These appetising little sweets are typically made at Carnival.  Depending on the region in Italy, they go by many names, such as Arancini, Limoncini, or Chiacchiere. At our house we’ve always  called them Arancini! If you want sweets that will fill your house with their delicious smell, and add flavour to Carnival time, follow Mom Gabri’s recipe step by step.

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups milk
50 g softened butter
50 g brewer’s yeast cubes
4 untreated oranges
1 untreated lemon
circa 500 g 00 flour or Manitoba flour
2 cups sugar
1 packet powered vanilla
peanut oil for deep-frying

Preparation

1. First dissolve the yeast in the tepid milk.

2. Next, make a well in the centre of the flour and 1 cup of sugar. Add the milk and yeast mixture once yeast is dissolved, then the eggs, butter, and last, the vanilla. The amount of flour is approximative so use your own judgement! The mixture for the dough  is ready when  homogenous and smooth. Now put into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. It should rise to double the original volume. This will normally  take from 2 to 3 hours.

3. While the dough is rising, mix together the remaining cup of sugar with the grated orange  and lemon peel in a small bowl.

4. Once the dough has risen, roll into a thin rectangle and spread with the mixture of grated peel and sugar.

5. Tightly roll up the pastry dough into a single roll and cut up into rounds, each  about 1 cm wide.

6. When the oil is hot enough, fry the arancini until golden brown.

HAPPY CARNIVAL AND… BUON APPETITO!