Carnival chatters with alchermes, crunchy and bubbly, and even more delicious with alchermes in the dough. During Carnival and the period that precedes it, the craving for chatters becomes stronger than usual, so we go into the kitchen to prepare lots of chatters. We’re still in January, but I’ve already made them twice, the first with Strega, and the second with alchermes for the happiness of my niece, who every time receives a couple of trays, all ready to munch on, and as she says, they are irresistible, one leads to another, so it is important to make plenty, actually a lot, so much that in a week she almost forced me to make them twice. I gladly oblige her, happy to always have her around to help finish what I cook, but soon she’ll return to college for her final exams before her thesis.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
Ingredients for Carnival Chatters with Alchermes or Frappe with Alchermes
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.4 oz alchermes
- 2 tbsps butter
- 3 tbsps sugar
- 2 eggs
- to taste lemon or orange zest
- to taste vanilla
- to taste sunflower oil
- 3.5 oz alchermes
- 5 tbsps sugar
- vanilla powdered sugar
Tools for Preparing Carnival Chatters with Alchermes
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Pasta Machine
- 1 Cutter
- 1 Pan
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Tongs
- 5 Absorbent paper
Steps for Preparing Carnival Chatters with Alchermes
Let’s start with the dough. In a bowl, put flour, eggs, sugar, melted butter (melted in a saucepan or in the microwave at medium power for a few seconds), vanilla, lemon or orange zest, and finally the liquor. Knead until you get a nice firm dough. Let it rest under the bowl for a bit while we prepare what’s needed to shape our chatters.
Prepare a clean work surface to place the sheets. Set up the pasta machine to roll out the dough. After letting the dough rest for at least 10-20 minutes, take it back and divide it into about 6 pieces. Roll each piece with the pasta machine, dust with flour, start from the open rollers, and thin it out. Pass it through several times at the same level at first, folding the dough, until you get a perfect sheet. Gradually dust with flour if necessary and tighten the rollers by one level at a time until you pass the sheet to the penultimate level or the last if you want it very thin.
As you roll out the sheets, place them on a clean and dry surface, dust the sheet one last time before rolling it to the penultimate level, without using more on the surface, so you use little flour and foam doesn’t form during cooking.
Cut the chatters according to your preference. Shape them as you like and then prepare for cooking.
Fry the chatters a few at a time in plenty of hot oil, turning them to lightly brown. As they are ready, place them on a tray with absorbent paper to remove excess oil, and continue until finished.
Then prepare the alchermes syrup, place sugar with liquor in a high-sided bowl, let it boil in the microwave for a minute, checking it doesn’t overflow, or you can prepare it in a saucepan on the stove. When it cools, it will become a thick syrup.
Place the chatters on a tray, without paper, in one layer, sprinkle with a bit of the syrup and continue layering, covering with powdered sugar as you go. Now our alchermes chatters are ready to enjoy.
