake the cookies until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile make the Icing: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
• Toss the cookies with the icing while they're still hot and sprinkle with the colored sprinkles, or leave them plain. The icing makes the cookies look like porcelain when they're done.

FIG FILLING FOR CUCUDATTI, GRANDMA W

Steps:

• Grind figs and raisins, cut up filberts and all other ingredients. Heat on low with enough water to make a good consistency. Simmer. Brandy can also be added.

ITALIAN FIG COOKIES (CUCCIDATI)

Steps:

• Prepare filling: Working in two batches with ½ of the figs and ½ of the dates at a time, pulse dried fruit in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a bowl.
• Use a vegetable peeler to peel orange zest into the empty food processer. Juice the orange until you have 3 tablespoons juice; add it to the food processor. Add raisins, pecans, honey, brandy, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg and process until finely mixed.
• Add fig-date mixture and process until well combined, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to reach a thick consistency. Refrigerate filling for 8 hours to overnight.
• Prepare dough: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and process for 5 seconds to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until crumbly. Add milk, egg, vanilla, and almond extract and process until a dough forms.
• Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and cut into 4 pieces. Roll one piece into a 4x12-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Trim off any excess to form straight edges and save to make more cookies.
• Place about ¼ of the filling in a 1-inch log shape down the rectangle, just to the right of the center line. Dampen the edges of the dough with water and fold the right edge over the filling. Continue rolling the dough toward the left edge, then rock back and forth gently to stretch and seal the edges. Cut the log into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Make 2 or 3 slits in the top of each cookie to allow steam to escape. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden on the bottom and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Repeat to form, cut, and bake remaining cookies.
• Prepare icing by whisking powdered sugar and milk together in a bowl until smooth. Divide icing into thirds in 3 small bowls. Color one bowl with red food coloring to make pink icing, color another bowl with green food coloring to make green icing, and leave the remaining icing white.
• Dip each cookie into a different color icing and allow excess to drip off. Place iced cookies on parchment paper and decorate lightly with sprinkles. Allow to dry for at least 20 minutes before serving.

CUCCIDATI

Steps:

• Place the first 7 ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. Set aside., In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough into 4 portions; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Roll out each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper into a 16-in. x 6-in. rectangle. Spread 1 cup filling lengthwise down the center of each. Starting at a long side, fold dough over filling; fold the other side over the top. Pinch seams and edges to seal. Cut each rectangle diagonally into 1-in. strips. Place seam side down on parchment-lined baking sheets. , Bake at 400° for 10-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over cookies. Store in an airtight container.