Cucciddati , also known variously as Buccellati, Italian fig cookies or Sicilian Fig Cookies, are fig stuffed cookies traditionally served at Christmas time.
The outer cookie is pastry dough, covered with icing and typically topped with rainbow sprinkles. The filling generally consists of some combination of walnuts, dates, figs, honey, spices and orange or apricot jam.The pastry is rolled around the filling, and rolls are either cut into short tubes, or curved around to form a "Bracelet".
When ring-shaped, these may be known as buccellati, meaning "little bracelets," and are a diminutive form of buccellato, a larger fig-filled ring cake. The ingredients are as varied as the names the cookies are called by, apparently a function of the town or region in which they are made. Other towns call them "nucciddati" (nut cookies), "zucciddati", "ucciddati", "vucciddati" and as in Serradifalco, pucciddati. That town's version includes ground figs and dates, nuts, and orange rinds
PASTRY DOUGH
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon Vanilla
3 1/2 cup All purpose fFour
The FILLING
2 cups chopped dried figs
1 cup orange juice (240 ml)
2 cup raisins
2 cups chopped Walnuts
2 cups Chocolate nibs (chips)
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
Zest of 1 Orange
The GLAZE
5 heaping tablespoons of confectioners sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
Nonpareils
Pastry preparation :
Cream together butter and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
Add baking soda to flour and mix 1 cup at a time of flour/soda to creamed butter/sugar.
Add vanilla.
Add 1 egg at a time. Blend well.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
The FILLING
Chop figs in small pieces. Add orange juice and let it sit for a few hours until figs rehydrate. Add remaining ingredients and mix gently. This process can be done a day before.
Assembly
When ready to bake, cut dough into 6 equal pieces.
Flour surface and roll out to 9 x 12 rectangle.
Spoon filling along the long side of pastry, about 1 inch in diameter.
Roll filled pastry, wet the end and close, place seam down on parchment lined pan.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for about 25 minutes or until light golden color.
Let it sit on cooking rack for about 5 minutes as you prepare the glaze.
Mix confectioners sugar with water mix to a smooth glaze.
Before they’re completely cool brush top of cuccidati rolls with glaze.
Add sprinkles if you wish while confectioners sugar syrup is still wet.
The church of Saint Catherine “intra muros” was built on the top of the ruins of the Roman Theater (Odeon), partially destroying its orchestra and its scene which consisted of the southern colonnade of a Greek temple, some say dedicated to Aphrodite. The interior of the church is a single nave, with an elegant wooden-beam trussed ceiling. On the main altar you can see an imposing painting depicting saint Catherine’s martyrdom, attributed to the Sicilian painter Jacopo Vignerio (XVI century).
The construction of the present church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria occurred after the Capuchins bought the previous church dedicated to the saint of Alexandria that was outside the walls (the current church of Sant'antonio da Padova).
The architectural style of the church is clearly baroque. portal is decorated with pink marble of Taormina and embellished at each side with two slim columns with Corinthian capitals, standing on tall bases. Above the portal, in a niche, there is the statue of the Saint Alexandrina between two little angels, each one sitting on the volutes of the tympanum itself. She holds the palm branch and the sword with which she is about to kill a diabolic creature, here represented by a crowned personage with long moustaches. At her left side the unfailing spiked wheel. This other statue is the work that the Sicilian Paolo Greco sculptured in 1705.
A mini bell tower, incorporated in the façade, decorates the high corner to the left of it and shows a single bell.
PIAZZA IX APRILE iN TAORMINA
SICILY
The square is known for the breathtaking view of the azure Ionian Sea and of the Mount Etna.
The square was named after the 9th of April, 1860, when mass in the Taormina cathedral down the street was interrupted to announce that Garibaldi had landed at Marsala (on the far side of the island) to begin his conquest of Sicily that made it part of Italy
Actually,the newsprovesfalse. In fact Garibaldilanded atMarsalaexactly one monthlater, on 9May 1860.However, the inhabitants of Taorminawanted to recallthat datededicatingthemost beautiful square.
PALERMO
San Giovanni Eremiti
Palermo
Photo 2017 Daniel Bellino Zwicke
The church's origins date to the 6th century. After the establishment of the Norman domination of southern Italy, it was returned to the Christians by Roger II of Sicily who, around 1136, entrusted it to the Benedictine monks of Saint William of Vercelli.
The church was extensively modified during the following centuries. A restoration held around 1880 attempted to restore its original medieval appearance.
The church is notable for its brilliant red domes, which show clearly the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily at the time of its reconstruction in the 12th century, the Arab-Norman culture.In her 1882 Diary of an Idle Woman in Sicily, Frances Elliot described it as "... totally oriental... it would fit well in Baghdad or Damascus".However, the red colour of the domes are not original, as they were restored in the present way at the end of the nineteenth century by an architect who found pieces of red plaster on the domes and therefore decided to paint all the domes in red.
The church lies with a flank on a square construction. The church is on the Latin Cross plan with a nave and two aisles and three apses. Each of the square spans is surmounted by a dome. The presbytery, ending with a niche, has also a dome.
The cloister, enriched by a luxurious garden, is the best preserved part of the ancient monastery. It has notable small double columns with capitals decorated by vegetable motifs, which support ogival arches. It also includes an Arab cistern.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until incorporated. Mix in the ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until very light and creamy. Add in the limoncello, almond flour and baking powder and beat to combine.
In a separate clean chilled bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake mixture. (Don’t worry if white streaks remain – they will disappear once in the oven.)
Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or spoon. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until firm yet slightly springy to the touch.
Allow to cool completely. (It will fall slightly.) Dust with the powdered sugar and serve!
