Cucidate, little fig cookies, while appearing quite demure in appearance, hit the senses, as a true Christmas cookie,  first with an aroma of the dried fruits soaked in a liquor and then  ombined with nuts, cinnamon, and honey, wrapped in a delicate pastry.

Cucidate, the Italian Fig cookie from Sicily is a tribute to my grandfather.

Biaggio came to America twice before he actually decided to stay, and I can understand his trepidation to settle in the United States, after visiting his hometown some years ago.

As I walked around the village of Isnello outside of Palermo, I rested my eyes on one of the most beautiful mountain backdrops I’ve ever seen, while the ocean was only twenty minutes away.

Sicily is an earthy place of tradition, created by many visiting cultures over centuries of acquisition. 

The people are humble, and yet rich in a food culture that is probably the most flavorful and robust of Italian cuisine, much like their personalities. American television has done a great disservice to Sicilians, using hyperbole, stereotypes and the sensationalism of organized crime. Most Sicilians are victims of crime, are not murderers and are not one dimensional.

This is probably a little extra special for me, because my grandfather had a fig tree he treated like a bab. Right before he died, he kept talking about “her.” Yes, he had decided his fig tree was a she, and he was worried, that she needed to be covered up for the winter or in his words, “shessa gonna die.”

My grandfather was never part of any organized crime, so please scratch your ideas about the people of Sicily.  He was a kind soul who extended everyone who knocked on our door in for coffee. The family joke would be that we might find him serving coffee and cake to a burglar that tried to rob the house.

I found his warmth and patience compelling, especially contrasted with my grandmother who was an Italian diva, sometimes warm, and sometimes a little too sure of herself. They always seemed a mismatch, as she was born in America as a first generation Italian and exuded first class glamour. His kind would be referred to as “from the old country,” and that was considered a step down in status from first generation born.

She was divorced with a small child (my Aunt Rita of the stuffed shells legend) and yet could have had her pick of any man. How in the world my grandfather snatched her as a bride is quite stunning, and one of the good things that happened for me prior to my life.

They had a daughter, my mother (Retro Rose) who inherited more that Sicilian hospitality.   I can’t tell you how many times, I would visit her apartment and she was feeding the maintenance men. She’s making someone a pot of meatballs at least weekly. When I first gave her some of these cookies, her first words were “can you make these for one of the elders at church.” I emphatically said no, these are just for the family. This attitude needed to be adjusted. Her desire to give the elders these special cookies is what being Sicilian is all about.

Cucidate Make a Great Gift

I had to think about that because aren’t Christmas cookies something we make to give away, to show our love for others?  After researching  these cookies, I read many stories about how often these cucidate are given away as gifts, and it got me thinking that I should plan to make several batches.

These cucidate excude the heart of the Sicilian culture. The dough is sweet; the fig filling full of flavor and life, and they make the perfect Christmas cookie gift, because they hit the heart.

The Process for Cucidate, Italian Fig Cookies

• Soak the raisin in bourbon for at least an hour.
• Chop figs or use a fig jam.
• Bring figs, dates (or dried plums/prumes) together with marmalade, honey and walnuts and process.
• Allow this filling to be refrigerated overnight to meld the flavors.
• Make pastry same day you make the filling and refrigerate overnight.
• Take out one pastry roll at a time and roll out and cut in squares.
• Fill and bake.
• Top with glaze and Italian sprinkles.

There are many ways to roll and fold the cookies. I did some in triangle, some folded over evenly. Some will turn the seam on the bottom, so you can’t see it. You can choose your own way.

Orange Glaze for Cucidate

I made an orange glaze and poured this over the cookies when hot, then sprinkled with these Italian cookie sprinkles I found in an Italian grocery store.

So tell me do you have a traditional cookie you like to give away as a gift? Have you ever had cucidati, the ultimate Sicilian fig cookie?

More Italian Christmas Recipes

More Cookie Recipes

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Cucidate – Sicilian Fig Christmas Cookies

An Italian Christmas Cookie from Sicily made with figs, dried fruit, liquor, nuts.

Course Cookie

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 day day

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 day day 15 minutes minutes

Servings 36

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Fig Filling

• 2 cups dried figs or 2 cups fig jam
• 2 cups dried dates or dried plums
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup bourbon or Grand Marnier Cognac or Brandy
• 1 cup almonds or walnuts chopped
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Pastry

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar I always cut my sugar. I used 2/3 cup sugar
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
• 2 eggs
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Glaze

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons orange juice) I used juice of one satsuma.
• small colored sprinkles

Instructions

Fig Filling

• Soak Raisins in bourbon for an hour up to overnight.
• Add to the rest of the ingredients.
• Grind all ingredients in food processor or Vitamix. The mixture should be ground enough to spread in the cookie. I substituted fig jam for dried figs and dried plums for dates.
• Refrigerate filling overnight.

Pastry

• Mix flour, baking powder, sugar together.
• Cut butter in. I used the Kitchen Aid Mixer. You could cut in with pastry blender or use a food processor also.
• Beat eggs and milk to together. Reserve 1 tablespoon milk. You may not need it.
• Add to flour mixture, and form a dough. Add the extra milk of it’s too dry.
• Separate dough in 4 sections. Wrap each in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for one hour or overnight.

Glaze

• Mix confectioner’s sugar with orange juice. Add water a little at a time, until you have a thin glaze.

Assembly

• Work with one section of pastry dough at a time.
• Roll each section into a tube. Divide into two sections to make it easier to work with.
• Flatten out each tube. Put mixture in center. Pull sides up to reach. Cut into 1 1/2 inch cookies.
• Bake at 375 Degrees F, 190 C. for 15 minutes.
• Spoon glaze over each cookie. Top with sprinkles.

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A Brussels Sprouts Bacon recipe is as natural as peanut butter and jelly. Well, almost. In order to get that sweet and salty combination that we all love so much, I added figs.

Figs are something all Italians love. We love them mostly raw, just as is, not so pretty on the outside, but gorgeous on the inside.

I almost want to say and “as seen on instagram” where raw figs abound and tend to get lots of attention. You can almost plop a fig on any dish (even when it doesn’t make sense),  and people will get excited. Just check hashtag figs and you’ll see what I mean. While you’re there give me a follow. 

While figs look most amazing when raw, they taste so sweet and jammy when roasted. Just take a look at my roasted chicken with figs, one of my famous Fall dishes that rings in the cool weather.

When you take a bite of brussels with the bacon and a little bit of fig, you get a mouthful of diverse textures, a little sweet and a little salty. Very umami.

The brussels sprouts bacon recipe calls for bite sized brussels.

The trick here is to make sure your bacon is taken down to room temperature (even if that means microwaving it a minute or so), so it crisps up enough in the twenty minutes of roasting time. The brussels sprouts must be cut in half, or even possibly quartered if they are extra large. The figs are merely cut in half, and are the most cooperative of all.

Now just put it all together, spread out enough to make sure the brussels roast, and have at it, 400° F. for about twenty minutes.

I use this rectangular stone baking pan, my go to for almost everything roasted. Eventually it turns a beautiful black color. It crisps food well and cleans up easily.

Take a look at ten minutes and give it a stir. That’s it. It’s simple. I think this would go lovely with a roast chicken or some really boring boneless chicken breasts because it will wake them up. It will also be wonderful with pork chops, because in my world, in the Fall, pork rules.

You can play around with this dish by adding cubed sweet potatoes or cubed butternut squash to the mix before roasting. You can change out the figs with dried cherries or exchange the bacon for pancetta. It’s all about the sweet and salty!

Enjoy these brussels sprouts recipe with bacon and don’t forget the figs!

You may also like this bacon, brussels sprouts bacon recipe for pizza. Recipe here. 

Ten More Ways to Make Brussels Sprouts from Spinach Tiger

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Brussels Sprouts Bacon Recipe with Figs

A medley of bacon, figs and brussels sprouts for the sweet and salty perfect combination.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 6 strips bacon sliced
• 1 pint fresh figs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt pepper to taste

Instructions

• Trim brussels sprouts and cut in half or quarters if very large.
• Slice bacon crosswise to 1/2 inch pieces.
• Slice figs in half.
• Toss brussels sprouts in olive oil. They should just glisten as bacon will yield fat.
• Arrange bacon, figs, and brussels in baking sheet, not crowding brussels sprouts.
• Roast for twenty minutes, turning at ten minutes.

Spinach Tiger earns a small commission from affiliate links, which supports this site’s operation. Amazon does not charge more, and most choices are prime (free shipping for prime members).

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You can absolutely trust my culinary view and opinion, as I only collaborate with brands and products I love, and I’m happy to share these products with you. I made this salad last year for Spectrum Foods and am republishing because it’s so beautiful for the holidays.

I have made this colorful, vibrant Festive Kale Salad most recently for a dinner party. Everyone loved it, but I especially received compliments on the vinaigrette made with Spectrum® Rosemary Olive Oil, honey and apple cider vinegar.

Spectrum® has been producing high quality olive oils for thirty years and has recently come up with a culinary line of infused olive oils such as rosemary, cayenne, garlic and chili sesame and more.  These can be used for dressings, sauces, a light sauté and as finishing oils.

I’ve enjoyed many Spectrum® products while developing recipes, as they make oils for various cooking needs, including more than 30 varieties of seed, nut and plant oils, including coconut oil, apple cider vinegar (which I used here), and avocado oil. I also use the Spectrum® olive oil baking spray.

The extra virgin olive oils come from Spain and Tunisia, each estate grown and produced in small batches, using no chemicals and expeller pressed to ensure the highest quality.

I hope you know by now that Spinach Tiger strives to bring you the freshest food using ingredients that are better for you and this is why I stand by the Spectrum® brand. I use organic ingredients as much as possible, so naturally want to use an organic olive oil.

I can feel confident that this gorgeous salad is getting adorned with an olive oil I can trust.

Festive Kale Salad with Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette Screams Merry, Happy, Joyful Food

There is so much beauty in this festive kale salad which is packed with various textures, sweet, salty and holiday flavors. It is the one salad you can take to a gathering to wow the guests or make a splash at your next dinner party.

There are a lot of components to this salad, such as apples, figs, oranges, and pomegranates, because these come to mind during the holidays and are readily available. This can be the “fruit you have on hand salad” but don’t leave out the butternut squash, which we’ve made the star of the show. You can switch apples for pears or use both. You can also add in dried cranberries for pomegranates.

Roasting Butternut Squash for the Festive Kale Salad

Butternut Squash often perplexes cooks, because it’s difficult to cut into. I suggest microwaving for two to three minutes to slightly soften, and peel with a potato peeler. Once peeled, slicing into discs is fairly easy. The smaller end will have the most seeds, but you should be able to get a good amount of discs without seeds. Roast these for twenty minutes, brushing lightly with oil. Once cooled, you can use a cookie cutter to cut them into stars.

Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette with Spectrum® Organic Rosemary Olive Oil

Just as Spectrum® tests their oils with their own internal quality team to meet high standards for any and all type of cooking, I tested this dressing at least three times to get the right oil with the right vinegar to make sure your salad will taste its best.

We all agreed that for this Festive Kale salad, the Organic Rosemary Olive Oil won hands down for bringing a winter holiday flavor profile, and it pairs perfectly with Spectrum’s apple cider vinegar.  The rosemary flavor is well balanced and does not overpower the greens, yet delivers a nice herbal lift.

I will be making a second recipe, a Spicy Italian Soup with Sausage using Spectrum^® Extra Virgin Cayenne Olive Oil. You will want to come back for that one. Do please follow me on Instagram as many of my process pictures end on stories.

Much love during the upcoming happiest time of the year.

This Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette would be a great choice for any of these additional kale salads from Spinach Tiger.

Tuscan Kale Salad

Autumn Potluck Kale Salad

Chopped Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds

More Butternut Squash Recipes

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash with Brussels Sprouts

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut Squash Stacks with Crispy Quinoa Pancake

Butternut Squash Cocktail

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Festive Kale Salad with Butternut Squash, Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette

Festive Kale sale with Butternut Squash, Figs, Prosciutto, Pomegranate, Nut with a Rosemary Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 bunches lacinato kale see notes
• 1 to 2 cups or handfuls arugula
• 1/2 navel orange peeled
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 4 figs cut in halves or quarters
• 6 slices proscuitto sliced thinly, torn into pieces
• 1 medium sized butternut squash
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 to 2 gala apples or mix of apple and pear
• Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette
• 3 to 6 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 6 tablespoons Spectrum® Rosemary Olive Oil

Instructions

• Microwave butternut squash for 2 to 3 minutes to slightly soften.
• Peel butternut squash with a potato peeler. Cut into 1/2 inch discs crosswise and remove seeds.
• Brush lightly with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes until softened.Turn over at 15 minutes.
• Roast walnuts for 4 to 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
• Cool Squash. Then cut into stars with cookie cutter. There will be some left over you can use for another recipe or add into the salad.
• Roast
• Peel orange, cut into bite sized pieces, making sure to remove pith.
• Slice apple and or pears with skin on, thinly or if you prefer, you can dice.
• Remove arils from pomegranate.
• Chop kale into small bite sized pieces, less an inch.
• Toss kale with vinaigrette, just enough to wet leaves.
• You can add more later if needed. (recipe below). Let kale sit in vinaigrette for 20 minutes if you have time.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add arugula to the kale.
• Arrange on large platter or large bowl.
• Add, oranges, sliced apples. Toss until combined. You may leave some sliced fruit on side if serving at party. You can choose to keep figs and prosciutto on side of platter, instead of in the salad.
• When ready to serve, add prosciutto and figs.
• Top with walnuts, pomegranate seeds.
• Top with butternut squash.
• Season again with sea salt and black pepper.
• Taste to see if you need to add more vinaigrette.
• Instructions for Vinaigrette
• Mix vinegar with honey until well incorporated. I do this in a jar.
• Add olive oll. Mix well.
• Taste for acid. You may need to add more vinegar if not acidic enough or more olive oil. This will depend on your own taste. We like kale salad with a lot of acid. Add salt and pepper before you add more vinegar, as that affects flavor.

Notes

Lacinato kale also known as dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale is the long leaves with thick ribs. Remove the ribs before chopping. You can use a curly kale, but I always prefer this kale as a better option for salads.

The post Festive Kale Salad, Butternut Squash, Honey Rosemary Vinaigrette appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I am embracing figs in the way figs should be embraced. As part of the mother of all comfort food, the roast chicken.

What do figs do for roast chicken? Everything. Figs usher in the Fall, which for us Americans means foods that echo us back to childhood, but for us foodies, we take it up a little notch. My mother didn’t roast her chicken with figs, because in that generation, it was carrots and onions, possibly potatoes.

In the generation before that, chickens were stuffed with rice and oranges one week and bread stuffing another. There are a thousand ways to make a roast chicken, and my goal in culinary life is to find them all.

Roast chicken with figs will be the dish of our Autumn. I will probably make it four or five times, changing things along the way. I will add in more shallots, because they became a bit candied in the roasting process and more divine than I anticipated. I might even add in more figs, because a bite of chicken together with a bite of fig is a new experience that I want to have again.

Figs are sweet in a not too sweet way, and when they roast down, they caramelize, adding a new texture and flavor which pairs well with chicken, white or dark. They are good eaten with a bite of roast potato that has been roasted with a mustard, garlic, olive oil, rosemary preparation. It’s amazing together.

I might suggest a salad with a tangy vinaigrette made with honey, champagne vinegar, mustard and olive oil, to help cut through the richness of the dish.

This is what I’m talking about when I say modern comfort food. It’s full of soulful flavor and texture, and it’s healthy, nutritious and looks a bit sexy too.

Roast Chicken and Dating

Marcella Hazan says in her book, Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking, that this lemon chicken recipe is something so special that men propose upon eating it. I agree that it’s a special dish, but I’m willing to bet that Roast Chicken with Figs is as equally seductive.

After a few months of courtship, show the man you can cook. Nothing is sexier than a roast chicken and a homemade apple pie. Sure, honey, he loves you for your brains, and your looks, but if you want to seal the deal by Christmas, start cooking, but don’t let it look like diet food. Just make big fat healthy food like this roasted chicken.

This is perfect because you stay in your calorie range and he fills up. Top it off with a vanilla ice cream over some kind of pie and this man won’t know what hit him. In today’s world men can easily find the sweet stuff, if you know what I’m talking about, but a girl who can cook better than mama is quite intoxicating.

So tell me, what’s your favorite Autumn supper and do you think it’s true that the way to man’s heart is through his stomach?

More Roast Chicken Recipes

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Roast Chicken with Figs, Shallots and Mustard Rosemary Potatoes

Figs usher in the Fall with Roast Chicken, Shallots, Mustard Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 pound Whole Chicken
• sea salt
• 1 pint of figs most sliced in half, some left whole (see note).
• 6 shallots thinly sliced
• 4 Yukon gold potatoes quartered with skins
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary finely chopped

Instructions

• Rinse chicken, pat dry, salt and refrigerate for 1-3 days, wrapped in plastic
• On roasting day, remove from refrigerator, rinse, pat dry and resalt. Leave out at room temperature for 1 hour. If you can't do this, your cooking time will increase.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Put chicken in oven for 25 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare potatoes.
• In large bowl crush garlic with mustard, thyme, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, olive oil. Add quartered potatoes and mix well.
• During last 25 minutes of roasting chicken, add in shallots and potatoes and figs around the chicken. (If you don't use potatoes, add figs in whole form 25 minutes into baking.
• Use a meat thermometer to test chicken at 50 minutes. The chicken is done when the deepest part at the thigh not touching the bones reaches 165 degrees.
• You may need to cook for 10-15 more.
• Let the chicken rest for at least ten minutes before you cut it.

Notes

Figs: You can slice all in half, or mix it up. If chicken is larger than 3 pounds use up to two pints of figs.

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As Fall is just waiting in the woods (I hope) my heart went right to pears. September is a favorite month around here because it gets cooler (a little) and I want to nest and have friends to come over for dinner. This five star makeover is an appetizer pizza that will make any dinner party just a little more elegant but not in any pretentious way. After all, it’s still pizza. Served with a starter white wine, it goes well before almost any main dish.

I don’t have a great story today, except to tell you that the ingredients were free. I won a $100 gift certificate at our local Whole Foods with this recipe I submitted for peach clafoutis. Part of my splurge included the fig jam, fresh mozzarella, pears and a very sharp Inverness cheddar cheese. I purchased these items to eat separately and this pizza was only made by default. It was not my original intention but it was nearly addictive and we made it two days in a row. That right there made it push the broccoli rabe pizza over (for another day) and become the five star entry.

Fig jam mixed with a bit of olive oil to spread on dough.

Pears Love Cheese. The cheddar cheese proved outstanding, but you could easily use a manchego, brie, goat or a blue cheese. And, as an afterthought, some finely chopped walnuts would work well also.

I used a mandolin to slice the pears very thin and evenly. I went back and forth deciding the order of the ingredients and put the fig jam (mixed with olive oil) first followed by pears, then cheese, then a little more fig jam and the salt. When it comes out of the oven, follow up with black pepper and fresh thyme.

Tell me, what is your favorite non-red sauce pizza?

ack pepper

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