A Schenkele, or Schenkela (in Alsace), Schänkeli, Schenkeli, Schenggeli, Schänggeli (in Switzerland) is a small cylindrical sweet fritter eaten around Christmas and

Fasnacht The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival of Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg. Etymology Popular etymology often links ' ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

German-speaking Switzerland The German-speaking part of Switzerland ( ; ; ; ) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switzerland, most of the Swiss Plateau and the greater part of the Swiss Alps). The variety ...

. They are also known as ("goat's feet") in the

Canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (officially in ), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( ; ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shar ...

(due to the small incision made at one end of the dough making them resemble

cloven hoof A cloven hoof, cleft hoof, divided hoof, or split hoof is a hoof split into two toes. Members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla that possess this type of hoof include cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, gazelles, goats, and sheep. The two digits ...

s. Other names include ("women's thighs") in France. A reference to can be found as early as 1787 by

Kaspar von Stieler Kaspar von Stieler, also called Caspar Stieler (2 August 1632 – 24 June 1707), was a soldier-poet and later a linguist. He expressed the feelings of the soldiers of the Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Centra ...

as "im Elsass ''schenkele'' zur bezeichnung kleiner, länglicher brödchen" ("in Alsace ''schenkele'' to mean small, elongated bread rolls").

Preparation

are made from a dough of flour, sugar, butter, eggs, ground almonds or walnuts additionally flavored using candied orange or lemon peel and

Kirsch ''Kirschwasser'' (, , ; German for 'cherry water'), or just ''Kirsch'' (; the term used in Switzerland and France, less so in Germany), is a clear, colourless brandy from Germany, Switzerland, and France, traditionally made from double distill ...

. The dough is formed into finger-sized cylinders, deep-fried and dusted with sugar. They are shelf-stable and their flavor intensifies with storage.

References

{{Pastries Alsatian cuisine Culinary Heritage of Switzerland Fritters Christmas food Carnival foods Swiss pastries

Preparation

See also

References