Fig-Stuffed Cookies: Cuccidati Italian

Name: Fig-Stuffed Cookies: Cuccidati Italian
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 60
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian, European
Ingredients: 1 teaspoons baking powder; 125 grams whole, blanched almonds, toasted; 6 Tbsps brandy; 8 Tbsps butter, chilled and cut into small pieces; 120 grams confectioners sugar; 57 grams dates; 57 grams dried cherries; 227 grams dried figs, chopped; 3 eggs (1 whisked with 1 teaspoon water, to make an egg wash); 313 grams all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 pinches ground clove; 0 teaspoons ground nutmeg; 227 grams honey; 1 Rind of lemon (remove any white pith); 61 milliliters milk; 1 Tbsp milk; 1 Rind of orange (remove any white pith); 57 grams citron or candied pineapple; 57 grams raisins; 1 teaspoons salt; 67 grams sugar; 1 teaspoons vanilla extract; 117 grams walnut pieces, toasted; 60 servings Colored sprinkles, or small dots; 60 servings Colored sprinkles, or small dots; 60 servings Colored sprinkles, or small dots

You can never have too many dessert recipes, so give Fig-Stuffed Cookies: Cuccidati Italian a try. One serving contains 146 calories, 2g of protein, and 5g of fat. This recipe serves 60. Head to the store and pick up ground cinnamon, walnut pieces, flour, and a few other things to make it today. It is a very reasonably priced recipe for fans of Mediterranean food. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Instructions

Make the Filling: In a bowl, combine the figs with 4 tablespoons of brandy and let soak overnight or up to 4 weeks.

Ingredients you will need

Brandy

Figs

Equipment you will use

Bowl

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.

Ingredients you will need

Brandy

Figs

Meat

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Meat Grinder

Make the Pastry: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to mix.

Ingredients you will need

Baking Powder

All Purpose Flour

Sugar

Salt

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

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.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Dough

Egg

Milk

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

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.

Ingredients you will need

Almonds

Dough

Roll

Equipment you will use

Pizza Cutter

Knife

Transfer the pieces to a sheet pan; then chill.

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

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.

Ingredients you will need

Dough

Egg

Equipment you will use

Pastry Brush

Knife

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

Ingredients you will need

Refrigerated Crescent Rolls

Dough

Fish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Brush the cookies with the egg wash.

Ingredients you will need

Egg

Bake the cookies until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Equipment you will use

Oven

Meanwhile make the Icing: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.

Ingredients you will need

Icing

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

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.

Ingredients you will need

Colored Sprinkles

Icing

Equipment

Recommended wine: Cream Sherry, Madeira, Prosecco

Cream Sherry, Madeira, and Prosecco are great choices for Cookies. Sweet bubbly Prosecco doesn't overwhelm simple sugar or shortbread cookies, a sweet cream sherry complements spiced cookies, and madeira's nutty notes match cookies with nuts perfectly. The NV Johnson Estate Cream Sherry with a 5 out of 5 star rating seems like a good match. It costs about 19 dollars per bottle.

NV Johnson Estate Cream Sherry

Very aromatic with notes of hazelnut, vanilla, and a touch of oak followed by sweet raisins and a touch of yeast. Clean lasting finish. Good now but will reward those allow it to age"". A favorite pre-prandial beverage. Consider it with nuts before dinner as an aperitif, or after dinner with dessert, especially chocolates and fruit-based desserts. Also wonderful on cold afternoons, served with biscotti to dip in ""Italian-style"". "