Cartelleta Cookies

As you know Christmas is just around the corner. Well to me 
it is. And there is nothing better than fried dough tocommemorate that. So I dug out this recipe from another cookbook of mine that was sent to us by Food and Wine, okay not so much as sent to us but we bought it. And this dessert 
really stood out to me because

a) It's Fried Dough

and b) It's Fried Dough!!!

It's actual name is called Cartellate, and it's a famous dessert in Puglia, Italy where thousands of these cookies are pumped out around Christmas Time. You now what makes them even more special is that they are made with wine. Yup for all of you minors out there this is clever way to get drunk for the season tidings. I'm just kidding, seriously the wine in the dough will be cooked out when we fry them. But you could dip your finger in the bowl when no ones watching, it won't hurt anyone.

These delicious fried morsels are traditionally drizzled with honey but what's fun about that? At Chow-fectionary Creations we want you to be courageous, and try new things. So being a victim of my own words I decided to sprinkle mine with grapefruit zest, and powdered sugar. They were delicious, but feel free to make yours the way you like them. Here's it goes.

You're going to need:

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dry white wine, warmed

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Vegetable oil, for frying

The Zest of a Grapefruit & Powdered Sugar for dusting-just a suggestion

The Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar and salt. Make a well in the center and pour the wine and olive oil and stir, gradually incorporating the dry ingredients until a dough forms. Knead lightly until it is smooth-for those of you that aren't familiar with kneading all you do is press with the heel of your palm on the dough while pushing forward.  Do this repeatedly turning 45 degrees after every knead.By kneading the dough you are developing the glutens in the flour, making your end product chewy and delicious. Cut in half and let it rest for thirty minutes at room temperature. 

Now you need to roll out one of the disk. A tip, really more of a mandatory step; dust your work surface with flour before you start rock and rolling because the last thing you need on Christmas is all your dough stuck on the table. Cut the dough into 12 inch strips, 1/8 of an inch thick and half an inch wide. Wrap each strip around itself, (see picture for visual help). Now probably the most important step in making Cartellate, you have to let the coils dry overnight. This allows the surface of the dough to dry, so you

a) don't have a burning inferno of oil and dough blow up in your face

and b) have a deliciously fried exterior with an even, golden brown finish

We're really rockin' the lists today aren't we. Fry these suckers up the day you want to serve them, or the day before. It's important that you let these drain on paper towels before dusting them because the excess oil will clump, and it won't be very appetising with all the oil anyways. Now all you need to do is season with whatever flavorings you want, and impress your guests. Merry Christmas.

And as always,

Chow!