For recipe see Italy Revisited -- "FRITTERS." P.S. Spellings for this recipe vary. In Molise the fritter is known as "screppelle," and in dialect as "scr'pell'" and/or "scr'pell' natalizie" -- Christmas "screppelle"; in North America, it is sometimes spelled as "scrippelle"; other spellings include: "scrapelle," "scrapelli," "scrappelles," "scrippelles," and "screppelli." Please note that while these words generally refer to long columns of fried dough in the region of Molise, in other parts of Italy they may describe other types of dishes. In Abruzzo, the word, "scrippelle," refers to Italian-style crepes. For recipes for Abruzzi-style "SCRIPPELLE" see "X Italian Soups" and "X Italian Pasta Dishes."

In Casacalenda "screppelle" are generally done for the Feast Day of Saint Joseph, though some households also do them for Christmas. In Santa Croce di Magliamo the "scrapelle" are part of the traditional Christmas Day meal, though some devotees of San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph) also do them on March 19th, his feast day. The "screppelle" made in Santa Croce di Magliamo are much longer in length (can be anywhere from 26 inches to 30 inches) than those done in Casacalenda. Of course, one needs a very big frying pan in order to make the "screppelle" this long. As in Casacalenda the "screppelle" are served in Santa Croce di Magliamo with a bowl of sugar for communal dipping.

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