Faschingsgebäck from Italy, Chiacchere

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 60 g sugar
• 1 vanilla bean (pulp)
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest (unprocessed)
• 20 ml Grappa
• 50 g butter
• 350 g flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 750 g clarified butter (for frying)
• flour (for work surface)
• powdered sugar (for dusting)
• 1 lemon (juice)
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla pulp until very fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest, Grappa, and salt. Melt the butter. Mix flour with salt, mound on the work surface, and create a well. Pour the melted, slightly cooled butter and the fluffy egg mixture into the center and knead everything into a smooth dough.

2. 2.

   Heat the clarified butter in a pot (it is hot enough when bubbles rise from a spoon handle). Dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the dough very thinly. Cut into diamond shapes using a pastry cutter (edge length ~4 cm). Fry the dough pieces in batches in the hot clarified butter for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper.

3. 3.

   Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or cold.