Yours truly won an award for The Best Tasting Homemade Cuccidati cookies. Thanks to Living60010.com for the shout out.
Cuccidati is a Sicilian Fig Christmas cookie. My recipe is my Nonnie’s recipe with a couple of twists. The filling is a thick paste of ground figs, dates, raisins soaked in Marsala wine, and almonds mixed with honey, cinnamon, and the secret ingredient – a jar of ginger preserves. The filling is rolled in a buttery pastry dough and baked. The glaze had the addition of Fiori Di Sicilia flavoring, a beautiful fragrance of vanilla and citrus. Traditional Cuccidati always have the iconic colored sprinkles on top. You can get my basic recipe in my digital cookbook Top Ten Italian Christmas Cookies.
All proceeds from the event went to Casa Italia whose mission is to be a home for all Italian-American organizations in the Chicago area. They meet to pursue common goals, preserve their past, celebrate their heritage and ensure passage of values to future generations.
Special thanks to Salvatore Sciacca, Executive Director and Founder the Chicago Italian American Professionals (CIAP) and Michael Benedetto for organizing the first Annual Cuccidati Festival. Look for an article on the event in an upcoming issue of Fra Noi Magazine.
[…] Desserts include amazing Italian pastries such as Zeppoles, Cannoli and my favorite cookies, Cuccidati, a Sicilian fig and nut filled cookie. This year for St. Joseph’s Day I plan to celebrate […]