Calzones Rotos is a classic winter Chilean recipe. Fun fact: the name, when translated, means “broken underwear.” I don’t know why we call them this, but maybe some questions are better left unanswered. My grandmother made these treats a lot, and it always felt like something special. When we arrived at her house for a winter visit, and she wanted to spoil us with something delicious, Calzones Rotos were often chosen.
Here in Houston, we just had our first cold days of the season, and I could not resist the temptation to make them. My kids had never eaten them but immediately claimed them to be new favorites. The orange or lemon zest is essential. The thickness depends on personal preference, my husband likes them thick, and I prefer them thinner and crispy.
Tips for delicious calzones rotos:
What can I do so the foam does not come out when frying the calzones rotos?
The foam can be for two reasons: too hot oil. Ideally, use a thermometer in the oil, it must be at 180C/350F, or there is a lot of residual flour on your pastries. Shake them beforehand to avoid foam. Also, the wider the pan or pot, the less foam.
Can I prepare the dough the day before or hours before?
No, baking powder does not last overnight, and you risk hard calzones rotos.
Can they be frozen?
I do not recommend freezing the raw pastries. It is dangerous when frying. Once fried and cold, they can be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated in the oven. They are not the same, but they are good.
Can they be baked?
Yes, but they don’t taste like classic calzones rotos.
Other traditional winter treats in Chile, besides Calzones Rotos, include:
- churros
- sopaipillas
- picarones
- pear empanadas
Chilean Calzones Rotos
A delicious fried pastry.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 30
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 60 grams of soft butter
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon pisco, rum or vodka
- grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
- pinch of salt
- water (4 tablespoons)
- oil for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, sift the flour with the powdered sugar and baking powder. Add salt. Fluff with a fork.
- Add butter, egg yolks, egg, pisco, zest. Mix well with a wooden spoon or mixer with a paddle. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it forms a firm dough.
- Spread on a lightly floured counter, should be of a thickness of about 3-5 mm.
- Cut the dough into rectangles about 10x4cm (it is easiest to use a pizza cutter) Then with a knife, make a slit or cut at the center and thread a corner inside the slit and stretch gently.
- Heat the oil to 350F or 180C.
- Fry pastries 6-8 at a time for 2 minutes. Turn and fry for 1 more minute.
- They should be golden brown, remove to a platter covered with a paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately.
- Serve with hot chocolate.
Recipe adapted from the book Popular Kitchen by Mariana Bravo Walker
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: Chilean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 204
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 93.7 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.7 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
Keywords: Calzones rotos, chilean cuisine
I think it is meant to be “ripped underwear”. Chileans have a sense of humor! 🙂
Yes, that is the literal translation… haha.
Can you bake them instead of frying??
Yes, you can, but it’s not the same flavor…
Sorry ingredients said
1egg amd 2 egg yolks but in the preparation theres not mention of the single egg?..can you please let me know .cheers luis
Hola Luis,
The egg goes together with the egg yolks, thanks. I fixed the recipe. Good luck!
Every time I find one of your recipes, its a disaster! What kind of culinary background do you have? Because you give no explanation of dough consistency, or anything! Your recipes constantly have to be corrected, what a joke!
Maybe you should stop using my recipes. Clearly, our culinary backgrounds don’t align. These are my family recipes and we have been making it the same way for 30 years or more.
I agree with you, that is such a good answer, people may follow the style they prefer.
I really like your recipe. We have used it in Finland few times at chilean gatherings, and they are a hit every single time. You’ve got very nice pictures off this recipe as well!
Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks, Vanessa. I appreciated your kind words.
My mom makes these often but she just knows what’s in it, a little of this a little of that ha ha , I’m excited to have a recipe. These were a favorite of mine growing up. Thank you 🙂
Of course that it’s her recipe 🙂 Welcome to the site.
Hola Pilar,
Mi mamá solia hacer calzones rotos todo el tiempo! Su receta es con leche y huevos y yo la he hecho vsrias veces. Bueno, hoy llueve y de verdad q tengo ganas de unos calzones rotos! Voy a probar tu receta a ver que tal! El licor es escencial? O se puede prescindir de ello? Gracias!!
Saludos!
El licor los hace más crocantes, puedes usar vinagre o jugo de naranja también. Suerte.
The translation should be “torn underwear”
¡Cierto! Gracias.
Hi Pilar. This recipe is very similar to my mum’s if it is not the same. I found my self coming back to this site when I can’t get hold of my her and I need a quick answer about a recipe. So thank you for all the effort and all the love you put on this site and please do not get discourage by mean comments. Maybe Marisol wanted to suggest that it would be a good idea to add how the dough should feel, which is fair. I personally think that the pictures do help a lot with that kind of matter. So thank you again and a quick question about the calzones rotos, Shall the dough be rested before rolling it out?
Hi Soledad, thanks for your kind words. You don’t need to rest the dough in this recipe. Have fun cooking!
La verdad he hecho varias recetas y esta es la que mas se acerca,la verdad no necesita descripcion de consistencia ya que usando las medidas exactas de cuchara y gramos da la consistencia perfectaun dato de aficionada: si una “masa se uslerea” la consistencia la da “que no se pegue en el uslero o botella de vidrio” y eso solo se va perfeccionando con la practica .
Amo tus recetas.
Saludos desde Independencia Santiago de Chile
Gracias por comentar. Saludos.
Podría usar esta masa para berlines
No, no tienen nada que ver. Acá esta la receta de berlines https://www.enmicocinahoy.cl/berlines-chilenos-berliners/
Suerte.
Can I please get clarification on the butter? Is it melted or not?
My dough keeps coming out like a shortbread. LOL
I’m sorry, is soft butter (spreadable temperature, if you wish) Not melted. Knead the dough more so stop feeling as shortbread and you can add water (1 tablespoon at a time) to get a proper dough. Hope it helps, this dough varies a lot depending on the humidity of the day, that is my experience with it.
Made these today and came out delicious. I let my oil get too hot and almost burned the last
Couple but recipe is easy to follow and were great with coffee. Recipe made about 20.
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, the temperature of the oil is important. Good luck in the kitchen!
how does the scale work? how many calzones come out in a “1x” scale?
“1x” is the way I tested the recipe. You will get 30 calzones rotos.
I wouldn’t recommend using the scale for this recipe. Thanks for calling that out, I will look and see if I can disable that feature for all sweets.
Hola Pilar,
Can I substitute the ingredients with a different flour? like either coconut or almond flour? I’ve been trying to eat Keto as much as I can and I love canzones rotos. Last night I made some with a sugar substitute and they were good, it’s just the flour that I don’t know how to change it, I know it probably will never be the same texture and flavor, but it’s the closest I can get 😛
Thank you
I’m not sure. Sorry, I normally don’t use alternative flours.
Hola Pilar,
Solo tengo corn oil en mi casa. Tú crees que funcionaria o cambiaría mucho el sabor ?
Gracias.
Funciona, pero ten ojo que no sé te caliente mucho y empiece a quemarse con humo, eso lo arruina.
Hoy llueve en San Francisco especial para calzones rotos , gracias por tus recetas.
Que rico!
Hi I tried your recipe today!. ..and my calzones rotos turned out delicious thank you for sharing your recipes…my son helped me out too and absolutely loved them! Its good to keep the Chilean culture alive my son is Australian ??
I’m so glad. Thanks for coming back to comment.
Thank you for sharing try the recipe and turn up awesome ?
I’m so glad. Thanks for coming back to comment.
Hola Pilar.
Mis felicitaciones por tu site bien preparado y professional. Mi esposa que es gringuita le encanta cocinar platos tipicos Chilenos, y sigue tus recetas.
Hace poco cocino sopaipillas y le quedaron muy sabrosas (aunque no se veian tan bien como las de Chile, pero para mi el sabor importa mas que lo visual )
Yo orgulloso de ser de origen Chileno me gustan los platos tipicos. Me recuerdan mi Chile querido.
No sabrias tu como preparar el mote con huesillos?
Saludos
Hola Gerardo. Gracias por tus palabras y me alegro que puedas compartir el sitio con tu esposa. No tengo esa receta en el blog, viene en el libro en inglés que sale en octubre.
Love the recipes on your blog! I’ve tried the sopapillas, the pastel de choclo and cazuela! Turned out fantastic. I think I’m never going out to eat Chilean food again. Making these for Father’s Day tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll turn out great.
I’m so glad, have a great Father’s Day with your love ones. Thanks for leaving a comment.
I tried her recipes an believe me I don’t like to cook at all, but what I got was great!!! Fast easy and great taste..
Maybe you are not Chilean enough to cook this. Just saying… 🙂
Can you freeze the calzone rotos?
After being fried, yes, then you should warm them in the oven. They are never the same, but good enough.