For dough
200 gr chestnut flour
300 gr white flour
6 tablespoons of olive oil
3 eggs
70 gr sugar
a pinch of salt

For dusting
30 gr sugar

Water for boiling taralli
Olive oil for greasing baking pan

o Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.

o Sift together the two types of flour, then mix them with the eggs, 70g of sugar, a pinch of salt and 6 tablespoons of olive oil.

o Form thin pencil-like cords of dough -- 10 cm long; shape into a ring so that the ends overlap slightly.

o Boil a large pot of water.

o Place the taralli a few at a time in the boiling pot of water; remove when they rise to the surface.

o At this point transfer the boiled taralli on a greased baking pan.

o Bake until they are golden brown -- about 20 minutes.

o Remove the taralli and sprinkle with sugar.

o Cool on a wire rack. The taralli are kept for long ina tin or in a cloth bag.

A visitor to the site, Maria Rosa, noticed this regional Molisani recipe on a number of Italian cooking sites, including www.donnamoderna.com. The original source for this recipe was given as:: "La cucina regionale Italiana del 2008...." P.S. The lady who took the photograph and made the taralli shown in this entry (Mary Melfi) was surprised to learn that "traditional" Molisani cuisine includes taralli made with chestnut flour. Generally speaking, chestnut flour is associated with the cuisine of Northern Italy, in particular, Tuscany. Possibly, this style of taralli began popular in Molise post World War II and now has become a regular part of its cookery?????? All this North American home cook is certain of is that her own mother who was born in Molise and lived there till her 1957, never made use of chestnut flour. In any case the taralli made with this recipe are not any better than those made solely with white flour. In fact, they are a lot less appetizing, despite the fact that they are more expensive to make, as chestnut flour in this part of the known world (Montreal, Quebec) is priced to the hilt in the few shops that sell it.

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