Chiacchiere An Italian Carnival Fried Treat - Le Chiacchiere di Carnevale 🎭

Love What UEAT
Feb 16
3 min read

Updated: Apr 21

Desserts & Treats#recipe #chiacchiere #frappe #bugie #cenci #lattughe #crostoli #donzelle

#Italiansweet #easydessert #simpledessert #frieddough #sweetfrieddough #thincrisps #thincracker

Chiacchiere An Italian Carnival Fried Treat - Le Chiacchiere di Carnevale 🎭

“Carnevale”, 🎭 (Italian Carnival) is around the corner. It is usually celebrated between

10-14 days in the month of February.

The dates of this event differs every year, because Easter Day is never the same from one year to another year. Carnevale ends the day before Ash Wednesday, which is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday in North America.

There are many different names for these ancient traditional sweet treats. In Naples and Sicily, they are called chiacchiere (which translates to chitter, chatter),frappe in Lazio, bugie (lies) in Piemonte, cenci (rags) in Tuscany, galani in Venice.

In other regions of Italy, they are called, donzelle, crostoli, & lattughe.

However you call them in your region, they are simply delicious 😋 & very easy to make.

Not to mention, that there are many, many variations of this recipe. We will show you our version of this delicious treat. So let’s get started !

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/3 cups (300 g) A/P flour

3 eggs (room temperature)

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

1/4 cup (45 ml) sunflower oil (or any neutral oil)

1/4 cup (45 ml) Sambuca (or grappa, rum, brandy, whiskey, limoncello)

1 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Neutral oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1) Sift flour & baking soda in a stand mixer. Add the sugar & salt. With a hook attachment, mix well. NOTE: you can also use the well method.

2) Add eggs, oil & Sambuca in a measuring cup. Beat with a fork.

3) Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Knead for approximately 5-7 minutes until all is well incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.

4) Transfer the dough onto a work surface. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Cover with a clean dish towel. Let rest directly on the countertop for 30 minutes.

5) Cut a piece off of the dough. Keep unused dough wrapped. You do not want the dough to dry out.

6) Lighlty flour your work surface. Roll out the cut piece of dough very thin, almost paper thin. You can also use a pasta machine for this step.

7) Using a pastry wheel, cut strips of approximately 2” x 4” (5x10 cm). Make one or two central cuts in each strip. Place on a baking sheet lined with a clean dish towel.

8) Repeat steps 5,6 & 7 with the rest of the dough.

9) In a deep large skillet, pour a generous amount of neutral oil. Heat oil till it reaches the temperature of 300F (150-160 C). If you don’t have a thermometer,do the old fashioned way. Drop one of the leftover strips. If it floats straightaway to the top, you’re good to go.

10) Fry your chiacchiere, turning them over on both sides until golden brown.Since the dough is very thin, they will brown quickly. Drain them on paper towel. Let cool completely.

11) Place them on a serving dish. Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.Some regions of Italy, the chiacchiere are garnished with drizzles of honey or melted chocolate.