{"id":255,"date":"2010-01-05T07:38:43","date_gmt":"2010-01-05T11:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=255"},"modified":"2010-01-05T07:38:43","modified_gmt":"2010-01-05T11:38:43","slug":"i-befanini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/i-befanini\/","title":{"rendered":"I Befanini"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time\u00a0in Italy\u00a0children used to receive their Christmas presents on the Epifania <\/strong>(Epiphany – the 6th of January), instead of on Christmas day.\u00a0On the eve of Epifania <\/strong>children would hang a stocking near their bed or\u00a0next to the fireplace, where\u00a0the\u00a0mythical kindly old peasant woman\u00a0known as\u00a0la Befana<\/strong> would fill them with biscuits, oranges, dried fruit and a present. You can read more about this tradition in my blog from last year https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/viva-la-befana\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In a little recipe book entitled Torte e ciambelle dolci e frittelle<\/em><\/strong> by Elda Carlotti,\u00a0a collection of\u00a0traditional cake recipes from the area\u00a0around Lucca, I found this nice recipe for Befanini<\/strong>, <\/strong>written in the form of a\u00a0rhyme. Befanini<\/strong> are the traditional biscuits, shaped like angels, stars, and \u2018befane\u2019<\/strong>,\u00a0which\u00a0are put in the children’s\u00a0stockings for Epifania<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buona sera brava gente<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vi ho portato i Befanini<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

La ricetta abbiate in mente<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Per rifarla ai<\/strong> bamborini*<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dentro un chilo di farina<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Burro e zucchero ci vuole (350 gr),<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poi due uova di gallina<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

E un arancio un*<\/em> ci sta male.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Di limon una grattatina<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gli d\u00e0 aroma e molto gusto,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poi due lieviti in bustina \u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ecco pronto il vostro impasto.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Con formine e mattarello<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Date vita ai Befanini<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

E per far tutto pi\u00f9 bello,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ci van messi anche i chicchini.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c8 ricetta molto antica<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Della nostra Lucchesia<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Non vi costano fatica<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Se\u00a0 li fate in allegria.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Translation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Good evening gentle folk \/ I\u2019ve brought you the Befanini \/ memorize the recipe \/ so that you can make it for your children.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In a kilo of flour \/ you need butter and sugar (350 gr), \/ then two hens\u2019 eggs \/ and an orange wouldn\u2019t be a bad idea.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A few gratings of lemon \/ gives it aroma and a lot of flavor, \/ then two sachets** of baking powder \u2026 \/ that\u2019s your mixture ready.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With pastry cutters and rolling pin \/ bring the Befanini to life \/ and to make\u00a0them more beautiful, \/ you should also add\u00a0 hundreds and thousands (the little multicolored sugary grains used to decorate cakes and cookies).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very old recipe \/ from our Lucca region \/ they are no trouble to make \/ if you do it with cheerfulness.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

** Here in Italy baking powder is sold in individual sachets of 16 grams each.<\/span><\/p>\n

* Bamborini<\/em><\/strong> is Tuscan\u00a0dialect for bambini <\/strong>(children); un<\/em><\/strong> is Tuscan for non <\/strong>(not).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buona Befana a tutti!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time\u00a0in Italy\u00a0children used to receive their Christmas presents on the Epifania (Epiphany – the 6th of January), instead of on Christmas day.\u00a0On the eve of Epifania children would hang a stocking near their bed or\u00a0next to the fireplace, where\u00a0the\u00a0mythical kindly old peasant woman\u00a0known as\u00a0la Befana would fill them with biscuits, oranges, dried…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[685,709,761],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture","tag-epifania","tag-i-befanini","tag-la-befana"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t