This sweet, crunchy, African Chin Chin recipe is so delicious and easy to make! It can also be customized and is the perfect snack for kids and special occasions.
Table of Contents
About This Recipe
Chin chin is a popular West African fried snack that is similar to Scandinavian klenat. Think of chin chin as mini biscuits. It is bite-sized, golden brown in color, and sweet in flavor. You’ll often find it served on plates as a snack/starter at African parties. Chin chin is also popular amongst kids too because of its size and sweetness.
Chin chin is usually served alongside Puff puff and Meat Pie as an appetizer at Nigerian parties. I was first introduced to chin chin by my Mum as she is a big fan. Whenever we go to Nigerian parties she always makes it a priority to taste the chin chin as all chin chin is not created equal! Like most traditional recipes the best chin chin can be found in Nigeria but my Mum and I needed a solution to her chin chin craving so we decided to create our own special recipe!
There are lots of different types of chin chin. Some are soft while others are crunchy and some are sweet while others are spicy! You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, and coconut. My favorite type of chin chin has a hint of coconut and is what I’ll be sharing today.
Chin Chin Ingredients and Measurements
- All-purpose flour: Sieve all-purpose flour before mixing the dry ingredients to get rid of any lumps and dirt.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar for this recipe.
- Baking powder: Add 1/8 a tsp of baking powder if you want crunchy chin chin. If you prefer soft chin chin then add 1/4 tsp or more.
- Nutmeg: Nutmeg adds delicious warm, nutty notes to the chin chin. Grate a whole nutmeg or use ground nutmeg.
- Coconut flakes (optional): As I love coconut chin chin I added some desiccated coconut flakes to this recipe to give it a tropical twist.
- Egg: I added one egg to this recipe. However, if you want your chin chin to be very hard and crunchy then do not add eggs.
- Milk: To get even more of a coconut flavor I used coconut milk but you can use any milk of your choice.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for this recipe, cut it into equal-sized cubes and make sure it is cold.
- Oil: You can use vegetable or sunflower oil to cook the chin chin. However, if you want coconut flavored chin chin then use coconut oil.
Equipment for Sweet Crunchy African Chin Chin Recipe
Rolling pin: You will need a rolling pin to roll the chin chin dough flat. It should be about 1/5 inches thick as the chin chin puffs a bit when it is fried.
Mixing bowl: Use a mixing bowl to mix the ingredients together.
Pizza cutter: It is best to use a pizza cutter to cut the chin chin into your desired shape. I have used a knife before and it took a lot longer. However, if you don’t have a pizza cutter you can use a knife.
How to Make African Chin Chin?
- Combine dry ingredients: Grab a medium-sized bowl. Add 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/8 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and 3-4 tbsp of coconut flakes to the bowl and mix until well combined.
- Rubbing method: Then, grab ¼ cup of cold butter straight from the fridge and make sure the butter is cut into equal-sized small cubes. Add the butter to the flour mix and rub the butter and flour together using your fingertips.The mixture should look like breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor for this step.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Next, mix 1 egg and 2/3 cup of milk in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the butter and flour mixture and mix it with your hand or a knife until the mixture forms a dough.
- Knead dough: Once the dough has formed dust flour on a surface and knead the dough until smooth, sticky and well combined. Then, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. It should be about 1/5 inches thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the chin chin into equal-sized cubes or any shape you desire (see photo below).
- Fry chin chin: Heat oil in a saucepan or in a deep fryer and cook chin chin until golden brown. Be careful not to add too much chin chin to the oil as you do not want it to get stuck together.
- Leave chin chin to cool: Add cooked chin chin to a plate with paper towels to remove excess oil. Leave to cool completely and serve!
Sweet Crunchy African Chin Chin Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Texture: My Mum and I tried this recipe 3 times until they came out perfect. The first time we made them we added 1/4 tsp of baking soda and the chin chin came out soft and cakey. This is fine if you like this kind of chin chin but if you want a biscuit-like recipe then add less or none at all!
- Dough: The dough should be smooth, sticky, and firm but not too wet.
- Milk: You can use full-fat milk, low-fat milk, or plant-based milk for this recipe depending on your preference. Be aware that the type of milk you use will affect the taste of the chin chin.
- Sugar: Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of sugar that you add to this recipe.
- Butter: It is very important that the butter is cold and straight from the fridge in order to achieve the best dough.
- Oil: I used sunflower oil to cook the chin chin. However, if you want a stronger coconut flavor then cook the chin chin in coconut oil. You can also use vegetable oil too.
- Plain Chin Chin: Our recipe includes some coconut flakes and coconut milk as coconut chin chin is my favorite! However, you can use normal milk instead and skip the coconut flakes if you want the plain traditional chin chin.
- Flavor variations: Chin chin is such a fun recipe because there are LOTS of flavor variations. You can add some grounded pepper to spice things up or add cinnamon, vanilla, or cocoa powder for chocolate chin chin!
- Batch: It is very easy to double or triple this recipe if you need to feed a crowd!
FAQs
Start by mixing all of the dry ingredients together until they are well combined. Then, add cold butter chunks to the flour mix and rub the butter and flour together using your fingertips. The mixture should look like breadcrumbs. Next, mix the wet ingredients together (egg and milk) in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the butter and flour mixture and mix it with your hand or a knife until the mixture forms a dough. Once the dough has formed dust flour on a surface and knead the dough until well combined. Then, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. It should be about 1/5 inches thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the chin chin and cook in hot oil until golden brown.
Yes, it can but how much you use depends on whether you want soft chin chin or hard crunch chin chin.
Store chin chin in an air-tight jar or container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also use a zip lock bag.
Chin chin is a golden-brown bite-sized West African snack. It tastes similar to biscuits and is normally eaten as a snack or served during special occasions.
Chin chin can be soft or crunchy depending on how it is prepared. To make crunchy chin chin add a small amount of eggs or none at all. Omitting the baking powder or adding less will also make the chin chin crunchy as baking powder is a raising agent so the more you add the more likely the chin chin is to be soft.
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Sweet Crunchy African Chin Chin Recipe
Equipment
- Medium sized bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- 1/8 tsp of baking powder
- ¼ tsp of nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup of coconut milk
- Coconut flakes
- ¼ cup of butter cold
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Grab a medium-sized bowl. Add 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/8 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and 3-4 tbsp of coconut flakes to the bowl and mix until well combined.
- Then, grab ¼ cup of cold butter straight from the fridge and make sure the butter is but into equal-sized small cubes. Add the butter to the flour mix and rub the butter and flour together using your fingertips. The mixture should look like breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor for this step.
- Next, mix 1 egg and 2/3 cup of milk in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the butter and flour mixture and mix it with your hand or a knife until the mixture forms a dough.
- Once the dough has formed dust flour on a surface and knead the dough until smooth, sticky and well combined. Then, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. It should be about 1/5 inches thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the chin chin into equal-sized cubes or any shape you desire.
- Heat oil in a saucepan or in a deep fryer and cook chin chin until golden brown. Be careful not to add too much chin chin to the oil as you do not want it to get stuck together.
- Add cooked chin chin to a plate with paper towels to remove excess oil. Leave to cool completely and serve!
Video
I’ve never tried African Chin Chin before, but I’m so glad I found this recipe. What a delicious sweet treat and I loved the crunchy flavor. We gobbled these up in less than a few days and will definitely be making them again.
These chin chin were so fun to make! The kids helped cut in the butter and cut the squares. I loved how puffy and spiced they were. Definitely a repeat recipe for us.
These sweet Chin Chin were easy and straight forward to make. Made for my nephews and they loved them, ate most of them in one sitting. Next time I’ll try adding the cocoa powder you suggested.
These are such a treat! We made them last weekend and literally ate them all while watching movies. So delicious!
I love the hint of coconut in this chin chin! Thank you for sharing such detailed recipe notes and photos. It made making it so easy!
I had always wanted to try to make Chin Chin so I was excited to come across this recipe. It was simple, but so scrumptious.
I love chin chin but this was my first time trying to make it myself! Your instructions were so helpful and it came out delicious! I especially like the touch of nutmeg.
Hadn’t made chin chin in years and it was like I never forgot with your recipe. Mine turned out perfectly. Thank you!
they are so good and I got extra credit points in class for making delicious snacks for my project on Africa.
Great! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it and got extra points in class!