Italian Cenci Cookies Recipes

ITALIAN CENCI COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar and salt until frothy. Stir in vanilla. Sift flour with baking powder; gradually add to batter. Add butter and mix well. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each half as thin as possible (noodle thickness). Cut into 5-in. x 1-in. strips with a knife or scalloped pastry wheel. , Preheat oil to 375°; fry cookies until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Cookies are best served the same day.

ITALIAN BOW TIE COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat all wet ingredients, eggs, butter, wine, and vanilla in a bowl until creamy.
• Add flour, baking powder until dough is the right consistency to roll out.
• Roll out on floured board, as thin as possible., try not to over flour the board as they will get dry and tougher, (just lightly floured).
• Cut into a strip using a pastry cutter and tie in bows or twist like a ribbon, (a cutter with fluted edges works well and looks prettier)
• Fry in around 3 inches of oil or deep fryer on medium heat, until golden brown, drain on a dish lined with paper towels.
• These should be light and golden not dark and they also float to the top, they take around 1 or 2 minutes on each side.
• Cool sprinkle with powdered sugar

FRAPPE OR CIOFFE: BOWS AND RIBBONS OF FRIED SWEETENED DOUGH

Steps:

• Using a stand mixer, place eggs, sugar, salt, and whisky in a large bowl and mix for two minutes or so (if making by hand, combine the ingredients, and stir well with a wooden spoon.)
• Add one cup (in UK, just use a regular cup-no need to measure) of flour and mix well.
• Add the remaining flour and mix until a slightly sticky dough forms.
• With hands, shape dough into a ball and refrigerate, covered, for about an hour.
• Remove from fridge and cut dough in half and roll out one piece very thinly, on floured workspace.
• Dough will be elastic, but re-roll it if it gets too thick. Using a knife or cutter to cut into strips. Use a pasta rolling machine if you have one.
• Cut a strip: no size is right or wrong, but about 6 or 7 inches is a good size. Make a little cut towards one end. Now place the opposite end through that slit, and pull through to make a ribbon shape. Repeat, until all of dough is used.
• Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pot or deep fryer (I use a wok) until hot. Before dropping the pastry in the oil, pull and stretch each one, so that it is thinner (as they shrink after being shaped) then begin frying the pastries until puffed and light brown on each side.
• Remove with strainer and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.
• When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar (or decorate with icing, or honey.)

ITALIAN BOWKNOT COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Cut in the butter until well-blended. Stir in the eggs and mix thoroughly.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until dough is elastic. Let dough rest for 1 hour.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Divide dough into 4 parts, keeping each piece covered until ready to use. Roll each piece into a thin rectangle, about 8x10 inches. Cut dough into strips about 8 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Tie each strip into loose knot.
• Fry cookies in hot oil 3 to 4 at a time, until golden brown. Transfer cookies to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain well and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and honey, if desired. Serve hot or cold. Store any uneaten cookies in an airtight container (see Editor's Note).

CENCI--ITALIAN BOW TIES

Steps:

• Make a fairly stiff dough with these ingredients, kneading it thoroughly, and adding more flour if it comes out too soft. Flour it and let it rest, covered, for about an hour.
• Then roll it out into an eighth-of-an-inch-thick sheet, and use a serrated pastry wheel to cut it into strips 4 inches long and two and one half inches wide. Make a cut down the middle of each cencio (so as to obtain two strips joined at the ends), twist the side strips without breaking them,
• Fry them in hot oil or lard, and dust them with confectioners sugar when they're cool. This recipe is sufficient to make a platterful. Should the dough have formed a crust while it sat, knead it again before you roll it out.
• My Mom also drizzles honey before the confectioners sugar.

CENCI (FRIED DOUGH BOWS WITH CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Roll thin with a rolling pin into a rectangle 8-inches long. Cut into strips approximately 1-inch by 8-inches. Twist the pieces softly and tie into a loose bow. Deep fry in oil until golden. Remove from the oil and sprinkle heavily with confectioner's sugar.