Italian Fig Cookies (cuccidati)
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It’s not Christmas without these amazing Italian fig cookies made with pastry filled with soft figs, toasted almonds, and dark chocolate, which are out-of-this-world delicious!
Published in Dec 2021 /Updated in Dec 2025.
Let me start by saying that this Italian fig cookie recipe comes from my mum and my grandmother and is so close to my heart. And no surprise, these are absolutely the best!
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These fabulous Italian Christmas cookies have many names, shapes, and filling variations. They’re called cuccidati, cucidati, or buccelati, and traditionally, they’re stuffed with dried fruits (figs, sometimes apricots or raisins), almonds or walnuts, candied fruit, and spices.
They are rich, complex, and that fragrant, fruity filling mixed with nuts tastes incredible.
My mum tweaked her recipe to perfection over the years: for a more luxurious treat, no fig jam or sultanas were allowed in the filling. She used only tender, juicy dried figs, combined with toasted almonds, dark chocolate, cinnamon, candied orange, and honey.
Each year, just before Christmas, my family used to bake a ton of these gorgeous cuccidati on a big baking day. Baking, decorating, and wrapping these goodies was so much fun for kids and adults.
As a bonus, these Italian fig cookies keep well for weeks, making a special treat to share with relatives and friends during the holiday.
So make a big batch, as these beautiful Italian cuccidati cookies will be just amazing for the upcoming Christmas!
Let’s start with the recipe, which is split into 3 parts.
List of the ingredients
1. Cookie dough
2. Fig filling
3. Decoration
Cookie dough
- All-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Butter
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
fig cookie filling
- Soft dried figs (no added sugar)
- Dark chocolate (70% or 85% cocoa)
- Roasted almonds
- Orange peel and zest
- Honey
- Cinnamon
decoration
One pasteurized egg white, powdered sugar, and sprinkles for decoration.
How to make fig cookies
(Note: this is a quick description; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Start making the shortcrust pastry dough following this recipe.
- Chop the chocolate and the toasted almonds, and whizz the figs in a food processor.
- Mix all the filling ingredients in one bowl until well combined.
- Roll out a piece of pastry with a rolling pin, making a log shape.
- Shape the filling like a sausage and place it in the center of the pastry.
- Fold each side of the pastry carefully. I use a pizza scraper to lift the shortcrust pastry.
- Fold the pastry on both sides, and place it seam-side down.
- With a sharp knife, cut the fig cookies (approx. 2×3 inches each).
- Place them on a large cookie sheet and bake for 17 minutes at 170°C/340°F.
How to decorate fig cookies
- To make Royal icing, beat the egg whites until very pale but not stiff. I use an electric hand mixer and a small bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar, and beat until very thick but creamy (see picture below).
- Gently dip each fig cookie upside down into the glaze (cover it with icing only on the top). No worries, they don’t have to be perfect!
- Turn the cookie up (it should be nicely coated), and place it on a rack.
- Decorate them with sprinkles.
- Let them rest on a cookie rack until the glaze is completely dry. Depending on the room’s humidity, this may take approximately 1 hour.
Recipe notes
Ingredients for Italian fig cookies
Sweet shortcrust pastry: Traditionally, in the Italian fig cookies (cuccidati), the shortcrust pastry is made with shortening, but to make them vegetarian, I use only butter. This sweet shortcrust recipe is easy to work with and takes seconds if using a food processor.
Figs: The recipe calls for dried figs, not fresh figs. Many recipes use fig jam or sultanas soaked in marsala wine. All delicious ingredients, however, soft dried figs, naturally sweet and without additives, are the best.
Almonds: Roast them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes (340F/170 °C) until golden and slightly crunchy. Don’t skip this step; roasted almonds are a must in the recipe: they break or make it.
Dark chocolate: I love 85% dark chocolate, with its deep, intense flavor, which makes a delicious contrast with the sweet filling. However, good-quality 70% dark chocolate bars or chips are absolutely fine.
Orange peel and zest: The traditional cucciddati recipe uses candied fruit (canditi, in Italian), especially orange, pumpkin, and the flavorful rind of citron. But finding them in the UK is so hard, so I use the orange peel, which works nicely. I don’t recommend using orange marmalade as it’s too sweet and not traditional.
Cinnamon: For a cozy, warming flavor.
Honey: It adds sweetness and binds the filling into a sticky, delicious paste. Many recipes call for apricot jam, but honey is way better, less sweet, and with a more complex flavor.
Decoration: My family’s recipe uses royal icing, which looks festive and perfect for the holidays. You can decorate the cuccidati with your favorite sugar glaze recipe or simple powdered sugar.
Pro tips
1. Work in small batches: Make one long log, add the filling, fold the pastry, cut the cookies, and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
2. Keep the shortcrust pastry cold: Make one log at a time so you can refrigerate the rest. If you keep it on the counter (especially if the oven is on), the room temperature will make it warm, soft, and hard to work with.
3. Bake them until golden pale (not brown) and let them cool.
How to store them?
These amazing fig cookies keep very well. Store them in an airtight container or a metal tin, and they last for up to 4 weeks. My mum used to make cucciddati at the beginning of December, and we happily shared them with family and friends till the end of the Christmas holidays. : )
Looking for more Christmas cookies?
You might want to look at this collection of 25+ delicious Christmas cookies! Here are a few of our favorite recipes:
- Chocolate orange cookies
- Easy almond cookies
- Italian almond biscotti (aka cantucci)
- Coconut cookies
- Lemon biscotti
- Coconut chocolate chip cookies
- Reindeer cookies
- Christmas tree cookies
- Cranberry orange biscotti
If you make these Italian fig cookies or have a question, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear from you! x
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Italian Fig Cookies
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
- 2 cups (9oz/250 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup + 1 Tbsp (4oz/125 grams) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (3oz/80 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 medium-sized egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Fig filling
- 2 cups (340 grams) soft dried figs
- 1 cup (150 grams) Roasted almonds
- (5oz/150 grams) dark chocolate bar or chips ( 70% or 85% cocoa are best)
- (4oz/120 grams) candied orange peel
- (4oz/120 grams) honey
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 small orange zest (approx 1 Tbsp)
Decoration (Royal icing)
- 1 pasteurised egg white (from a large egg), at room temperature
- 1 cup (approx 120-130 grams) powdered sugar (icing sugar if you're in the UK)
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- coloured sprinkles, to decorate
Instructions
Shortcrust pastry
- Follow this recipe to make the shortcrust pastry dough. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
Fig filling
- Spread out the almonds onto a baking tray and roast them in the preheated oven at 170°C/340°F for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the almonds from the oven and set aside.
- Snip off the hard stems from the soft figs and process them in a food processor until chopped. Don't turn them into a puree, as you want some texture. Transfer the fig mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Chop the chocolate and the roasted almonds with a chef's knife. Alternatively, place them in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are roughly chopped. Add them to the fig mixture.
- Then add the remaining ingredients for the filling. Using your hands, mix them thoroughly until well combined. Set aside.
Shape the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a sharp knife, divide the shortcrust pastry dough into 4 equal pieces (cut them lengthwise to get long pieces that are easier to work with). Start using 1 of them, and keep the other 3 pieces refrigerated.
- Dust the a work surface with some flour, then roll the one piece of dough out until you get a rectangle that measures approx 11×5 inches (30x14cm).
- Using moistened hands, grab some fig filling from the bowl and form a long log, then place it in the center of the pastry strip. Fold each side of the pastry, seal it with gentle pressure, and finally turn the long log upside down so the seam is down.
- With a sharp knife, cut the log into 10 individual cookies (4 logs should make approximately 40 pieces). Place them on the prepared baking sheet with parchment paper. Repeat the same with the rest of the ingredients. You should be able to bake 2 logs (approximately 20 cookies) at a time on the same baking sheet, for a total of 2 batches.
- Bake and let the cooked cookies to cool down on a rack.
Decoration
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, and keep beating for 3-4 minutes until you get a thick consistency. Use it immediately.
- Drizzle the fig cookies with the icing or turn each cookie upside down and gently dip into the sugar. You want to cover only the top.
- Decorate immediately with colored sprinkles, then let them rest on a wire rack until the icing is completely dry.
These were always a staple in our house at Christmas. We would sit around the kitchen table and help my mom make them. After she passed away my oldest son started this tradition until he passed away 8 years ago. As with my mom my children made it a family affair. Our families all received a share of these wonderful delicious fig Christmas cookies made with real figs. Many fond memories.😊🌹
What a lovely comment, Joanne! I have the same feeling and fond memories. We used to make these fig cookies with my parents, and when I was a child I was in charge for the decoration.
My sisters and I want to keep this tradition alive and we make them with our children. They’re the best cookies in the world, if you ask me. : )
Wishing a wonderful holiday season. Greetings from London. x