Confetti and Streamers
- Vegetarian
- Energy Kcal 525
- Carbohydrates g 62.3
- of which sugars g 14.7
- Protein g 10.1
- Fats g 25.2
- of which saturated fat g 6.89
- Fiber g 1.7
- Cholesterol mg 89
- Sodium mg 285
- Difficulty: Average
- Prep time: 60 min
- Cook time: 20 min
- Serving: 8
- Cost: Low
- Note + 30 minutes of dough resting
PRESENTATION
Confetti and streamers are totally essential to Italian Carnevale. But get this—they’re not just for tossing in the air. You can eat them! These sweet, spiral-shaped pastries pop up all over Italy during Carnival. Inspired by actual confetti and streamers—the ones used for party decorations—they’re like a fun treat version. The dough? Yeah, it's from the same tradition as "chiacchiere," a classic Italian fried snack. But here’s where it gets exciting: it is split and colored into all sorts of wild, crazy hues. Seriously good. You’ll end up with a plate full of tender bites, all swirled up like a big street party. And then a light dusting of powdered sugar gives them just the right amount of sweet. But it never hides those bright, happy colors. Kids love these, but honestly, anyone who likes a crispy snack will be all over them.
During Carnevale, tables are packed with all kinds of party supplies and event decorations. But these pastries? They’re the ones that steal the show. In some regions, you might see a few variations—maybe different shapes or rainbow stripes running through the dough—but it’s all about that festive, playful spirit. And look, there's nothing super fancy about them, just a really golden, cheerful vibe. Think parades, music and tons of laughter. Walking by a Carnevale buffet, you'll notice these edible confetti cannons disappearing fast—especially with a bunch of kids around. The powdered sugar adds a little moist finish—making every bite feel like a bite of the party itself. Pretty simple. People grab these by the handful, munching between games or while checking out all the festive decor. It’s a tradition that brings everything together—turning regular snacks into something really, really worth celebrating.
INGREDIENTS
- Ingredients for the Dough
- Sugar 6 ½ tbsp (80 g)
- Type 00 flour 4.17 cups (500 g)
- Butter 3 tbsp (40 g) - at room temperature
- Eggs 3 - medium
- Grappa 1 oz (30 ml)
- Whole milk 2 tbsp (30 ml)
- Fine salt to taste
- Lemon peel 1
- Food coloring to taste
- Egg whites 1 - for brushing
- Vanilla bean 1
- For Frying and Dusting
- Powdered sugar to taste
- Peanut seed oil to taste
How to prepare Confetti and Streamers
To prepare the confetti and streamers, start by making the basic dough: in a bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, at medium speed) pour in the all-purpose flour, make a well in the center and add the sugar 1, then the grated zest of an untreated lemon, the vanilla extract, and the salt 2. Also add the softened butter at room temperature 3 then crack the eggs into another bowl,
add them to the other ingredients 4. Finally, add the brandy or rum if preferred, which will serve to flavor the dough, and the milk (5-6). The alcohol will completely evaporate during cooking, so there is no danger for children, but if you still want to avoid using alcohol, flavor the confetti and streamers with a vial of rum flavoring.
Knead everything with your hands 7, until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous and compact mixture 8 that you will cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a cool place (but not in the refrigerator) for at least 30 minutes 9.
After this time, divide the dough into equal parts 10, one for each shade you want to give your treats: we used 4 different colors, yellow, blue, red, and green, but you can choose whichever you prefer! Add a drop of food coloring to the center of each piece of dough 11. For best results, we recommend using gel food coloring. ATTENTION: always use disposable latex gloves during these operations to avoid staining your hands; change gloves for each piece of dough to avoid mixing colors. Knead one piece at a time to incorporate the color: if you are not satisfied with the shade, add more coloring until you achieve the desired intensity 12. While you proceed with coloring one piece, always remember to cover the remaining dough with plastic wrap, otherwise, it will dry out and become too dry.
Don't worry if the color of the dough appears streaky rather than uniform because, after processing with the pasta machine, it will be perfectly homogeneous. Divide the colored dough piece into two parts: from one we will make streamers, from the other the confetti 13. Now equip yourself with a pasta machine and start working with the first piece of colored dough to make the streamers (remember to wrap the other in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out): pass the dough through the rollers starting from the widest thickness 14 until reaching the narrowest at 1 mm 15. You will see that the color of your dough will have become well uniform.
When you have obtained the sheet with a thickness of 1 mm, dust it a little with flour 16 and pass it through the wide notched rollers, the ones used for tagliatelle: you should obtain long strips (17-18). To shape the streamers, you will need metal cylinders, the ones usually used to form cannoli, a brush, and an egg white to brush.
Wrap a strip of dough around the cylinder, brush the first turn of dough with egg white, and wrap another turn of strip on top. In this way, you will secure your streamer well 19, but be careful not to brush the cylinder with egg white, otherwise, the streamers will not detach from the dough. Wrap the remaining strip around the cylinder and secure it at the end with a double turn fixed with egg white, as done before 20. The streamers will thus have the typical spiral shape! Then proceed by rolling out the second part of colored dough, always obtaining a sheet with a thickness of 1 mm, from which you will cut out, with a small round cutter (diameter 1.2 inches), circles, i.e., your confetti 21. Re-knead the dough scraps and cut out more confetti.
Now you're ready for frying: heat the oil, which should range between 338°F and 356°F, place one streamer at a time on a skimmer and, gently, immerse it in the oil (22-23). It should cook for a few seconds, not to alter the bright colors of the dough too much. Do the same with the confetti 34. If you prefer, you can also try baking them at 356°F for 20 minutes (static oven), obviously, the result will not be the same, the confetti, for example, will not puff up like the fried ones, and the colors might also appear altered!
Once cooked (it will take about 30 seconds), drain the confetti and streamers and let them dry on paper towels 25. When they have cooled down a bit, remove the streamers, carefully pulling out the metal cylinder, and your Carnival treats will be ready 27. Proceed in the same way with the other differently colored doughs! Your confetti and streamers only need a dusting of powdered sugar if you like!