The Little Birds of St. Anthony are a typical recipe from Abruzzo prepared on January 17th for St. Anthony the Abbot.
They used to be made for special occasions like weddings, but in my opinion, they can be prepared for any occasion as they are truly delicious and quick to make, except for the resting time of the dough and the filling.
In every area of Abruzzo, like many traditional recipes, the recipe undergoes some variation, but all are delicious… for example, in some areas of Abruzzo, even the shape changes, instead of having the shape of a little bird, it becomes a closed C, almost like a tortellino.
In my opinion, these are really the best, at least for me, among the many variants, I chose this one, try it and let me know!
To fully understand how to make the recipe, I also made a video to help create the shape, which is actually easier to do than to explain, but for the first few times, it might be useful.
If you make this or other recipes from my blog, send me the photo; if you like, I’ll post it on my Facebook page under your name.
Approx. 200 kcal per little bird
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 17-18 little birds
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Abruzzo
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients to Make the Little Birds of St. Anthony
- 1 cup sunflower oil (or extra virgin olive oil – measure with a plastic cup)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar (scarce)
- grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid vanilla or a packet of vanillin (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder for desserts (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+ about 1/3 cup for the work surface)
- 1/2 cup grape jam (or scrucchiata)
- 1 oz 70% dark chocolate (chopped or grated)
- 1 oz dry almonds (toasted and chopped)
- silver sugar beads (or chocolate chips)
Preparation of the Little Birds of St. Anthony
First, prepare the dough by placing the wine, sunflower or extra virgin olive oil, grated lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, and baking powder in a bowl, and mix well.
At this point, add the flour to create a soft dough… you might need a little more flour.
Once the dough is made, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Let’s make the filling by first toasting the almonds, let them cool, and chop them finely.
In a bowl, place the finely chopped almonds, grated or finely chopped extra dark chocolate, and grape jam, mix well, and also put this in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for at least 1 hour.
In the video, I mention a more abundant filling, but since I had some left over, here I present you with more appropriate quantities.
In the video, I mention a more abundant filling, but since I had some left over, here I present you with more appropriate quantities.
Finally, let’s make our little birds by taking the dough out of the fridge and on a floured surface, work it to create a firm and soft ball.
Take a portion of the dough and roll out a thin but not too thin sheet, it could also be worked with a pasta machine, flouring it well.
From the sheet, cut off the perimeter by removing all imperfect shapes to create a straight line on each side….
….then cut out squares of 3 inches by 3 inches.
On each square, place about a teaspoon of the previously made filling and then close them as shown in the picture
……until you get our little birds.
With the help of scissors, cut the little bird on the head, tail, and on the belly part.
Place the little birds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put in the fridge for about half an hour before baking them.
Bake in a hot oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
