The iconic carnival cookies in Italy! This Chiacchiere (Angel Wings) recipe goes by different names in different parts of Italy: frappe, bugie, crostoli, angel wings. Whatever you call them, we can all agree that these fried cookies are delicious. Crispy, delicate and flaky… Chiacchiere ribbon cookies will melt in your mouth when prepared properly.
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Learn how to make this Italian Chiacchiere recipe with our video recipe, filmed in Italy:
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How to Make Chiacchiere (Angel Wings) Italian Cookies
Make the Pasta
Chiacchiere cookies can be flavored in many different ways, usually with some citrus zest and some type of liquor. Our chiacchiere recipe flavors the pasta dough with a hint of orange and grappa. You can use rum or marsala in place of the grappa.
Making Chiacchiere Italian cookie dough is just like making pasta dough! Combine the flour, salt, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Add room temperature butter and mix it in with your hands. Whisk in the eggs with a fork.
Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until the pasta dough is shaggy. Then add the liquor. Add just enough liquor to allow your shaggy pasta dough to form a ball that isn’t sticky.
Knead the pasta dough until it is smooth and elastic. How to tell? When you gently push in on the finished dough, it should spring back! Then, cover it and let the cookie dough rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch the Pasta
Use a pasta roller to stretch the pasta very thin! Work with 1/5 of the dough at a time— about 100 g. Keep the rest of the dough covered until you are ready to use it.
Flatten the piece of dough into a rough rectangle. Pass it through the widest setting on your pasta roller. Fold the dough in half and pass it through again (widest setting still).
Fold the dough into an envelope and pass it through (short side) one last time at the widest setting.
With each pass, reduce the pasta roller width. When the dough is too long to handle, cut it in half. Finish both pieces of pasta, rolling as thin as your machine allows. The finished pasta dough should be thin enough to see your hand through.
Pasta Roller Recommendations
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We often get asked what pasta roller brands we recommend. We’ve have great success with two brands: Imperia and KitchenAid. We’ll share our thoughts along with links to the products below
Imperia Hand Crank Pasta Roller
Last time we checked, Amazon appeared to be out of stock for the Imperia pasta rollers. This is actually a brand sold in Italy and trusted by our Italian Grandmas 🙂 In fact, it’s the brand we used to stretch the pasta dough in our video recipe. If you want to browse, here’s an example of a hand crank pasta roller [affiliate link] similar to the one we’ve used.
Pros? Price. Hand crank pasta rollers are about half the price of an electric powered model. It will do the basics, and it’s probably good enough if you don’t make pasta that often.
Cons? Hand crank models can become annoying when you are stretching a lot of dough at a time. You have to use your hand to turn the roller and sometimes the handle pops out as you do this. Also, these models stretch the pasta horizontally, making long sheets of pasta harder to manage. You can’t go as fast because… hand crank 🙂
KitchenAid Pasta Roller – Set of 3 [affiliate link]
This basic pasta roller set will fit any KitchenAid stand Mixer. The powerful engine from the stand mixer is used to operate the pasta roller— no hand cranking!
The set comes with all the basics you need in our opinion: a pasta sheet roller (what you need for this chiacchiere recipe), a fettucine/tagliatelle pasta cutter and a spaghetti cutter.
Pros? It’s very ergonomic. Nothing is easier than letting a machine stretch the pasta, and you can use the stand mixer speed to set the speed that the pasta passes through the roller. Since the pasta comes out vertically, it’s easier to handle in our opinion.
Cons? You need a KitchenAid stand mixer to use it. It’s more expensive than many basic hand crank models.
Cut the Italian Cookies
There are many ways to cut the chiacchiere cookie dough after you’ve stretched it. Check out the video recipe above (or below) for more advanced shapes.
To make simple rectangle chiacchiere (ribbons), clean up the edges with a jagged edge pastry/ravioli cutter [affiliate link]. You can also use a regular pizza cutter, however the jagged edge cutters produce a more festive chiacchiere cookie!
Then, cut each stretched sheet of pasta dough in half lengthwise. After that, cut cookies out vertically. Cut the cookies out 2x long as wide. Make a lengthwise slit in the middle of each cookie.
Too much math? 🙂 Just check out the photos.
The slits aren’t just decorative—they help prevent the cookies from curling in the oil!
Fry the Chiacchiere
Fry these Italian cookies in a large pan (wok type) filled with oil. We recommend using safflower oil. Heat the oil to 338° F (170° C). Drop the chiacchiere flat into the oil and fry 20 seconds a side or until golden! Spoon hot oil over the cookies as they fry for an even color.
Transfer the fried cookies to absorbent paper or paper towels to await decorating!
Decorate the Chiacchiere
There are so many ways to decorate frappe or chiacchiere! The most traditional in Italy is also the easiest: powdered sugar!
Check out our video recipe for other decorating ideas.
Chiacchiere Recipe Tips
Use a pasta roller!
These deep fried cookies are made just like pasta! In fact, here we used an Imperia pasta machine to stretch the dough.
Your dough should be thin enough to see the shape of your hand through the pasta. Thin, well-made dough will create those beautiful flaky when you fry.
Don’t have grappa?
Use rum or marsala, both of which nicely compliment the orange zest.
Discover Classic Italian Desserts
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Chiacchiere Recipe – Carnival Cookies!
Equipment
- Rolling Pin or Pasta Machine
- Knife or Pastry/ Ravioli / Pizza Cutter
- Large Pan for Frying
Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH (PASTA)
- 2 ½ cup flour all-purpose or '00'
- fine salt pinch
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- orange zest from one
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp grappa or rum, marsala wine
FOR FRYING
- canola oil as needed
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 4 oz white chocolate
- 1 tsp olive oil
- red liquor Alchermes – as needed
- sugar sprinkles as needed
Instructions
MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH (PASTA)
- Combine the flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and orange zest in a large bowl. Give it a quick mix.2 ½ cup flour, fine salt, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, orange zest
- Use your hands to distribute the room temperature butter into the flour mix.2 tbsp butter
- Beat in the eggs with a fork until the dough is shaggy.2 eggs
- Add liquor or wine to the dough until you can form a ball with the dough. Add a little at a time. Add less or more if needed. The dough should not be sticky.3 tbsp grappa
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. When you gently press it with a finger, the dough should spring back.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
STRETCH THE DOUGH
- Cut 1/5 of the dough off the dough ball. We want to work with just 1/5 of the dough at a time (about 100 g). Keep the dough you are not yet stretching covered to prevent it from drying out.
- For each piece of dough, flatten the dough into a rough rectangle. Pass the dough through the pasta roller at the widest setting. Fold the dough in half, pass it through again at the widest setting. Fold the dough into an envelope and pass it through again one last time.
- Pass the piece of dough through the pasta roller several times, reducing the pasta roller width one setting with each pass.
- Stretch the pasta as thin as your pasta roller allows. You should be able to see the shape of your hand through the dough.
- If the pasta dough gets too long to manage, cut it in half. Then continue stretching each sheet of dough.
CUT THE CHIACCHIERE COOKIES
- Immediately cut and shape the cookies while the pasta is still flexible. Check out our video recipe to see all of the possible cookie shapes!
- For ribbon shapes, clean up the edges of the sheet of pasta with a pastry cutter. Then, cut the sheet of pasta in half lengthwise.
- Finally, cut the pasta vertically to create cookies 2x long as wide.
- Make a slit in the center of each cookie.
- Transfer the cookies to parchment paper to await frying. Never stack the cookies.
FINISH MAKING AND CUTTING COOKIES
- Finish stretching and cutting all of the cookies as described above.
FRY THE COOKIES
- Fill a large wok-like pan with oil for frying.canola oil
- Heat the oil to 338° F (170° C).
- Drop the chiacchiere flat into the oil and fry 20 seconds a side or until golden! Spoon hot oil over the cookies as they fry for an even color.
- Transfer the fried cookies to paper towels or absorbent paper to await decorating.
DECORATE THE CHIACCHIERE
- Decorate the cookies using one of the following:
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cookies or..4 tbsp powdered sugar
- Dip the edges into a melted white chocolate and sprinkle decorate sugar sprinkles over the hot chocolate. Or…4 oz white chocolate, 1 tsp olive oil, sugar sprinkles
- Flick red liquor (Alchermes) over the cookies, then top with powdered sugar. Or…red liquor
- Or, drizzle melted white or dark chocolate over the cookies in a chaotic fashion.
Video
Notes
Optional Toppings
- Powdered Sugar
- White Chocolate with Sprinkles
- Drizzled Chocolate
- Alchermes Liquor + Powdered Sugar
