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Rainbow Cucidati (Fig Cookies)

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Girl Who Ate Everything
Updated Aug 29, 2017
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A classic Italian fig cookie topped with a glaze and colorful sprinkles.

More About This Recipe

  • Okay, so I’m not Italian by any means but Italian food speaks to me. I feel like somewhere down my lineage there HAS to be some Italian in me. Why else would it feel like I have family in the kitchen when pasta, tiramisu, and pizza are present? We are all familiar with the classic Italian foods but these Rainbow Cucidati, adapted from Cucidati Italian Fig Cookies, are hidden treasures in Italian cuisine. To be honest, I had never heard of them; when I did a quick Google search I found that these are very traditional Italian fig cookies. These cookies are filled with a fig, date, honey, and walnut filling. Bleh. Ya, I wasn’t really sold on the fig filling either even as I was making these. But it was great! The cookie base isn’t too sweet so the filling gives it just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, the cookies are drizzled with white icing and topped with a ton of sprinkles. Rich fig filling and sweet icing, It makes the whole cookie!

Rainbow Cucidati (Fig Cookies)

  • Prep Time 45 min
  • Total 1 hr 30 min
  • Servings 36
  • Ingredients 18
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup milk

Filling:

  • 1 cup dried fig
  • 1 cup pitted dried dates
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup orange marmalade
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Icing:

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • Water or milk
  • Colored sprinkles

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    For the dough, sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar and stir well. Cut in the shortening with a fork or pastry blender and work the mixture until it looks like corn meal.
  • Step 
    2
    In a bowl, beat the egg, vanilla, and milk together. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes until well blended; dough will be soft.
  • Step 
    3
    Divide the dough into four pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough until firm about 20-40 minutes.
  • Step 
    4
    To make the filling, process the figs, dates and raisins in a food processor until coarse. You can also chop them by hand if you don't have a food processor. Place chopped figs, dates and raisins in a bowl. Add remaining filling ingredients and mix well (mixture will be thick). Set mixture aside.
  • Step 
    5
    Preheat oven to 375°F. Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the other pieces of dough in the refrigerator until needed. On a floured surface (I often use confectioner's sugar for rolling my dough), roll the dough to a 12-inch square. Cut dough into 2x3-inch rectangles. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling onto each rectangle. Carefully fold the long edges over to meet in the center and pinch to seal seam, leaving the ends open.
  • Step 
    6
    Place each cookie seam side down on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Make 2 or 3 diagonal slits on the top of each cookie with a sharp knife.
  • Step 
    7
    Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are golden in color. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
  • Step 
    8
    For the icing, place confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Add just a little water or milk (start with 1/2 tablspoon) at a time, until you get a smooth consistency- but not runny.
  • Step 
    9
    Ice the tops of each cookie and sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Let icing set.
  • Step 
    10
    Adapted from: Cucidati Italian Fig Cookies

Nutrition

No nutrition information available for this recipe
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