A cookie that speaks to you -“Chiacchiere”

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A cookie that speaks to you - “Chiacchiere” is the ultimate Italian Carnevale cookie

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uploaded by Patricia Turo

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  uploaded by Patricia Turo | add comment

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  uploaded by Patricia Turo | add comment

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  uploaded by Patricia Turo | add comment

Everything in Italy has a story and this is no different. Ciacchiere means to chat in Italian. Because I never stopped talking as a kid, my grandmother would always say to me “chiacchiere, chiacchiere, chiacchiere” -  meaning chatter, chatter, chatter. When you eat ciacchiere, they crackle and crunch as you bite into the fragile, crispy fried pastry making a lot of noise, spreading crumbs all over the place and sprinkling you with confectionary sugar. They are only eaten once a year, preceding Lent. Chiacchiere encourages chain eating.

The Venice Carnevale takes place at the end of February and is the most famous in Europe. Carnevale is celebrated with colorful festivals all over Italy. Masquerade balls, entertainment, music, spectacular papier–mâché floats and of course “dolci traditionali di Carnevale”. This deleciate cookie is also referred to as ”Fritelle de Carnevale”. Chiacchiere is the name used in the region of Lombardy, Cenci in Toscana, Frappe in Emilia, Crostoli in Venezia. They are also called bugle, strappole, crostoli, lattughe to name but a few regional variations.  So what is in a name? It is as important as the recipe and those of us who adore this cookie can easily get into a heated discussion about its origins and its name. But the fun part is resolving it with a glass of white wine and a bowl full of Cenci. Like every Italian family, our recipe came from my grandmother who was born in Avellino, (Campania, Italia). She called them Cenci.

The Carnivale version of this cookie preparation is made of strips of sweet dough cut into various shapes and fried in hot oil. They are dusted with powdered sugar once they are cool. They can be formed into a bow, or tied in a knot or flat pieces of dough fried crispy. Every region, village and family tends to have its own recipe. Some recipes call for Marsala, Grappa or white wine mixed into dough. Some are made with yeast-others not.

Chiacchiere is a tradition at Christmas time in our family and the kids plead to be allowed to help with cutting and creating the bows. I find rolling out the dough with a pasta machine works very well. The dough should be very thin and cut into strips with a pastry cutter. I make a small cut in the middle, take one end and pull it through the hole creating a bow.

Many countries have their version of a fried sweet cookie. In Switzerland they are eaten from December to February-a great excuse to begin making them now.

Enjoy my family recipe, but be careful they are addictive.

Cenci - (Chiacchiere)                                                                                          

Recipe Summary

Prep Time: 1 hour 12 minutes Cook Time: 3 minutes each or until golden Yield: 6 Dozen

Dough

Dry Ingredients

4 cups flour, sifted

1/2 cup confectionary sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

1/4 pound butter

2 tablespoon of Whiskey, Brandy, Sherry or Sweet Marsala wine

4 medium eggs, beaten

FRYING

1 quart oil for frying (Canola oil or peanut oil)

DUSTING

Confectionary sugar

DOUGH

Cream the eggs and butter together. Add the alcohol of your choice and blend. Sift the flour, sugar and salt and slowly add it into the egg mixture. Form the dough and knead until it is smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

ASSEMBLY

Thinly roll out the dough. With a cookie cutter, cut the strips about 3” x 5” long. Make another cut in the center of the strip, about 1”, and pull one end of the dough through the cut forming a bow. 

FRYING

In a deep fryer, place a few cookies at a time in hot oil and fry until they puff up and become golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain or on a cake rack placed over a cookie sheet with a rim. This allows any additional oil to drain out of the cookie.

COATING

Once completely cooled, place a few cookies in a bag filled with confectionary sugar and gently toss them, coating them with the sugar.

STORING

Store in a paper bag. They will get soggy if they are stored in a sealed container.