Cuddureddi of Caltagirone with almonds or in Italian “collorelle di Caltagirone”. When my friend first told me about these sweets, I must say I didn’t know them. Yet it’s strange that, being Sicilian from Catania, I didn’t know these delicacies that are made right in my province. “Cuddureddi” in Sicilian means little crowns; hearing them called “collorelle” surprised me a bit. “Collorelle” literally means nothing—if we had to translate literally we would have to say “little crowns of Caltagirone” and in Sicily—believe me—there are many different sweets called “coroncine” or “cuddureddi” and they are all different from one another. But putting aside the discussion about the name of this sweet, let’s get straight to the point and the specific characteristics of a preparation that is not only tasty, but also very beautiful. Filled with almond paste or even cooked grape must or even honey, the “cuddureddi of Caltagirone” are sweets with a soft and delicious center wrapped in a thin pastry shell made from flour, water, sugar and lard. Making “cuddureddi” is not difficult at all, but in their preparation there is a fundamental step: the decoration made with special decorative tongs, patience and imagination.
Typical at Christmas, these specialties are found only in Caltagirone, but with a little care you can make them too, so let’s go to the kitchen and roll up our sleeves! Before that, I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all the new recipes on the blog, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 3 Hours
- Portions: 50
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Type 00)
- 1 cup lard
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 1/4 cups whole almonds
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 1 egg (whole)
- to taste lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- to taste colored sprinkles
Tools
- Baking sheet
- Decorative tongs decorative for pastries
- Bowls
- Mixer
- Pasta machines roller sheeter or 'Nonna Papera' type
Steps
Preparing these sweets is not difficult, but you need to get organized the night before and then use some patience for the meticulous decoration.
Pour the flour onto a work surface, make a well and add the lard. Work it together with the flour until you obtain a crumbly texture, then add the sugar and the water little by little (use more or less of the indicated amount) until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough.
Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
To prepare the almond paste filling for the “collorelle di Caltagirone”, preferably buy almonds with their skins on. The night before making the sweets, immerse them for a couple of minutes in boiling water, drain them, let them cool slightly and peel them.
Let them dry at about 122°F (50°C) for 1 hour, then, when cold, grind them to obtain a fairly fine flour (do not buy ready-made almond flour, it is not suitable). Mix the almond flour with the sugar and blend again.
Pour the almond flour onto a work surface, add the lemon zest and vanillin or vanilla extract, form a well and add the egg whites and whole egg. Knead until you obtain a soft but firm mixture; if too stiff add a tablespoon of egg white, but don’t overdo it.
Cover and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
The next morning, once the base dough and the almond paste are ready, you can make the sweets.
Take a portion of the almond paste and work it with your hands until you form a little roll about 5/8 inch thick (approximately 1.5 cm) and the length you prefer. Do this until you have used all the almond filling.
Roll the dough through the pasta machine in small amounts, working it several times until you obtain smooth, perfect sheets. Start on the widest setting and roll several times down to setting 5.
Form the sheets and, using a fluted pastry wheel, cut rectangles with the short side about 1.5–2 inches (4–5 cm). Place a roll of almond paste on each rectangle and wrap it with the dough.
From this point on, arm yourself with patience and imagination and create the decorations, helping yourself with the tools and the colored sugar sprinkles.
These are examples of the decorations I made; I also made small pillows with the filling inside.
Once ready, bake the “collorelle” at 356°F (180°C) for 15–20 minutes in a static (conventional) oven; once they have a very light, gentle golden color, remove from the oven and let cool before moving them from the baking sheet.
The “cuddureddi of Caltagirone” should be stored in a cool, dry place, on a tray covered with a cotton cloth and consumed within fifteen days or in any case before they lose their crispness and freshness.
These are the tools I used for the decorations: you can see expulsion molds, sugar paste tools, decorative tongs, a fluted pastry wheel, a knife and scissors.
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