LEMON CHIACCHIERE Carnival Sweet
Call them whatever you like: Bugie, Frappe, Cenci, in any case, CHIACCHIERE are one of the most delicious Carnival sweets. They take very little time to make and are liked by almost everyone.
As with all traditional recipes, each region, besides calling them differently, has its own recipe. The one we will prepare today is one of the many variants: LEMON Chiacchiere, a crisp, light Carnival sweet, very fragrant thanks to the presence of lemon zest and juice in the dough.
Of course, I recommend buying only untreated, super-fresh lemons, given the use of the peel, to give your Carnival Chiacchiere that unmistakable aroma and flavor of this wonderful citrus fruit, and then lemon “cuts the grease,” right?
Joking aside, you’ll see how this revamp of the Classic Carnival Chiacchiere (find the recipe HERE) will win you over, and for a more adult audience and to further enhance the lemon flavor, you can also add a splash of Limoncello.
Try making them with me, and you’ll see you won’t be able to do without them anymore. Moreover, with the same procedure, by only changing the type of citrus, you can prepare Orange or Tangerine Chiacchiere.
For air fryer lovers, at the end of the procedure, I will also leave all the instructions for cooking Chiacchiere in an Air Fryer.
If you’re looking for more Carnival recipes, also check out:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Cooking methods: Frying, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
- Energy 726.16 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 33.61 (g) of which sugars 7.37 (g)
- Proteins 6.03 (g)
- Fat 64.16 (g) of which saturated 9.19 (g)of which unsaturated 52.67 (g)
- Fibers 0.96 (g)
- Sodium 118.93 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs (whole)
- 2.1 tbsp sugar
- 2 lemons (organic, juice and grated zest)
- 3/4 oz limoncello (or Stega liqueur optional)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- granulated sugar
- confectioners' sugar
- chocolate (melted)
Tools
- Bowl
- Rolling pin
- Frying pan
Steps
First, grate the lemon zest and squeeze its juice, filtering it to avoid seeds or pulp. Put the sifted flour in a bowl, add the eggs, lemon juice and zest, Limoncello (or Strega) liqueur, a pinch of salt, and mix everything well with a fork until the dough becomes thick.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth, homogeneous, and soft. Shape it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let it rest in a cool place (even in the fridge) for at least 20 minutes.
Take the dough and on a lightly floured work surface, roll it out with a rolling pin until it is quite thin. Cut it into strips of 1.5 to 2.5 cm with a fluted wheel or pizza cutter and place them on a tray without overlapping.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan, and when it reaches temperature (you can test it by immersing a small piece: it should float to the surface quite quickly), start frying the lemon chiacchiere. A few seconds will be enough, turn them with a skimmer. Once ready, transfer them to a plate with absorbent paper, let them cool slightly, and then sprinkle with granulated or confectioners’ sugar.
STORAGE
Once ready, Lemon Chiacchiere should be consumed immediately to best enjoy their crunchiness. If there are leftovers, store them in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
NOTES AND VARIATIONS
LIQUEUR: The amount of liqueur in the dough is minimal and only adds fragrance and aroma to the Lemon Chiacchiere. You can replace the Limoncello with Strega liqueur used in the recipe for Classic Chiacchiere, or decide not to use it at all.
LEMON ZEST AND JUICE: With the same procedure and simply replacing the citrus, you can prepare Orange or Tangerine Chiacchiere.
HOW TO COOK LEMON CHIACCHIERE IN AN AIR FRYER
If you enjoy fried foods and Chiacchiere in particular but want to prepare them more lightly, you can always opt for the air fryer. In this case, given the different cooking method, the doses and ingredients slightly change to adapt to Air Frying. To prepare LEMON CHIACCHIERE in the air fryer you will need: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/8 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp instant yeast for Air Fryer, 1 tbsp sugar, the juice and zest of one lemon. PROCEDURE: Put in a bowl: the egg, sugar, milk, oil, yeast, and the zest and juice of 1 Lemon. Mix everything with a fork, then add the flour little by little, continuing to mix. Once the dough becomes consistent, move to a lightly floured work surface and start kneading by hand until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Roll out the dough and shape the Chiacchiere as usual. HOW TO COOK CHIACCHIERE IN AN AIR FRYER: With these doses, you will need to cook the chiacchiere in two batches. Place parchment paper at the bottom of the air fryer basket, spray with oil spray, and cook at 383°F for 5 minutes. Open the basket, turn them over, spray a little more oil spray, and cook for another 2 minutes at 383°F. Take them out of the basket, place them on a tray to cool, and cook the other half of the dough in the same way. Decorate as desired once cooled.
