The holiday season is here! In my big, Italian family, the holidays aren’t complete without a five-course dinner, fresh winter fruit, and a delicious spread of 10+ cookie varieties.

If you have ever been to Italy, you would have some idea of the varying recipes from region to region. My family is from Calabria, Italy, the ‘toe of the boot’ and southern-most part of the country. In Southern Italy (Calabria and Sicily), you will fall in love with the beautiful, clear beaches, the relaxing lifestyle, and healthy farmlands. When it comes to food in Italy, which equates tradition and unity, Southern Italy is known for the spiciest pork salame (‘nduja), rice balls (arancini), and the most decadent, delicious desserts you have ever tasted! One of my favorites is the infamous holiday fig cookies, cuccidati [pronounced KOO-CHEE-DA-DI].

Grab a loved one, and bring Italy into your kitchen and cookie jar. Enjoy!

Italian Holiday Cookies – Cuccidati

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Yield: 60 cookies

Ingredients

For filling

• 1 ½ cups raisins
• 1 cup diced dried figs (can substitute with any dried fruit of choice)
• ¾ cup crushed walnuts (can substitute with any nuts of choice)
• 1 tsp grated tangerine peel (or thinly sliced)
• 4 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 7 tbsps granulated sugar (can substitute with coconut sugar or any granulated sugar)
• 1 cup of warm water
• ¼ cup coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For outer cookie

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (can substitute with whole wheat flour)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar (can substitute with coconut sugar or any granulated sugar)
• 2 raw eggs, scrambled
• ½ cup warm milk (can substitute with any dairy-free alternative)
• ¼ cup cooking oil 

For icing

• 6 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp lemon
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Tools

• Rolling pin

Directions

For the filling

1. Combine the raisins, the diced dried figs, the walnuts, the shredded grated tangerine skin, and vanilla extract.
2. Separately combine the cocoa powder, 4 tbsps of sugar, and the warm water. Then combine into the filling mixture.
3. Separately combine the coffee and the remaining 3 tbsps of sugar. Then combine into the filling mixture.
4. Cook the filling ingredients in a medium heat pot. Stir frequently until the moisture is gone. This takes about 15 minutes. *See note below for make ahead instructions.

For the outer cookie

1. Create a crater in the all-purpose flour and slowly add the sugar, eggs, and oil. 
2. Separately mix the baking powder and warm milk. It should become a foamy a fluffy consistency (sort of looking like marshmallow fluff!). Then add into the all-purpose flour mix.
3. Knead the dough for 2-5 minutes or so until it is a smooth and elasticky texture, but still sticky. 
4. Preheat oven to convection bake at 375 degrees.
5. Cut the dough in 3 big chunks. Work, chunk by chunk.
6. Roll out the chunk with a rolling pin, into a 2”x12” rectangle, 1 millimeter thick. If needed, cut the edges so they are straight.
7. Spread a thin layer filling on about ⅔ of the rolled out rectangle. 
8. Roll the filling side of the dough toward the unfilled side, at least 1 complete time.
9. Pinch the top every inch or so with the tip of a pair of scissors so they can ‘breathe.’
10. Cut into cookies about 2 inches long as shown in photo (each cookie has about 1 teaspoon of filling).
11. Place cookies onto a silicone baking sheet – or whatever you prefer to use. They can be placed about 1-inch apart as they will expand a little. 
12. Bake for 15 minutes on the top rack.

For the icing

1. Combine water and lemon and then combine with the powdered sugar.
2. With a pastry brush, decorate the cookies with the icing. Add sprinkles if you’d like :).

Notes

Make ahead instructions: You can make the filling and let it sit in a cool, dry place up to 2-3 days. Mix the mixture morning and night for those 2-3 days, making sure the liquid is soaked into the dried fruit mix. If after the 2-3 days, the mix is too dry, add 1-2 tbsp of water.