Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Calzoncelli Recipe, Chocolate and Chestnut Cookies

Little bites of chocolate and almond heaven, with a mild tip of lemon peel, Calzoncelli are a classic delicacy from Basilicata. The external shell, even if it needs to be as thin as you can make it, nearly transparent, has an essential function in the taste balance, since it is made with olive oil and white wine, ends up being golden and fragile when baked, maintaining a damp filling.
Calzoncelli, normally homemade, will not ever have the exact same size or shape. If put in an airtight container, the excellent factor to make calzoncelli is that they will certainly keep their freshness for weeks.
Calzoncelli are a perfect Christmas gift: you can keep them for weeks in a tin box or in an airtight container that is so best for Christmas.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
500 g dried pears
1 kg fondant chocolate
200 g hazelnuts, toasted
500 g dried chestnuts
6 cups of coffee (made with a percolator)
500 g powdered bitter cocoa
500 g sugar
Half a glass of aromatic liqueur
For the puff pastry:
1 kg flour
A glass of sparkling or sweet wine
300 g sugar
150 g  extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs and 3 egg yolks

Instructions:
1. Boil the dried chestnuts till they have actually softened, let them dry and slice them finely.
2. Boil the dried pears, let them dry and sift up until you acquire a velvety mix.
3. Slice the toasted hazelnuts finely up until you acquire an oily mix.
4. Liquefy the fondant chocolate in a bain-marie.
5. Mix all the components in a really capacious bowl and include the remaining components: the sugar, the liqueur, the coffee and the cocoa.
6. Mix well up until you get a smooth and soft mix.
7. Prepare the calzoncelli puff pastry: sift the flour, put it on a rolling board and make a well in the centre.
8. Include the eggs and the egg yolks and combined with a fork together with the sugar.
9. Include the remaining liquid components and knead till you get a loaf with a smooth consistency.
10. Roll it out and make a thin sheet.
11. Make some disks, put a spoonful of mix in the centre and close well.
12. Fry the calzoncelli in lots of boiling additional virgin olive oil, let them sprinkle and cool with icing sugar or dip one at a time in honey melted in a bain marie.