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cucidates (italian firecrackers)

(1 rating)
BWandrey avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Barb Wandrey
@BWandrey
Mesa, AZ

My Great Grandma Huppenbauer made this recipe. Her maiden name was Gallo. She was very proud of her Italian heritage. I remember her bringing these to the farm in Iowa from Chicago when she would visit for Christmas. One time when Grannie Annie was visiting AZ from Iowa, she made these with Brad, Crystal, and Tim on the patio. She loved having fresh OJ to add to the recipe. These cookies are very time-consuming but very yummy.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Part of the fun when making these Cucidati cookies is making them with family. They are an Italian Christmas cookie from Sicily similar to a fig cookie. These old-fashioned cookies have a chewy and spiced dried fruit and nut filling. The chewy center is contrasted by a crunchy cookie exterior coated in a sweet sugar glaze. While these take a while to assemble, they're meant to be a fun family project to bake and eat together.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(1 rating)
yield serving(s)
prep time 5 Hr
cook time 20 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For cucidates (italian firecrackers)

  • DOUGH
  • 6 c
    all-purpose flour
  • 1 c
    granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c
    lard
  • 1/2 c
    margarine
  • 3 tsp
    baking powder
  • 3 lg
    eggs
  • 3/4 c
    milk
  • FILLING
  • 2 lb
    raisins
  • 1
    string of figs (about 1 lb)
  • 2 c
    walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp
    ground cloves
  • 1 tsp
    ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 c
    orange juice
  • 3/4 c
    honey
  • ICING
  • 1 lb
    powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c
    warm milk

How To Make cucidates (italian firecrackers)

  • Sifting dry ingredients.
    1
    DOUGH: Sift dry ingredients together.
  • Cutting in shortening and margarine.
    2
    Cut in shortening and margarine as you would for pastry crust.
  • Beating eggs and milk.
    3
    Beat eggs and add to the milk with a fork.
  • Milk and egg added to the dry ingredients.
    4
    Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients.
  • Bringing the dough together.
    5
    This dough is very easy to handle. Combine until the dough comes together.
  • Dough wrapped in plastic wrap.
    6
    Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill.
  • Running raisins and figs through a grinder.
    7
    FILLING: Prechop the figs. Run raisins and figs through a meat grinder.
  • Mixing in the remaining filling ingredients.
    8
    Add remaining filling ingredients. Mix with your hands. This is VERY sticky.
  • Chilled dough cut into pieces.
    9
    ASSEMBLY: Cut chilled dough into 6 pieces.
  • Rolling out the dough.
    10
    Roll out the dough very thin.
  • Dough cut into squares.
    11
    Cut into squares.
  • A teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough.
    12
    Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough.
  • Rolling dough and sealing edges.
    13
    Roll like a crescent with the seam on the bottom. Seal seams and edges with water.
  • Dough formed into a crescent shape and on a cookie sheet.
    14
    Form into a crescent shape. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  • Cookies baking on a bottom rack.
    15
    Bake at 350 - 375 degrees for 10 minutes on the bottom shelf.
  • Cookies moved to bake on the top rack.
    16
    Then move to the top shelf for an additional 10 minutes.
  • Cookies cooling.
    17
    Remove from pan and cool.
  • Icing ingredients in a bowl.
    18
    ICING: Combine the icing ingredients to make a thin icing.
  • Dipping cooled cookie into icing.
    19
    Dip cooled cookies into the icing.
  • Topping cookies with sprinkles.
    20
    Add sprinkles.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!

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