What are Calabrese Chinulille? They are baked stuffed dough filled with nuts, raisins, cocoa, jam, and liquor. They look like baked ravioli and are sometimes spelled differently depending on the region like Chinullile, Chinulidde, chinuliddri, chinuliddre and the list goes on.
If you like Italian cookies, try my other cookie recipes inspired by tradition like Savoiardi Lady Finger Biscuits, Calabrese Scalille, Italian Orange Cookies or Nonna's Italian S Cookies.
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Chinulille are usually made around Christmas time, but they can be made any time of the year because the ingredients can be sourced at your local super market.
At Christmas our family also enjoys recipes like Anchovy Pasta, Calabrian Crispelle with Anchovies and Sicilian Baked Lolli or Cavatelli.
Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- Taste - the filling is so delicious that adults and kids will enjoy it
- Versatile - you can change the filling to suit your needs
- Portion - small portions make this cookie perfect as a snack or party dessert
- Take Away - perfect for traditional parties like baby or bridal showers
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Ingredients Needed
These Calabrese Chinulille cookies are filled with walnuts, almonds, raisings, blueberry jam, orange zest, cocoa, liquor, cinnamon, and ground clove.
The dough is made from eggs, sugar, lemon, rum, vegetable oil, flour and Lieveto Bertolini.
How to Make My Mom's Calabrese Chinulille
Soak raisins in the liquor for 30 minutes. Do not discard liquor.
Using a spatula or hands, mix together until you get a paste like mixture.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix eggs and sugar until well beaten. Add lemon zest and oil and continue to beat until well incorporated.
Start adding flour a little at a time. until the dough reaches a consistency that can be rolled out to a surface.
Start placing dollops of filling about 3" from the bottom of the dough. As you place the dollops in a row, leave about 2 inches horizontally between each filling.
Take a glass, a cookie cutter or a knife and cut around the filling creating a cookie that looks like a half moon.
Use a fork to press along the edge of the seam to prevent the filling from coming out as it bakes.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven once hard to touch and let cool completely before icing.
Storage: Store Chinulille in an airtight container in a cool area.
These cookies can also be frozen before icing. Remove from freezer and thaw out in refrigerator overnight, then ice as per usual.
Top Tips
Use a glass with the diameter of 2.5 inches to cut uniform half moon shapes.
Use a fork to seal the edges around the perimeter of the dough so that they do not open during the baking process. The cookies may open up a little during the cooking process but once cooled they will close again.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ideas for substitutions and variations:
- Oil - instead of using vegetable oil, use melted crisco
- Filling - in some regions, they fill these cookies with a fig jam
- Anisette - substitute anisette liquor for the water in the icing
- Powdered Sugar - substitute powdered sugar in place of icing
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. I'd love to know how you substituted ingredients to fit your dietary needs. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
They are baked stuffed dough filled with nuts, raisins, cocoa, jam, and liquor. They look like baked ravioli and are sometimes spelled differently depending on the region like Chinullile, Chinulidde, chinuliddri, chinuliddre and the list goes on.
No. Chinulille are baked ravioli shaped pastry with a filling while Turdilli are fried and glazed with honey over the stove top.
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Recipe Details
Mom's Calabrese Chinullile
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caIngredients
Filling
Dough
- 4 eggs
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 grated lemon lemon zest only
- 1 oz rum or any liquor
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2½ cups flour more or less
- .56 oz Bustina Lieveto Bertolini 16 g package
Icing
Instructions
Filling
- Soak raisins in the liquor for 30 minutes. Do not discard liquor.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl including the raisins and liquor. Using a spatula or hands, mix together until you get a paste like mixture.
Dough
- Preheat oven to 325℉ and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix eggs and sugar until well beaten. Add lemon zest and oil and continue to beat until well incorporated.
- Start adding flour a little at a time. Add Bertolini levoning agent. Continue to add flour until the dough reaches a consistency that can be rolled out to a surface.
- Continue to knead dough and roll out to ¼" thickness. Start placing dollops of filling about 3" from the bottom of the dough. As you place the dollops in a row, leave about 2 inches horizontally between each filling.
- Take a glass, a cookie cutter or a knife and cut around the filling creating a cookie that looks like a half moon. Use a fork to press along the edge of the seam to prevent the filling from coming out as it bakes.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven once hard to touch (no need to let bake until golden) and let cool completely before icing.
Icing
- Add a tsp of water to the icing sugar at a time until you get a thick paste that you can spread on the cookie. Immediately pour a few sprinkles on top and let dry on a baking sheet or cooling rack.
- Let dry for about 12 hours before storing in an airtight container lined with a paper towel.
Video
Notes
Top Tips
Use a glass with the diameter of 2.5 inches to cut uniform half moon shapes. Use a fork to seal the edges around the perimeter of the dough so that they do not open during the baking process. The cookies may open up a little during the cooking process but once cooled they will close again.Nutrition
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Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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