"Cheat's" Cuccidati in Teglia
Cucciddati in Teglia·(koo-chee-DAH-tee een TELL-yah)
Weekend Bakery Box: Sunday Sweets and Cookie Tins
The smell of cuccidati is the undisputed king of the Italian-American holiday tin. Historically, grandmothers spent days painstakingly shaping these spiced fig, chocolate, and citrus cookies into intricate rings. But let's be honest: you have a job, kids, and maybe an hour on a Sunday afternoon. This "cheat's" method honors the authentic old-world flavor but rolls the dough into simple logs to be sliced right on the sheet pan. By trading hard-to-find Italian candied squash for high-quality orange marmalade, you get the exact comforting taste of childhood without surrendering your entire weekend.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour3 1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- unsalted butter1/4 cup
- vegetable shortening1/4 cup
- eggs2 large
- whole milk1/4 cup
- baking powder1 1/2 tsp
- vanilla extract1 tsp
- fine sea salt1/2 tsp
- dried Mission figs1 1/2 cup
- dark raisins1/2 cup
- walnuts1/2 cup
- almonds1/2 cup
- dark chocolate chips1/2 cup
- orange marmalade1/3 cup
- sweet Marsala wine3 tbsp
- ground cinnamon1 tsp
- ground cloves1/4 tsp
- ground nutmeg1/4 tsp
- powdered sugar1 1/2 cup
- fresh lemon juice3 tbsp
- rainbow sprinkles1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Pulse the dry ingredients, cut in the cold fats, and bind with the wet ingredients until a cohesive dough forms.
In a food processor or large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the cold butter and shortening until it resembles coarse sand, then mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Do not overwork the dough or the pastry will become tough.
- 02
Divide the dough in half, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
This resting period allows the gluten to relax and the fats to re-solidify, ensuring a tender, short crumb that won't spread in the oven.
- 03
Process the figs, raisins, nuts, marmalade, Marsala, and spices into a thick paste, then pulse in the chocolate.
Pulse the mixture in a food processor until it becomes sticky and cohesive. Add the chocolate chips at the very end, pulsing just two or three times to leave distinct textural flecks rather than muddying the filling.
- 04
Roll out the dough, divide it into strips, and encase the filling down the center.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll one piece of chilled dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle and cut it lengthwise into two 4-inch wide strips. Spoon half the filling into cylinders down the center of each, folding the long edges over to overlap and gently seal the seam.
- 05
Transfer the logs to the baking sheet seam-side down, slice them diagonally, and bake until pale golden brown.
Cut the logs crosswise into 1-inch diagonal slices, pulling them about a half-inch apart so the heat can reach the edges and caramelize the exposed fig. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.
- 06
Whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a thick glaze, drizzle generously over the cooled cookies, and shower with sprinkles.
Apply the sprinkles immediately before the glaze sets.
Notes
The fats matter.
Traditional Sicilian baking leans heavily on strutto (lard) for its intensely short, flaky pastry. A 50/50 split of unsalted butter and vegetable shortening gives you the rich dairy flavor of butter alongside the superior flakiness of shortening, perfectly mimicking the old-world crumb using standard American supermarket staples.
Patience pays off.
Cuccidati actually taste better on day three. Store them in an airtight tin at room temperature; the moisture from the fig filling will slowly soften the crust over time, marrying the flavors perfectly just the way they were meant to be enjoyed.