Chick pea and chocolate filled fried ravioli cookies. For being inventive, this dish earns bonus points!
| Prep Time: | 40 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 36 |
| Yield: | 36 cookies |
Ingredients
- 4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
- 1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
- 2 cups shortening for frying
- 1 cup garbanzo beans, drained and pureed
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup pureed dates
- ¾ cup ground walnuts
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup melted shortening
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Melt semisweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. Heat the 2 cups shortening in a large, heavy skillet or deep fryer.
- In a small bowl, stir together the pureed garbanzo beans, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the dates and nuts. Blend with the cooled chocolate. Chill while you make the dough.
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. Stir in the 1/4 cup melted shortening. Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt, and fold into the egg mixture. Add extra flour if necessary to make the dough easy to handle.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch circles using a cookie cutter or a large drinking glass. Place 1 teaspoon of the chocolate filling mixture onto the center of each cookie, fold over into a half circle, and pinch to seal.
- Fry cookies in 1 1/2 inches of hot oil, turning once. Cookies should be light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Refrigerate when cool. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount may vary depending on cook time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 134 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 16 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 42 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Saw this photograph, checked out the recipe & got excited. Reminded me of baking with my mom, something she called cavalcione. They are a regional specialty from the Molise region in Italy. I recall challenges with getting the edges adhering to keep the filling in. Dough was thicker, & chocolate filling denser, so overall process was frustrating. So with similar ingredients, I wanted to see if I could find an easier recipe for making “cavalcione”. So dough is much easier to work with, I was easier to getter thinner than 1/8 of inch. So I had a lot excess dough. (A few pieces of cut out dough were fried on their own. These taste good, fried, with a little confectioner’s sugar. Filling looked different, but it was easier to work with. Three 3 inch circles made these very dainty looking. I used a fork to keep edges together, a bit of moisture needed as the dough dried out a bit. I could never roll over the dough edges like mom. The end result, small, light &.tasty. Must say, the one thing I don’t care for, is the overpowering cinnamon flavor. It remains potent after you’ve finished with eating the cookie. Next time, if I undertake the project, ( and get some assistance, solo was tough), I’d only use 1/8 tsp cinnamon or perhaps a small amount of another seasoning, such nutmeg. Not thought out that far. I also ended up with at least twice as many cookies, if not more. Apparently quite a few were ingested as I was cooking. So, some family members don’t have an issue wi
We made this too. We called the caggianetti and our recipe is a little different. We used ground chestnuts and “must” from the new wine in the filling (instead of ground walnuts) and we put white wine in the dough. The recipes must be regional in Italy though. Almost impossible to find it in a published cookbook.
The beans and dates needed to be a little better pureed and i am definitely going to make this again! All of my friends loved them and they are such a hard crowd you have no idea. So hard to please and you shared this amazing recipe, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
don’t know what went wrong but I had way more filling that I had dough. the dough was dry and then mine opened up when frying. I sealed with a fork like my mom used to do but they still opened up. but I must say they were very tasty. if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. the filling I would give 5 stars
Thank you so much for this recipe! Years ago the lovely Italian ladies of my ex’s family made many wonderful cookies, and this was one of them. I had the recipe but couldn’t find it, and this recipe is the closest to the version these fabulous ladies made! I have to try to make the cookie part gluten free now, but I have the recipe! I feel absolutely VICTORIOUS!! LOL
It’s a miracle! I’ve been looking for this recipe for at least 25 years my Mom made these but she never had a complete recipe since it was passed down to her. They would make these also for her name day, St. Joesph Day since my Mom’s name was Josephine. I feel like I found a long lost tresure! I’m very proud of my Italian heritage which my Mom instilled in me; “Here’s to you Mom, I know your still with me!! I’d give this recipe a 5 Star!!!
Great recipe…my dad the baker used to make these in the bakery at Christmas time.He used riccotta cheese and dates or figs for the filling.Try it,you will love this version.
This recipe brought back memories! These were my Grandma’s Christmas specialty. They used boiled chopped chestnuts instead of garbanzos. They also drizzled honey over them instead of sugar. They definately are an acquired taste. For some reason we called them “pants”
My Italian Aunt made these but we called them Cajunitas. The filling was made of chick peas, raisins, figs, almonds, and honey. My Aunt would shred a little chocolate in the filling, but I don’t. My family loves these for Christmas. Your filling seems a little sweeter! thanks for the recipie!!
These are so good and I am thankful to have found the recipe! Now my batter had to be doubled bc I had a lot more filling than batter but this was an easy fix, my family loved them and nobody even knew there were beans in them!
This special reciepe was one of the hits of my “Tastee” party where my guests could taste my Gourmet Canning and Handmade Ravioli’s. Perfect ending for the ultimate tastes!
Omg this is almost the very same receipe that my grandma and mom used to make! My family keeps bugging me to carry on the trandition and make them maybe I will try 🙂
My Nana used to make these during the Christmas and Easter holidays. We used to call them “cecilottala”. The only difference in Nana’s recipe was that she would use ground chestnuts and honey in the paste instead of the walnuts and dates. In fact, I just had some the other day…went to heaven. Thanks so much! Boun Natale e Boun Anno Nuovo!
Our favorite traditional cookie at christmas! Sprinkled w/ granular sugar. THX
This recipe came over from Italy. My grandmother used to make these every year at Christmas. She used poppy seeds and figs. We couldn’t wait for the chocolate ravioli’s. No one had the recipe and when I found this one and tried it, it brought back wonderful memories of grandma….
This can be made with all semisweet chocolate. I baked them at 375 for 10 minutes, then rolled them in powdered sugar. The filling is wonderful, the dough isn’t too sweet, and the combination is delicious!
This was a good dish. The children loved it as well as the hubby!! Thanks!
My family had made these when I was young, but lost the recipe. This seems close! We called them “caljunes” or “caljunettis.”
Thank-you so much for this recipe!! My grandmother used to make these, but I never paid attention. I have been searching for this recipe for years and it is like hers, except she added roasted, chopped almonds, and fresh dark grapes cooked down, no dates. Very nice cookie. Thank-you.
This is almost the same recipe my grandmother used. Never saw another recipe using chick peas! I enjoyed the cookies.