# Calcioni Molise sweet ravioli filled with chickpeas, cocoa and spices, fried and brushed with honey. Campobasso, Molise. Desserts (Dolci). > The sweet ravioli of Molise for Christmas and Carnival: a filling of chickpeas, cocoa, cloves, cinnamon, candied citron and cognac sealed between two sheets of dough, fried, brushed with warm honey and dusted with icing sugar. - Level of proof: Documented tradition (Tradizione documentata). A regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text. - Sources checked: 2026-11-03 - Published: 2026-11-03 - Page: https://nonnario.com/recipes/calcioni/ ## In short - Dried chickpeas, soaked 12 hours, boiled 1½ hours and sieved, then mixed with unsweetened cocoa, crushed cloves, cinnamon, candied citron and cognac. - No sugar in the filling: the sweetness comes from the honey brushed on after frying and the icing sugar. - A firm dough of sifted flour, two eggs and an extra white, a little sugar and white vermouth, with no fat, rested 30 minutes. - Heaps of filling on one sheet, covered with a second, sealed round each heap and cut into ravioli with a fluted wheel. - Fried a few at a time (on this page at 170 °C) until evenly golden, then brushed with honey melted in a bain-marie. Also called: cauciune, cauciuni, calciuni. ## Where it comes from Calcioni, also called cauciune, cauciuni or calciuni, are the sweet fried ravioli of Molise: small parcels of pastry around a dark filling, most often of chickpeas and cocoa. They are made for Christmas, when they are counted among the classics of the Molise table, and for Carnival, in Campobasso and elsewhere, and they are traditionally given as presents. Molise shares them with neighbouring Abruzzo. In some villages of the province of Campobasso, such as Riccia, Casacalenda and Guardialfiera, ravioli of chickpeas and honey called caveciuni are among the sweets of the tables laid for San Giuseppe on 19 March. There is no official recipe. We compared nine sources and publish the most widely recognised version. They agree on a sweet pastry wrapped round a thick filling and fried; those that describe the finish use sugar or honey. Most fill them with chickpeas, boiled and sieved; others use boiled chestnuts. The filling may be sweetened with honey or sugar or not at all, and is flavoured with cocoa or chocolate, cloves and cinnamon, vanilla, almonds, candied citron, rum, cognac or other liqueurs. The dough may be made with lard, with oil or with no fat at all; some cut half-moons from discs, others cut ravioli from two sheets laid one over the other; and the finish is warm honey or icing sugar. This version fills them with chickpeas, cocoa, cloves, cinnamon, candied citron and cognac, with no sugar in the filling; the dough is flour, eggs and an extra white, a little sugar and white vermouth, with no fat; the filling is set in heaps on one sheet, covered with a second and cut into ravioli, which are fried, brushed with warm honey and dusted with icing sugar if you like. The recipe it follows gives no frying temperature, sheet thickness or ravioli size, and no amount for the honey, the oil or the icing sugar: those are ours, marked as such. The keeping advice follows food-safety guidance. - Defined by: Molisan tradition - Reference: Compared across 9 sources, listed below; this page publishes the most widely recognised version. ## Sources - [Accademia Italiana della Cucina, recipe collection: cauciune di castagne, Molise (Italian)](https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/it/ricette/ricetta/cauciune-di-castagne) - [Donna Moderna: cauciuni, sweet ravioli with a chickpea filling, 2019, archived copy (Italian)](https://web.archive.org/web/20251017020419/https://ricette.donnamoderna.com/cauciuni-ravioli-dolci-con-ripieno-di-ceci) - [LaPresse news agency: Christmas dishes region by region, from Coldiretti, 2014 (Italian)](https://www.lapresse.it/cronaca/2014/12/24/natale-i-piatti-tipici-regione-per-regione-secondo-coldiretti/) - [Dissapore: Molise cooking, 20 typical dishes, 2021 (Italian)](https://www.dissapore.com/cucina/cucina-molisana-piatti-tipici-da-provare/) - [Linkiesta Gastronomika: Carnival food traditions of southern Italy, 2023 (Italian)](https://www.linkiesta.it/2023/02/tradizioni-gastronomiche-carnevale-sud-italia/) - [Fine Dining Lovers: 10 typical foods from Molise, 2016](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/10-typical-foods-try-molise-italy) - [La Voce di New York: Christmas in southern Italy, 2015 (Italian)](https://lavocedinewyork.com/mediterraneo/2015/12/20/natale-allitaliana-il-sud) - [Gambero Rosso: the San Giuseppe tables of Molise, 2026, archived copy (Italian)](https://web.archive.org/web/20260322014834/https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/rubriche/storie/tredici-piatti-san-giuseppe-molise/) - [USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: Leftovers and Food Safety (archived copy of 29 May 2025)](https://web.archive.org/web/20250529160018/https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/leftovers-and-food-safety) ## Ingredients For 6 servings, in metric units. ### For the filling - 300 g dried chickpeas - salt, for the chickpea water (lightly salted; our guide: about a teaspoon for 3 l of water) - 100 g unsweetened cocoa powder - 4 whole cloves - 1 cinnamon stick - 20 g candied citron - 80 ml cognac ### For the dough - 300 g plain flour (the recipe says only flour) - 2 eggs - 1 egg white (from a third egg; keep the yolk for something else) - 40 g sugar - 40 ml white vermouth ### To fry and finish - 1.6 l peanut or sunflower oil, for frying (our amount and choice, as the recipe names neither: about 5 cm deep in a pan 20 cm across and at least 10 cm deep, so it is no more than half full) - 120 g honey (our amount; the recipe asks for as much as needed) - 20 g icing sugar, to dust (our amount; optional, as you like) - plain flour, for the board and the tray (a little; ours) ## Equipment - Kitchen scale and a measuring jug - A large bowl for soaking, a large pan and a colander, for the chickpeas - A sieve and a bowl, for the filling; a mortar and pestle for the cloves and cinnamon; a small knife - A large pastry board or worktop, a fine sieve for the flour, a rolling pin and cling film - A fluted pastry wheel, or a pasta cutter - A heavy pan about 20 cm across and at least 10 cm deep, a kitchen thermometer that reads to at least 200 °C, a slotted spoon and a lid that fits the pan - A tray lined with kitchen paper - A second tray and a clean cloth, for the finished ravioli - A small heatproof bowl set over a small pan of simmering water, and a pastry brush, for the honey; a small fine sieve for the icing sugar ## Method Hands-on 1 h 51 min, cooking 1 h 30 min, 2 days from start to table. Start the evening before: the chickpeas soak for 12 hours. The next day allow about 4 hours. The chickpeas boil for 1½ hours; then make the dough, which rests 30 minutes while you sieve the chickpeas and mix the filling. Rolling, filling and cutting the ravioli takes about 30 minutes, heating the oil and frying them about 35, and the honey and icing sugar about 10. ### The night before: soak the chickpeas 1. **Soak the chickpeas for 12 hours** (Rest 12 h). Put the 300 g of dried chickpeas in the large bowl, cover them with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak for 12 hours. Check: The chickpeas have swollen to about twice their size and are smooth, with no wrinkles. Tip: Our guide: use about three times their volume of water, as they absorb a great deal. In a warm kitchen, soak them in the fridge. ### The chickpeas 2. **Drain them** (Hands-on 2 min). Drain the chickpeas in the colander. Check: No soaking water left on them. Tip: Our guide: throw the soaking water away and rinse them briefly under the tap. 3. **Boil them for 1½ hours** (Cooking 1 h 30 min; 100 °C; heat: high to boil, then medium-low). Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the chickpeas and boil them for 1½ hours. Check: A chickpea squeezed between your fingers crushes easily, soft right through with no chalky centre. Tip: Our guide: about 3 l of water with a teaspoon of salt, enough to keep them well covered; keep it at a steady simmer, half covered, and top up with boiling water if the level drops below the chickpeas. If they are not soft at 1½ hours, give them 15 minutes more and test again. 4. **Drain them again and set them aside** (Hands-on 2 min). Drain the chickpeas again and set them aside. Check: Well drained, with no water pooling under them. Tip: Our guide: sieve them while still warm (see the filling): they pass through much more easily. ### The dough 5. **Sift the flour into a well** (Hands-on 3 min). Sift the 300 g of flour onto the pastry board and make a well in the centre. Check: A ring of flour with a hollow in the middle large enough to hold the eggs. Tip: Our guide: separate the third egg first and keep only its white for the dough. 6. **Add the eggs, the white, sugar and vermouth** (Hands-on 2 min). Break the 2 eggs into the well, add the egg white, the 40 g of sugar and the 40 ml of vermouth. Check: Everything in the well, none of it running out over the flour. Tip: Our guide: beat them together lightly with a fork inside the well before you draw in the flour. 7. **Knead it firm and even** (Hands-on 8–10 min). Draw in the flour and knead until the dough is firm and even. Check: No dry flour left on the board; a firm, smooth ball, even in colour, that does not stick to your hands. Tip: Our guide: about 8–10 minutes. The dough is meant to be firm: add no water unless it will not come together at all, and then only a few drops. 8. **Rest it for 30 minutes in a cool place** (Rest 30 min). Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest for 30 minutes in a cool place. Make the filling meanwhile. Check: The dough is relaxed: pressed with a finger, it holds the mark and does not spring back. ### The filling 9. **Sieve the chickpeas** (Hands-on 15 min). Press the boiled chickpeas through the sieve into a bowl. Check: A fine, even purée in the bowl and only the skins left in the sieve. Tip: Our guide: press a ladleful at a time with the back of a spoon or a scraper, and scrape the purée off the underside of the sieve as you go. 10. **Crush the spices and cut the citron** (Hands-on 5 min). Crush the 4 cloves and crumble the cinnamon stick. Cut the 20 g of candied citron into small pieces. Check: The cloves and cinnamon reduced to small crumbs, with no large splinters; the citron in small dice. Tip: Our guide: pound the cloves and the broken-up cinnamon together in the mortar until they are coarsely ground; whole splinters of cinnamon are unpleasant to bite on. Dice the citron about 3 mm. 11. **Mix the filling** (Hands-on 5 min). Mix the chickpea purée with the 100 g of cocoa, the crushed cloves, the crumbled cinnamon, the citron and the 80 ml of cognac, carefully, until all is well blended. Check: A smooth, even, dark brown paste with no streaks of cocoa; a spoonful holds its shape. Tip: Our guide: the filling has no sugar and tastes bitter on its own; the honey brushed on after frying sweetens the ravioli. ### The ravioli 12. **Roll out a sheet, not too thin** (Hands-on 8 min). Roll the dough out with the rolling pin into a sheet that is not too thin. Check: An even sheet about 2 mm thick, with no holes. Tip: Our guide: on a lightly floured board, about 2 mm, roughly 40 cm × 50 cm; thin enough to cook through in the oil, thick enough not to tear over the filling. On a small board, work in two rounds with half the dough each time. 13. **Cut the sheet in half** (Hands-on 1 min). Divide the sheet into two halves. Check: Two sheets of about the same size. Tip: Our guide: cut it straight across with the knife or the wheel. 14. **Set the filling in small heaps** (Hands-on 5 min). Spread the filling over one of the two halves in small heaps. Check: Rows of even heaps, evenly spaced, with clear dough all round each one. Tip: Our guide: heaps of about 30 g, a heaped tablespoon, about 6 cm apart from centre to centre and 3 cm in from the edges. The filling makes about 24. 15. **Cover with the other half and seal** (Hands-on 7 min). Cover with the other half of the dough and press the dough down round each heap to seal it. Check: Each heap is enclosed on every side, with no air trapped inside and no gap in the seal. Tip: Our guide: lay the top sheet loosely, then press with your fingertips from the top of each heap outwards, pushing the air out before you seal the sides. An open seam lets the filling out into the oil, where it burns and makes the oil spit. 16. **Cut out the ravioli** (Hands-on 5 min). Cut out the ravioli between the heaps with the fluted pastry wheel or the pasta cutter. Check: Separate ravioli of about 6 cm, each with a sealed border of about 1 cm all round. Tip: Our guide: press the cut edges together once more with your fingers. Lay the ravioli on a lightly floured tray, not touching, and cover them with a cloth while the oil heats. ### Frying and finishing 17. **Heat the oil** (Hands-on 10 min; 170 °C; heat: medium-high, then adjust to hold the temperature). Heat the oil in the deep pan until it reaches the right temperature for frying. Check: The thermometer reads 170 °C, and the oil is not smoking. Tip: Our guide: 170 °C, about 5 cm of oil in a pan 20 cm across and at least 10 cm deep, so it is no more than half full. Hotter browns the outside before the dough is cooked; cooler makes them greasy. Tip: Never leave hot oil unattended. Keep the pan no more than half full and a lid within reach, lower the ravioli in with the slotted spoon, never put water on burning oil, turn the heat off if it smokes, and let the oil cool completely before moving the pan. 18. **Fry them a few at a time** (Hands-on 20–25 min; 165–175 °C). Lower the calcioni into the oil a few at a time and fry them until they are evenly golden. Check: Golden all over, the edges included. Break one from the first batch: the pastry is cooked and dry right through, with no pale, doughy layer at the border. Tip: Our guide: 4 or 5 at a time, for 2–3 minutes, turning them once. Keep the oil between 165 °C and 175 °C, and let it come back to 170 °C before the next batch. Too many at once cool the oil and the calcioni turn greasy. 19. **Drain them on kitchen paper** (Hands-on 1 min). Lift each batch out with the slotted spoon and drain it on the tray lined with kitchen paper. Check: No oil dripping, and the paper under them no longer wet with it. Tip: Our guide: lay them in one layer, not piled up, so they stay crisp. When the last batch is out, turn off the heat under the oil. 20. **Melt the honey in a bain-marie** (Hands-on 5 min). Put the 120 g of honey in the small heatproof bowl over the pan of simmering water and let it melt. Check: The honey is runny and drips easily off the brush. Tip: Our guide: the water should only simmer, and the bowl should not touch it; about 5 minutes. 21. **Brush them with honey** (Hands-on 5 min). Brush the calcioni with the melted honey. Check: Every calcione glistens with an even coat of honey. Tip: Our guide: brush them while they are still warm, so the honey spreads thinly. 22. **Dust with icing sugar, if you like** (Hands-on 2 min). Dust the calcioni with icing sugar through the small sieve, as much as you like, and serve. Check: A light veil of sugar over the honey. Tip: Our guide: the icing sugar is optional; about 20 g dusts the whole batch. ## Good to know - When: For Christmas and Carnival, when they are made and given as presents. ([source](https://web.archive.org/web/20251017020419/https://ricette.donnamoderna.com/cauciuni-ravioli-dolci-con-ripieno-di-ceci)) - Keeping: In the fridge within 2 hours of frying, in an airtight container, and eaten within 3 days of boiling the chickpeas. Out of the fridge at most 2 hours when served, then back in the fridge or thrown away, never out again. ([source](https://web.archive.org/web/20250529160018/https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/leftovers-and-food-safety)) - Variant: With chestnuts: For fifteen: a filling of 500 g of boiled chestnuts, peeled and sieved, mixed with 150 g of sugar, 100 g of unsweetened cocoa, 100 g of honey and a sachet of vanillin. The dough: 400 g of type 00 flour in a well, with 3 eggs beaten in it with 150 g of sugar, a pinch of salt and 150 g of lard softened at room temperature, kneaded smooth and rested about half an hour wrapped in a tea towel. It is rolled out thin and cut into discs with a cup; each takes a spoonful of filling and is folded over, the edges pressed shut with a fork or a crimper. When all are made, they are fried in plenty of smoking-hot oil (our guide for safety: about 170 °C, never smoking, in a pan no more than half full, as in the method), drained on kitchen paper, dusted with icing sugar and arranged on a tray. ([source](https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/it/ricette/ricetta/cauciune-di-castagne)) ## Common mistakes - Cutting the soak or the boil short: the chickpeas stay hard and will not pass through the sieve into a smooth filling. - Expecting a sweet filling: this version has no sugar in it; the honey brushed on after frying sweetens the ravioli. - Rolling the sheet thin: it tears over the heaps of filling. - Leaving air or gaps round the heaps: the ravioli burst or leak in the oil, which spits. - Crowding the pan: the oil cools and the calcioni come out greasy. - Frying in smoking oil: the outside burns before the pastry is cooked through, and the oil can catch fire. ## Cooking it outside Italy - Dried chickpeas are also sold as garbanzo beans. - Plain flour is all-purpose flour in the US. - Candied citron (cedro candito) is sold in Italian delis and online, often in large pieces: dice it yourself. - White vermouth is the pale, sweet Italian kind, labelled bianco. - Icing sugar is powdered or confectioners' sugar. --- From Nonnario, the documented recipes of Italy: https://nonnario.com/recipes/calcioni/. Cite the recipe's page and the month its sources were checked; for the official text itself, cite the document listed under its sources. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).