These beautiful little bites have a rich fruit filling that has the popping crunch of dried figs. The filling is wrapped in a sugar cookie drizzled in a bit of icing that has been sprinkled with nonpareils, ideally red, green and white, for Christmas (and Italy) but multicoloured is often used.

Italian Fig Cuccidati is traditionally made for Christmas by the elders and the recipe is passed down.

Depending on what part of Sicily one is from will change what is in the filling somewhat.  Maybe cloves, maybe dates, different nuts. It will also change the slices.  Maybe straight, or angled or with slashes.

Fig filled Italian Christmas cookies

Pareil means the same or equal, so nonpareil would be the opposite. Maybe like, no two snowflakes are the same?

These are basically sprinkles, but not all sprinkles are nonpareils. Nonpareils are little round balls that when dropped they roll and bounce around happily and when you try to clean them up you can almost hear them giggling, but one can only take that for so long.

Yes, I knocked a bottle over.

Then you will find a few more rolling around next month and it will catch you off guard and you will think that it is a bug. 

I love them though.

Note! 

A nonpareil is also a type of candy.  It is a chocolate drop, or disc covered in nonpareils, the sprinkle, and are also great for decorating larger things like gingerbread houses.

round multicolored sprinkles called nonpareils
Chocolate candy called nonpareils

Make the dough first so it can chill. Then you can prepare the filling ingredients any time after that, like the next day, or vice versa. You could prepare the filling  even a few days ahead then make the cookie part.

You can freeze the finished, unbaked, uncut cookies then thaw in the refrigerator overnight, slice, then bake.

Glazed Italian fig Cuccidati

Try to use organic fruit since you will be using the peel as well.

You will need a food processor or multipurpose blender for this recipe.

Cut apples in chunks for Cuccidati filling

Roughly chop half of an apple to go into a food processor

Chop orange with peel for Cuccidati filling

Roughly chop half of an orange with the peel

Remove stems from dried figs and chop

Make sure to remove the stems

How to Make Cuccidati, Italian Fig Cookies

 INGREDIENTS

Printable version below

Makes about 60 cookies

Prep time: 60 minutes

Chilling time: about 2 hours total

Baking time: 12-15 minutes

For the Cookie

  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2¾ cup (345g) all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt

For the Filling

  • 1¼ lbs (565g) dried figs, roughly chopped
  • ½ (90g) orange, roughly chopped with peel
  • ½ (90g) apple, roughly chopped with peel
  • 5oz (140g) raisins, about a cup
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup (40g) nuts, chopped, eg. walnuts, almonds, pecans (optional)

For the Glaze

  • 1 cup (120g) powdered icing sugar

  • 2 Tbsp cream or milk, I used 35% cream

  • ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

  • Nonpareils

Ingredients for Cuccidati fig cookies

The Filling

1. Put all the fruit, cinnamon, and ¼ cup sugar into a food processor and process until you have a chunky paste, not quite a smooth purée.

Figs apples and oranges in food processor

Dried figs, apples and oranges

Sugar and cinnamon over the fruit

Add raisins, sugar and cinnamon

Process the filling
Sugar and cinnamon over the fruit

The Cookie

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup (200g) sugar and the butter until smooth.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding the next after the first is fully incorporated, then the vanilla. Beat for about two minutes.

Zesting an orange on a microplane
Cream the butter and sugar together
Beat the eggs in one at a time
Add the vanilla to the cuccidati batter

4. Add the flour mixture.  If you are using a stand mixer, you can add all of the flour and start to blend it all in on low until you have a cookie dough suitable for rolling.

If you are using a hand blender, add about half of the flour mixture and blend in, starting on low speed, then continue adding the flour as your mixer can handle it, then stir the rest in by hand.

5. Divide the dough in half, then wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.  If you have already made the filling, just refrigerate the dough for about an hour if needed.

Add some flour to the creamed mixture
Add the rest of the flour
Mix in the flour by hand
Half the dough and wrap to refrigerate

6. Cut one of the discs in half again and roll into a 16”x4” (40 x 10 cm) rectangle, you will have 4 pieces of dough.  I work with one at a time.

7. Using a quarter of the filling, form a line down the length of the dough, a little closer to one side, but keeping in a line. 

8. Bring the dough over the filling and seal. 

I flatten the roll a bit so I have oval pieces.

9. Chill the roll for about an hour to make nicer slices. Cut into 15 pieces, repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Roll the four pieces of dough into long rectangles
Spread a quarter of the filling down the middle
Bring the dough tightly around the fig filling
Slice the Cuccidati roll on a slight diaganol

10. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12-15 minutes.

11. Cool completely, then drizzle the glaze over and sprinkle with sprinkles!

I recommend securing a rack over the sink, or in the sink if it is a small rack, then using the nonpareils. You could also place the rack over a towel and they won’t roll around.

Cuccidati fig cookies in the oven

For the Glaze

1. Add the vanilla and enough cream or milk to the icing sugar to make a thin glaze.

2. Mix until smooth.

Thin glaze for fig cookies
Icing on Cuccidati fig cookies
Nonpareil sprinkles on cuccidati fig cookies
Christmas tree of nonpareils

Cuccidati Italian Fig Cookies

These beautiful little bites have a rich fruit filling that has the popping crunch of dried figs.

  Prep Time:  60 minutes

Chilling time: 2 hours total

  Baking Time: 12-15 minutes

  Yield: About 60 cookies

INGREDIENTS

For the Cookie
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

  • 2¾ cup (345g) all purpose flour

  • 2 tsp baking powder

  • ½ tsp salt

For the Filling
  • 1¼ lbs (565g) dried figs, roughly chopped

  • ½ (90g) orange, roughly chopped with peel

  • ½ (90g) apple, roughly chopped with peel

  • 5oz (140g) raisins, about a cup

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

  • ⅓ cup (40g) nuts, chopped, eg. walnuts, almonds, pecans (optional)

For the Glaze

  • 1 cup (120g) powdered icing sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

  • Nonpareils

INSTRUCTIONS

The Filling
  1. Put all the fruit, cinnamon, and ¼ cup sugar into a food processor and process until you have a chunky paste, not quite a smooth purée.
The Cookie
  1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup (200g) sugar and the butter until smooth.
  3. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding the next after the first is fully incorporated, then the vanilla. Beat for about two minutes.
  4. Add the flour mixture.  If you are using a stand mixer, you can add all of the flour and start to blend it all in on low until you have a cookie dough suitable for rolling.  If you are using a hand blender, add about half of the flour mixture and blend in, starting on low speed, then continue adding the flour as your mixer can handle it, then stir the rest in by hand.
  5. Cut the dough in half, wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.  If you have already done that just refrigerate the dough for about an hour if needed.
  6. Cut one of the discs in half again and roll into a 16”x4” (40 x 10 cm) rectangle, you will have 4 pieces of dough.  I work with one at a time.
  7. Using a quarter of the filling, form a line down the length of the dough, a little closer to one side, but keeping in a line. 
  8. Bring the dough over the filling and seal.  
  9. Chill the dough for about an hour to make it easier to slice and then cut into 15 pieces, repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
  10. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12-15 minutes.
  11. Cool completely, then drizzle the glaze over and sprinkle with sprinkles!

The Glaze
  1. Add the vanilla and enough cream or milk to the icing sugar to make a thin glaze.
  2. Mix until smooth.