Taralla

This is a filled pastry common to Abruzzo and usually made at Christmas.

Filling:
2 cups of bread crumbs
2 cups of grape jelly
2 cups chopped chocolate
2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts are usually used)
1 tsp. orange rind

Crust:
6 cups of flour (in bowl) (may need more flour depending on elasticity of dough
2 cups of oil
1 cup of white wine

After mixing, let set for ½ hour before rolling. Cover dough with bowl on a large cutting board.

Cooking the filling: Melt chocolate in large sauce pan. Add jelly, bread crumbs, nuts and rind. Mix all together while on simmer. Filling should be hard to drop from a spoon. If too thin and runny, add more bread crumbs. Can add a bit of other ingredients for the taste you want. Cool.

Making the cookie: Divide the dough in 4 quarters. Roll dough out thinly in a rectangular form. Place filling along one side but not too close to edge. Put water along edge of dough from left to right. Then bring other side over and press down to seal with watered edge. Using pastry tool that cuts dough (can have curly wheel), cut out extra dough. Seal by using fork along the edge. Remainder of this dough can be rolled out and process repeated until first quarter portion is used. Do the same with other quarter portions. Do not fill so much that cookie will leak through. Many of these “logs” can be cooked on a cookie sheet. Use enough flour on bowl so that dough does not stick.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until light brown. Cut into 2 inch pieces when serving.

Recipe of Josephine DellaPietra, submitted by Rosalyn DellaPietra