The first are Cuccidati which I've posted before on Rebel. I did not grow up with these as they are Sicilian, but I've adopted them as my own since I first made them last season after seeing Clara make them on YouTube. Here are the ingredients. They are a pastry filled with figs and other dried and fresh fruits and nuts.
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| Fruits and Nuts |
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| Through The Meat Grinder |
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| Filling on dough |
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| Roll Over |
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| Cut |
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| And Score |
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| Baked |
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| Cool |
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| Frosted |
CUCCIDATI - SICILIAN FIG COOKIES by Clara
FILLING:
Toast the nuts in a hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Put all the following through a meat grinder and mix together:
Put all the following through a meat grinder and mix together:
¾ cups filberts (hazelnuts) toasted
½ cup almonds toasted
½ cup walnuts toasted
½ cup pecans toasted
2 pounds of dried figs
½ pound candied fruit/citron (substitute other dried fruit or even lemon or orange marmalade)
½ pound of raisins (mix dark and golden)
¼ pound of dates
1 whole large orange, skin and all
1 tangerine peel
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
Add 2 cups hot water
½ cup sugar
½ cup whisky or unflavored brandy (cognac)
This can sit overnight. When ready to fill the pastry, put some of the filling into a zip-lock bag, cut a hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze (pipe) the filling out in a line at the edge of the dough, cut and roll so the dough surrounds the filling.
Dough/Crust
Blend by hand:
10 cups flour plus additional flour if dough is too soft
1 ½ cups sugar
2 heaping tablespoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1pound lard (or Crisco)
Add:
1 cup cold milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
10 eggs, beaten (larger eggs might require more flour, smaller eggs might require a bit more milk)
Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before rolling (Add flour if the dough is too sticky or a little milk if too dry)
Divide the dough into manageable pieces and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick with a wooden dowel. Turn the dough over and dust with flour several times until the desired thickness is reached. (If you've made fettuccine you know the technique of wrapping the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling it on the revers side.)
Pipe out the filling in a line along the bottom edge of the dough, fold the dough over the filling making a roll or tube, gently seal the edge along the roll, cut along the top of the roll, cut on the bias into individual cookies. Place in baking sheet and snip the top/side of each cookie with scissors making 2 or 3 slits. Bake at 350, 12-15 minutes or till done.
NOTE: The amounts of dough and filling are roughly the amounts needed to use up each when making these cookies. HOWEVER, there will be leftovers...depending on the thickness of the rolled out dough sheets, the amount of filling you pipe onto the dough and how much excess dough you trim off, you may have more filling and/or more dough left. I usually ball up all the dough trimmings and roll it out, spread any leftover filling on the dough, roll it like a jelly roll, slice it into rounds and bake them like individual pinwheel pastries.
NOTE: The amounts of dough and filling are roughly the amounts needed to use up each when making these cookies. HOWEVER, there will be leftovers...depending on the thickness of the rolled out dough sheets, the amount of filling you pipe onto the dough and how much excess dough you trim off, you may have more filling and/or more dough left. I usually ball up all the dough trimmings and roll it out, spread any leftover filling on the dough, roll it like a jelly roll, slice it into rounds and bake them like individual pinwheel pastries.
Frost with a mixture of confectioner sugar/water/lemon extract and decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles. To make colored sugar, place 1/4 cup of sugar into a small container, add several drops of food color and shake. Add more color for darker shades.
Watch Clara on YouTube
Part one:
Part one:
Part two:
The second cookie is my Aunt Stella's variation on Italian Toto's. Her secret ingredients are the black coffee, ground raisins and whisky/brandy - and the inordinate amount of cocoa. Too many of these before bedtime will keep you awake.
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| Chocolate Frosted |
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| Cookies Ready For Distribution |
Aunt Stella’s Secret Recipe Chocolate Cookies
5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ can Hershey’s® Cocoa Powder
5 tsp baking powder
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 box raisins, ground in a meat grinder,
(then doused with 1/4 cup unflavored brandy [cognac]or whisky)
1 cup strong black coffee
1 stick of margarine (or Crisco)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix the coffee and vanilla into the ground up raisins
Mix all dry ingredients and shortening/margarine
Make a “well” in the dry ingredients and add the liquid/raisins
Mix with a wooden spoon until evenly moist - the dough is very stiff - like Playdough®
Form into balls (3/4 inch) and place on a greased cookie sheet
Bake for 12 -15 minutes
Aunt Stella’s Secret Recipe Chocolate Cookie Frosting
½ can Hershey’s® Cocoa Powder
1 tsp real vanilla extract
6 tablespoons margarine softened (or butter)
1 box confectioner’s sugar
Some strong cold black coffee
Mix the first four ingredients and add black coffee - a teaspoon at a time
Blend and beat with a wooden spoon adding more black coffee a little at a time as needed to make a smooth, soft, but not runny, frosting – heavier and thicker than chocolate syrup but not as thick as a cake frosting…about the consistency of molasses.
Dip the cookies into the frosting and place on waxed paper until the frosting dries and hardens.
I think the cloves and raisins give the chocolate a spicy fruitiness that is both subtle and pleasant. There is a definite Sicilian/Arabic influence.
4 comments:
HALF a CAN of Hershey's??!! OMFG. Did Aunt Stella dream this up after draining the brandy bottle or what? Sure sounds potent to me, to say the least.
All your cookies look awful pretty when you got done with them, and very very tempting. Good job Frank.
Wait, one more question: so are you saying Sicilian is NOT Italian? WTF? I can't keep track of all these international doings.
I don't know where Stella got the recipe, but when we were kids and into adulthood, we always looked forwar to getting a plate of these cookies. Aunt Stella parted with the recipe when I begged some years before she passed away.
Treatises have been written on the Italian and Sicilian cultures and languages. Simply put, Sicilians are Italian but Italians are not necessarily Sicilian. (Kind of like Texans are American, but Americans are not necessarily Texan).
Southern Italy too is diverse in cultural influences (Greek, Roman, Arabic, Spanish and others) and has variations in language, perhaps more pronounced than northern provinces.
The south, especially Sicily, is noted for sweets: pastries, gelato, ricotta confections.
Italian-Americans have shared regional Italian recipes (as well as those from other immigrant cultures) and made changes based on what is locally available, so it is often difficult to trace a particular recipe or way of preparing food to a single source.
If it is good, it will be passed on.
These and Aunt Margaret's are unbelievable. I never should have looked at this right now. I'm hungry and we don't head out to dinner for another hour. I'd like Sicilian fig cookies for main course and Aunt Stella's for dessert. Maybe Aunt Margaret's after breakfast tomorrow!
When you put the Texas simile in there, I understand. All looks delightful.
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