Cucciddati - Italian Fig Cookies ___

Cucciddati - Italian Fig Cookies

Ingredients

For the Filling:

  • 1.5 pounds dried figs
  • 0.5 pound mincemeat
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 0.5 pound glazed mixed fruit
  • 0.5 pound raisins
  • 0.5 pound dates
  • 0.25 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 0.25 teaspoon allspice
  • 0.25 cup honey
  • 1 peel of orange
  • 0.25 cup whiskey
  • 0.25 cup rum
  • 0.25 cup brandy
  • couple of handfuls of dried apricots
  • couple of handfuls of dried cranberries

For the Cookies:

  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 0.5 cup butter
  • 2 orange peels, grated
  • a couple of dashes of cinnamon
  • 1.5 oranges, juice only
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cookies:

  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 0.5 cup butter
  • 2 orange peels, grated
  • a couple of dashes of cinnamon
  • 1.5 oranges, juice only
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • optional (use 1/2 almond extract & 1/2 vanilla)
  • a little water as needed for dipping consistency
  • add a little food coloring if you want them colored

Directions

For the Filling:

  1. Chop fruit very fine or run through a meat grinder.
  2. Add rest of ingredients and stir together until well mixed.
  3. Store in airtight container in refrigerator one or more days before using.

Cookie Dough:

  1. Cream butter and sugar.
  2. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each one.
  3. Mix in grated orange peel, orange juice, cinnamon and vanilla.
  4. Stir together flour & baking powder.
  5. Add flour mixture gradually into butter mixture, stirring well after each addition.
  6. Mixture should be thick and not sticky.
  7. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
  8. Refrigerate one hour before using.

To make Cookies:

  1. Take a handful of dough and roll out on a floured surface into a long rope, approximately 1 inch in diameter.
  2. Flatten the rope with the palm of your hand.
  3. Using your index finger form a trough in the rope.
  4. Fill the trough with some of the fruit filling.
  5. Then work the dough around the filling and pinch together to seal it all the way across the rope.
  6. Roll to to form a round rope again .
  7. With a table knife at a diagonal to the rope, slice cookies 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide.
  8. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake in preheated 350 degree oven until cookies are set and slightly browned.
  9. You can brush cookies before baking with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds or candy sprinkles.
  10. Or you can bake plain to frost later after they are cooled.
  11. After cookies are cooled dip them into colored frosting and sprinkle with candy sprinkles.
  12. Let set on sheets of waxed paper until the frosting is dry and hardened.