Bruccellati

Bruccellati
(Serradifalco version, Pucciddati)

Brucellati, in Sicilian, literally "little bracelets" are uniquely Sicilian fig cookies of a sweet dough rolled out and filled with figs as well as numerouus other ingredients. 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. In most of Sicily (as in most Sicilian-American homes) they are called "cucciddati". They often include dates or date paste, and "cucciddati" could be interpreted as "date cookies". 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. The rolls are either cut into short tubes, or curved around to form a "bracelet".

The cookies are a favorite at Christmas and wedding celebrations of many Sicilian-American and Sicilian families.