The classic chiacchiere recipe for carnival, here are some tips and advice if you want to try making them at home. The preparation is not difficult and only requires small precautions that I explain step by step in the recipe below.

The other classic carnival recipes besides chiacchiere are castagnole, baked chiacchiere, and sweet gnocchi. Alternatively to the classic chiacchiere recipe, you can also make baked chiacchiere or chiacchiere without yeast.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Frying
Cuisine: Italian

797.07 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 797.07 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 136.68 (g) of which sugars 20.94 (g)
Proteins 25.72 (g)
Fat 19.39 (g) of which saturated 10.56 (g)of which unsaturated 7.72 (g)
Fibers 3.69 (g)
Sodium 282.25 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 200 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 for 20 chiacchiere:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tbsps butter
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsps baking powder
to taste lemon zest
to taste salt
to taste powdered sugar (for dusting)
6 1/3 cups sunflower oil (for frying)

Tools

1 Pot 4 qt
1 Bowl
1 Beater
1 Rolling Pin

Procedure

Carnival sweets are often fried, the preparation is important but even more so the frying which can compromise or ruin the final result, here are the tips for fragrant, puffy, soft chiacchiere cooked to perfection!

Put the ingredients in the bowl and start mixing them together, if you have a stand mixer the process is very quick, just 5-6 minutes to get a basic dough ball.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can create a well, add the butter, egg, sugar, and knead the dough until it is firm and elastic very similar to homemade fresh pasta.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes (no need for the fridge) in a bowl covered with food paper.
After the time has passed, start rolling out the dough. To simplify, I used a dough roller at thickness setting 3, the dough needs to be thin and well-rolled. Depending on the recipes and tastes, you may find different thicknesses ranging from 2 to 3 mm. Keep in mind that at 2 mm the chiacchiere will be crispy and thin, while at 3 mm they will have more texture under the teeth and a more present dough.
Given the elasticity of the dough, you can roll it all out and then start frying it, just be careful as the dough tends to shrink and rise a little becoming thicker. I recommend frying the chiacchiere almost instantly so the rising effect is minimal.
Roll out the dough into rectangular sheets and with the help of a fluted cutter give it the classic shape.
Cut the edges and create rectangles of 6 inches x 3 inches, make one or two cuts in the center, so that during cooking the chiacchiere can open and allow the dough to rise.
Let’s start with the oil to use for frying, you can use various types of oil, for carnival sweets I use sunflower oil. Usually, this oil is not recommended for frying because it has a relatively low smoke point of 320°F which makes it unsuitable for cooking meat and fish (356-338°F).

However, carnival sweets are often leavened doughs, so cooking at 302-320°F is more than sufficient, sunflower oil does not have too strong a taste and the fried product is very dry.
I also recommend sunflower oil because economical products for frying are based on sunflower oil with the addition of palm oil to raise the smoke point… so better the pure original than the mixed one for sweet fries.
Put the oil on the stove and test the temperature with some dough balls.
When the oil is up to temperature, start frying. To avoid burning myself I use a slotted spoon to immerse the chiacchiere in the hot oil.
Do not put all the chiacchiere in the oil at once or you will lower the oil temperature ruining the final result. I fry 3-4, at most 5 chiacchiere at a time and as soon as one is ready, I put in another.
Keep an eye on the chiacchiere, they tend to color quite quickly on the side immersed in the oil, while the upper side remains very white. To turn the chiacchiere to the other side I help myself with the slotted spoon by pressing on one side and making it rotate.
The chiacchiere are ready when they are puffy and evenly golden on both sides. The fry should be dry and the chiacchiere should not be soaked in oil. For this, as soon as you take them out of the pot, put them to dry on a paper towel.
Your classic chiacchiere recipe is ready!