Baked Carnival sweets
( Dolci di Carnevale al forno )

Recipe for Carnival baked sweets

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare sweet dough.
  Put flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl or on a pastry board.
  Stir to blend.
  Make a well and then add egg, vanilla powder, olive oil and milk.
  Mix all ingredients with a fork or your fingertips, gradually.
  You'll sometimes have to add further flour, if your dough is very sticky.
  Knead your dough until smooth and elastic.
• - Halve your dough.
• - Prepare sweet ravioli.
  Roll out the first dough on a lightly floured surface, beginning from the center, to a thickness of 0.3cm (1/8in). Use a long pasta rolling pin.
  Then cut your dough. You coud use a glass or a round cutter.
  Drop 1 teaspoon of jam on every pasta disc.
  Cover it with another pasta disc and press them together with a fork or with your fingers, dipped sparingly in water.
  Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
  Line the bottom of a baking pan with waxed paper.
  Arrange your sweets on the baking pan.
  Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
• - Work the second dough.
  Add Italian liqueur and some of remaining flour, kneading until smooth and elastic.
  Flour your work surface and roll out your dough to a thickness of 0.3cm (1/8in).
  Then cut it into strips.
  Make some little cuts in these strips.
  You can knot some strips too.
  Arrange your sweets on a baking pan, lined with waxed paper.
  Bake until well golden, about 5 minutes.

Just before serving

• - Sprinkle your baked sweets with icing sugars, if you want.

Note

Tips

• - You can prepare these sweets in advance.
• - Substitute liqueur with orange juice for your children

Menu planning

• - These cakes are great for a Carnival party for kids. They are digestible for they're not fried and therefore particularly suitable for children. But you can also serve them, appropriately dosed, for breakfast.
• - If you are planning a children's party at Carnival, combine these no-fried sweets together with mini sweet rolls stuffed with prosciutto and cotto ham, pizza cut into small slices, focaccia in tidbits, fruit tarts (orange and chocolate tart would be perfect for its color).
  Avoid sweets with dyes and prefer always natural ingredients. Our children deserve special attention and must be taught to eat well on all occasions.

Useful links for this recipe

• - Want to read recipe for sweet ravioli, Italy-style? You can read directions to make dough and then choose how to cook them. Do you prefer frying or baking?

Healthy eating

• - I invite you to check their nutrition facts. It is true that these sweets Carnival are not fried but surely, as it happens every time we tell about desserts, calories and sugars are not very low.
  Sugars are half the recommended dose. So pay attention to portions. If you decrease the suggested portion these no-fried sweets are a solution for a snack or breakfast during Carnival in addition to being served during a party.
• - Besides these cakes are not rich in fat because I didn't use butter.

Loretta