Friends, shall we have a chat?!!! Carnival isn’t that far away and as always I love to prepare the famous chiacchiere!
Also called frappe, chiacchiere are typical sweets, fried and very crunchy. Dusted with powdered sugar or enjoyed with honey or Nutella.
Today I propose my sweet mom Morena’s recipe. A truly fantastic dough, without oil or butter. Even though they are fried, with this recipe the chiacchiere remain dry, light, and crunchy. Believe me when I say it’s really impossible to resist the temptation!!
Besides chiacchiere, I also prepare other typical Carnival sweets. For example, I love Apple Fritters and Nutella Castagnole! Or Potato Doughnuts without Butter!
Don’t miss the Pink Castagnole with Alchermes and the very fragrant Lemon Version. Then, for Carnival, you can’t miss the delightful Fried Citrus Rolls, a temptation! And for those with a sweet tooth? The Cream Bomboloni without Butter and Potatoes.
But now, let’s get to business! Let’s prepare Carnival Chiacchiere without butter together! Step-by-step procedure with photos.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Carnival
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 Eggs (medium whole)
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup Grappa (about 3.5 oz. It cannot be omitted but can be replaced with Rum, Marsala, or orange liqueur. The flavor will change but not the structure)
- 1 Lemon (grated)
- Seed oil (for frying or extra virgin olive oil)
- Powdered sugar (for decoration)
Tools
- Work surface
- Pasta machine
- Rolling pin
- Frying pan
- Absorbent paper
Preparation
Take a work surface and form a well in the center with the flour.
Break the eggs inside, add a pinch of salt, sugar, grated lemon zest, and the grappa.
Now start working with your hands, gradually mixing the flour with the other ingredients.
When the flour has absorbed them, knead with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous ball.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 20 minutes at room temperature.
After the resting time, take a rolling pin and roll out the dough to obtain a thin sheet.
Instead of a rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine (see photo).
With the help of a dough cutter (I use the one for making ravioli), create small diamonds or squares.
Take a rather large non-stick pan and heat the oil.
Then check that the oil has reached the right temperature. Just dip a toothpick in, and if it sizzles, it’s ready!
At that point, immerse the carnival chiacchiere and fry them without burning.
I recommend not frying them all together to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Another important tip, use plenty of oil for frying, so you’ll get a great result!
Once the chiacchiere are golden, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Drain the excess oil and let them dry on kitchen paper. Repeat until the dough is finished.
When they are completely cold, sprinkle the Carnival chiacchiere with powdered sugar.
They are delicious with honey too; try pouring a few tablespoons on top, you’ll see how tasty!
The doses in this recipe are the original ones. Since they are not excessive, you’ll get a limited number.
To get a larger quantity, I recommend doubling ALL the ingredients listed above!
The chiacchiere are truly delicious, once you start eating them, one leads to another, the more, the better!
The chiacchiere retain their crispness even the next day, but cover them with aluminum foil.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Come back and visit me soon!
Recipe and Photo Gabry © – all rights reserved
