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THE BEST CHIN CHIN RECIPE

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There are many Chin Chin recipes on the internet and I get that. But this is really the best Chin Chin recipe.

Every ingredient here works together beautifully to produce perfectly crunchy yet not hard Chin Chin. It is rich in flavour and so addictive. I actually have to beat myself from eating more than my waistline can accommodate.

best chin chin recipe - precious core

Come to Mama!

If you are not familiar with Chin Chin, let me explain. This is a popular West African snack eaten in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. It is called “Les Croquettes” in French.

The ingredients for Chin Chin are pretty simple: flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, baking powder, salt and some sort of flavour. All ingredients are combined to form a dough which is then rolled out, cut into desired shapes then deep fried. Insanely delicious!

Watch How to Make Chin Chin

Now the pasta maker I use in cutting the Chin Chin dough in the video can be bought on Amazon.com. Let me pull out a direct shopping link for ya. Here:

 

 

Now if you can’t get a pasta maker, no worries! You could use your knife to cut beautiful Chin Chin as I do in this post. You could equally use a pizza cutter like you see me doing in the video or you could just use your hands to form small balls out of the dough and deep fry. You could even use small cookie cutters to cut out your Chin Chin. Really!

best chin chin recipe

What makes this the best Chin Chin recipe? The proportion of ingredients for the Chin Chin (see full recipe below to get them – measurements are equally included in grams :)). The ratio of flour to butter to eggs and milk is just right. Perfecto!

With the right proportion of ingredients, you get Chin Chin that is super crunchy but not hard at all!

Now I insist on you using butter if you can even though margarine or vegetable/canola/corn oil could work as well. But if you want your Chin Chin to have a really rich flavour, buttah is the way to go. Make sure it is left out of the fridge to soften (at room temperature) so you can easily incorporate it into the flour.

Cameroon chin chin

Also I use evaporated milk instead of any other form of milk. The flavour is simply to die for. I love using evaporated milk in making cakes, breads and other baked goods. It takes their flavour up a notch.

And to make the Chin Chin super tasty, I add in some orange zest. So you need one orange, whose back you will grate away with the fine side of your grater. Avoid grating the white part of the orange as that part is bitter. Grate just the skin. Then add the grated back of orange to your Chin Chin dough. Does that make sense?

To get the whole Chin Chin experience, make sure you serve it with a cuppa something. It could be milk, juice or your favourite drink. Enjoy!

This is one African Dessert recipe, you will want to make over and over again! I first published this recipe on April 21, 2017, but I am bringing it to the front page of the blog now so you can make some for Christmas!

Chin Chin is one of those things that has to be made for Christmas in my home. Growing up, we always made Chin Chin for Christmas. It is a Christmas tradition that has continued for years and years!

Check out how to make Chin Chin below, get the ingredients and go make some! Have a wonderful season of celebration, friends.

4.93 from 27 votes
Nigerian chin chin
Print
The Best Chin Chin Recipe
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

It tastes like cake but it crunchy. Rich in flavour and so addictive. This is really the Best Chin Chin recipe ever!

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: African
Keyword: Chin Chin
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 496 kcal
Author: Precious or preciouscore.com
Ingredients
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour (1/2 kg or 500 grams)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar ( 8 tablespoons)
  • 1 cup evaporated milk 240 ml
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened 8 tablespoons or 1 stick or 113 grams
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest - grated from one orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 eggs
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Oil for frying - I used canola
Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, milk and orange zest then keep aside.

  2. In a large bowl rub in flour, butter, baking powder, ground nutmeg and salt with your finger tips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

  3. Add egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough. Transfer dough onto floured  surface and knead for one minute.

  4. Cut a small portion of the dough about the size of a golf ball then roll out to 1/8 inch thick and cut with a knife or pizza cutter into squares or thin strips. You could also use a pasta maker to cut it.

  5. Heat oil in a large pan on high heat for about 10 minutes (for about 1 1/2 litres of oil) then reduce to medium and start frying chin chin in small batches. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan so your chin chin doesn't soak up the oil. Fry each batch until golden brown then remove and place on paper towel to drain the excess oil.

  6. When chin chin cools completely, store it for up to a month in an airtight container. Enjoy as a snack with juice, milk, or your favourite drink!

 

Pin for later:

Cameroonian chin chin recipe

I’m so happy that you are interested in making one of my recipes! If you make this, please tag me in a photo on Instagram (@preciouscore) or share a photo on my Facebook page  so I can see your masterpiece.

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Comments

  1. Ahh! Chin- chin of life! This “chew-able” be saving lives since 19-giridim haha. It is never absent from the list of dried foodstuff i request from pays and it has to come in the largest quantity possible. E be like say dem born me spoil am with chin-chin. Not complaining sha oh, and I don’t plan to apologize any soon for my love for it either 🙂 Have a great weekend Precious.

    Reply

  2. U simply bring back all the yesteryears memories. Glad I found u,was smiling all through seeing those dishes my mum made years back in Douala, really good memories. Kudos sis. Pls I want to find out if I can use margarine instead of unsalted butter,c’est chere, lolzzz

    Reply

    • Hi Rita, I’m glad you found me! You could definitely use margarine or even oil in place of butter. I prefer butter due to its intense flavour but the other options work well too.

      Reply

  3. This looks yummy. I am not a big fan of chin chin but I am sure that is probably because they didn’t taste as great as I am sure these do. How are you Sis?

    Reply

  5. Awwww finally found the chin chin recipe so happy and thank u. Can I use lait non sucre in place for the evaporated milk?

    Reply

  6. I love chin chin but I always patronize the commercially made ones but I will try my hands on making chin chin at home some day but I pray to God that it turns out well ooo. Lol @ at eating more than your waistline can contain. bless you Precious dear .

    Reply

  8. Good morning big sis I really do like your page and what you do am so amazed with the type of recipes u put in YouTube. My phone is full with your videos thanks so much for the good work you are doing. Pls I will like you add me in your WhatsApp I will be very grateful. Thanks

    Reply

  9. Precious dear, pls I need help oh. I want to make 10kg of chin chin, could u please tell me the exact recipe ie quantity of each ingredient to be used to get a soft n crunchy chin chin. I do mKe very delicious chin chin but i always have issues with the oil foaming like crazy in the frying process so im thinking my butter or egg quantity may be too much. I get party this weekend and na me di make chin chin so abeg mami no vex the question oh (as in this girl no fit do the maths from the recipe here) answer me as soon as u can. This is Lady D from youtube. I di follow u for all corner.

    Reply

    • Lady D, hahahaha follow me everywhere oo! I’ve answered on YouTube but I’ll paste my answer here for the benefit of those who may want to know.
      Multiply everything in this recipe by 10 to get the ingredients for 10 kg of chin chin. Now this is only an estimate as I haven’t weighed my chin chin before. But I’m estimating the quantity this recipe produces is about 1 kg.
      If you were rather asking for the quantities for 10kg of flour, multiply every ingredient in the recipe by 20.
      About the oil foaming, it could be that your mixture is too rich. Also don’t overcrowd the pan. Fry very little at a time. When the pan is overcrowded it must foam. Also start with clean oil. Used oil might make the chin chin foam quickly. Let me know how it goes. 💜

      Reply

  10. Pls ma, can u teach me hw to make pancakes with egg, dey always burn wen I try it….. Pls help cos I love pancakes

    Reply

  11. Well done Sis. Lovely post, I also do love chin chin a great deal. Would love to know what the mouth feel of this recipe. Is it hard or soft cos I love hard chin chin. Thanks

    Reply

  12. Hi sis,
    Thanks for the recipe. Tried making some chin chin yesterday night. It all scattered while fryin. Wasn’t happy .And the oil also foam a lot while fryin. Why that?
    Also, is it 1 tin of evaporated milk because don’t know the measurement to use if am to use cup. Thanks I appreciate

    Reply

    • Glad Jevis helped you Frances. I strongly suggest you follow my exact recipe. One cup doesn’t equal one tin of Peak milk. You’ll have to measure a cup from the tin. I used the standard measuring cups and 1 cup equals 235ml. Hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes next time.

      Reply

  13. Hi Frances what I think is your mixture was too rich that is what caused the chin chin to scatter or foam or u over crowded ur frying pan. I had that same experience the very fist day I tried to make chin chin but now a pro hope my advice helps u. Thanks

    Reply

  14. Thanks Jevis.
    I think the mixture was too rich and I fry a lot at once. Will keep this in mind for next time.
    Will definitely get it right next time.
    I appreciate.

    Reply

  15. Hi Precious,
    I appreciate, now I get the accurate measurement for the ingredient. Will get it right this time. Keep well.Thanks .

    Reply

  16. Hey Precious! can chin chin be made without baking power and nutmeg to get crunchy chin chin? And can I add milk, vanilla flavours to my chin chin to give a normal taste?

    Reply

    • Hi Jeff, if you want it crunchy baking powder is necessary. It helps to make it crunchy. Nutmeg is just for flavour and it doesn’t really have anything to do with the crunchiness. Also, milk and vanilla is okay.

      Reply

  17. Hi Aunty Precious….. I must say that you’re doing really well. Your recipes are vividly described and the whole process looks neat… And the things you say about Jesus… I’m really happy…
    More Grace dear.

    Reply

  18. Hi Precious,
    Thank you for your recipe. Really awesome. How do one go about the orange zest. Do one need to squeeze the zest after removing them with a grater for instance, and pour the juice into the mix or do one pour in the zest like that into the mix?

    Reply

  19. Wow!
    All I’ve ever looked for.
    U’re such a unique fellow dear.
    Thanks 4 all ur lovely & helpful posts, especially that of peanuts and chin chin.
    Would really appreciate if you could be my personal friend, hope u don’t mind.
    Please add me up on watsapp +2348037814514.
    Thanks.

    Reply

  20. Please Madam can someone get a machine that can make the mixture for the Chin-chin,kneading and cutting?

    Reply

    • Hi Faith, for kneading, you will knead a dough mixer. For cutting, you will need a pasta maker. You can see me using the pasta maker in the chin chin video in the post.

      Reply

  21. I love chin chin..i love your work even as I haven’t tasted.. I sure know its yummy 😋. I am even training on baking. I need your assistance on why mine isn’t crunchy. I have made it twice now but it seem like cake. I wana 😢 cry..aaaha! U gotta help. Thank you presh!

    Reply

    • Hi Mike, I strongly suggest that you try my exact recipe and follow my measurements just as they are. That way you will get perfect crunchy chin chin. Please let me know if you try again.

      Reply

  22. Thanks this really help but it will be nice fit you can write it on a book and we can buy as the aunty Kate coookery book

    Reply

  23. Precious, you are just so amazing when you make these things look so easy. Most recipes i always see are always in grams or miligrams( this frustrates me as i can’t really estimate well using this). This mostly makes my chin chin not to come out the way it is suppose to be. I watched your video step by step and followed your recipe. It will interest you to know that i tried this out and gave a neighbour of mine to taste, she loved it and just gave me my first chin chin and peanut burger snack project. She has asked me to supply her some chin chin and peanut burger snacks (which she also tasted a few months ago) in a few weeks time for a wedding ceremony. In fact, i’m just so happy today. Thanks a lot dear for the work you are doing on your blog and channel. Cheers!!!

    Reply

  24. Hello madam, I need advice on how to start a medium scale chin chin business. Any advice on equipments I can get to make my production easy. Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Patience, so sorry for the late response. You could get a stand-up mixer to make mixing the dough easier. Also get a pasta maker for cutting the Chin Chin. Hope this helps.

      Reply

  29. Tried this recipe yesterday on a whopping 10kg of flour and the chin chin was crunchy. used margerine instead and lemon zest.

    Thanks Precious my christmas is set
    p/s trying the plantain puff puff today..

    Reply

  30. I finally got to do my chin chin and I can assure you, your recipe was soo easy and time efficient. Thank you for this amazing guide. What is even more interesting is that I live in Botswana and they do not know what chin chin is. So everyone is soo excited and they say it tastes like heaven. Wish I could share pictures!

    Reply

    • Yes!!! So glad to hear that, Nina! I saw your pics on Facebook. It looks perfect! People always like Chin Chin no matter where they are from. Such a winning snack! Thanks for the amazing feedback, dear.

      Reply

  32. Hello precious, I so much like what I saw. God bless you
    my question is this :if I want to make chin chin with 3or 4 cups of flour, what quantity of baking powder and butter will I use?

    Reply

  34. Hmmmm!!! How can I thank u enough for this??? Imagine that at my age I didn’t kn how to do chinchin, but after reading this, yesterday I made mine n it came out so well. I’m so excited tho mine got too brown cuz of over heat, but I kn it’ll b perfect next time. I did a kilogram yet it didnt take me time to finish. Thks again darling. I’m becoming the best.

    Reply

  36. Hello precious,I’m a new subscriber. I recently made an experiment using your chin chin recipe.i made a dough without using baking powder and another one using baking powder and respected the measurements as you said.i realized that the one without baking powder produced more crispy chin chin and the one with baking powder instead soaked up some oil and it was less crispy.

    Reply

  37. I would suggest that if someone wants more crispier chin chin I feel baking powder should be left out.whats your own point of view auntie precious?

    Reply

  38. I made it today. …I used lemon instead and it came out perfect. ..and yes a tin of peak milk represented a cup of evaporated milk in the recipe…

    Reply

  40. Hi, I am @chosen_salt, i intend to start up my chin chin business again and I want to take it to the next level of market so I needed something new. Thanks for the heads up, it will be very helpful

    Reply

  41. hey precious, thanks so much for your sweet recipes. i have made chin chin with this recipe 2 different times… so crunchy as you say. but the only difficulty i faced through out the process was the oil foaming during frying. please will be grateful if you can give me some knowledge on why it happens…
    thanks so much…

    Reply

    • Hi Ache, avoid overcrowding the pan with chin chin while frying. I fry only a handful at a time.That helps to prevent the annoying foaming. Hope this helps.

      Reply

  42. Thank you for this recipe. I have learnt a lot. Please can you add me to your whatsapp group. Thank you.

    Reply

  43. wow! thanks so much sis precious, I had searched the web several times for chin chin recipe and all the time I wasn’t impressed with the results. The moment I bumped into your chin chin recipe there was a click in my spirit that I got it, its just exactly what I had been looking for. your recipes are just so amazing sis I love them. please can you add me on Whatsapp- 679588696

    Reply

  45. Hello Precious,
    This is Catherine from Uganda. I tried your recipe for home chin chin and it flew right from the pan into the mouths of my family members. They suggested I start selling them but have been reluctant because am not sure of the shelf life of this particular recipe. How long would they last with this exact recipe?
    2. With what can I replace evaporated milk and eggs as they become too expensive for commercial chin chin?
    Thank you so very much. May God bless you abundantly.

    Reply

    • Hi Catherine, so sorry for the very late response. Great to hear that your family members loved the Chin Chin! I can’t really tell the shelf life because it hardly lasts for long in my home. But if kept well in an airtight container or bag it could last for weeks or even months. Also, you can replace the evaporated milk with water and you could also reduce the number of eggs. Make up for the eggs with water. Hope this helps.

      Reply

  46. My chin chin does not get hard. After frying it gets soggy even after following the menu. I cannot figure out why this is happening.

    Reply

  49. This is wonderful. But ma I need to make two rubber paint of flour for chinchin, so I need an accurate measurement for my butter, sugar, egg, milk, nutmeg, zest, baking powder.

    Reply

    • Hi Obende, there is an accurate measurement on the post. What you need to do is multiply it according to the quantity you want to make. Start with determining how many kilograms of flour make ‘two rubber paint’ then you multiply the rest of the ingredients as needed. Happy cooking!

      Reply

  51. Please what do you mean by the chinchin is too rich. I’m having similar challenges of the chinchin scattering.

    Reply

  52. Hi Precious, I tried out your recipe and it tasted really amazing… Love the orange zest flavor a lot… Keep up the good work and God bless you

    Reply

  53. Hi Precious! Thanks for the great work. I noticed water is not included in your recipe. Can I make the dough without adding water?

    Reply

  55. Thank you for ds recipe. For the standard cup I have & I know of, a cup actually equals 250ml (as against 235ml u said in reply to one of d comments). So pls how do I reconcile ds to ur measurements so I don’t use wrong measurements.
    Also pls if I want to use just 2cups of flour (at least for a start) rather than the 4cups u used, how do I measure other ingredients?
    Thanks a lot

    Reply

    • Hi Chi, 1 cup of liquid is actually 235 ml but sometimes it is said to be 250 ml because 250 ml is a ‘neater’ and the little extra liquid might not make a huge difference depending on the recipe.
      About your second question: if you want to use 2 cups of flour then use half of every other ingredient. Hope this helps.

      Reply

      • Thanks for your response ma’am. I tried it with d stipulated measurements (that is the 4cups given in ur recipe) but it didn’t really come out crunchy. I actually just left it in d fridge and after two days I found out that some were a bit crunchy while others weren’t. Pls I s there something I’m doing wrongly?
        Worthy of note: d milk wasn’t up to d required measurement so I added water to make it up.

        Reply

  56. Hello ma, I was wowed the first day I came online to check out for chin chin recipe and I loved your recipe. Just watched the video on YOUTUBE and I have learnt how to mid to make my dough smooth. Thanks

    Reply

  57. Hi Aunty Pre
    I couldn’t wait to come back and tell you how wonderful this chinchin recipe is.
    I made some today and I have had to lock them up in a cupboard and give someone the keys so I don’t end up with a headache from the chewing.
    It’s amazing.
    I’m anxious to try your other recipes and see how they turn out.
    God Bless you o

    Reply

    • Hi Gold, this makes me so happy! Thank you for coming back to let me know. Glad you enjoyed the Chin Chin. It is so addictive! Please let me know if you try other recipes. God bless.

      Reply

  58. Hi precious
    Thanks for these recipes . So far I have tried the chinchin and fishroll . It came out well all crunchy and yummy too😋. I need your help on one thing how do you come up with the nutritional facts of each product?

    Reply

  59. Good day ma
    I like your reciepy especially orange zest
    Pls I want to know if I can mix chinchin over night cos of my tight schedule l may not fry immediately

    Reply

    • Hi Joy, yes you could do that. To ensure the dough doesn’t get bad you could place it in a fridge. Be sure to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before using so it is no hard and difficult to roll out and cut. Hope this helps.

      Reply

  60. Wow, amazing. Tried it out, it’s crunchy but not hard…. the kids loved it since it was easy to chew….. I added a bit of cinnamon and it came out heavenly… Thank you so much Sis

    Reply

  62. I actually follow ur recipe on chin chin but d chin chin bring d taste of nutmeg and I was confused if I add too much nutmeg or d absence of egg make it like that,is it a must I add salt pls kindly help out

    Reply

  63. Hello, I like your video, and I really want to make chinchin, but I have a little challenge, I can’t see a nutmeg, my question is can I make chinchin without adding NUTMEG?? Or is there any other substitute for it?

    Reply

  64. Hello, I like your video, and I really want to make chinchin, but I have a little challenge, I can’t see a nutmeg, my question is can I make chinchin without adding NUTMEG???
    Or is there any other substitute for it?

    Reply

  65. So amazing. As a young business mind, (not very young though) it came to my mind chin chin could be one of my products. I have been reading a lot on it and am lucky to have stopped here. The write up makes it seems a good venture. Thanks so much as I set up to hustle from here..

    Reply

  67. Thanks mom for the amazing chinchin receipt 1st try and it came out so yummy and delicious but I don’t think my chinchin will survive another day😂😂😂all hands deep in the bowl😘😘🤩 God bless you.

    Reply

  69. Hi Precious… Wanted to ask if your chinchin recipe can be used for large scale. I mean business wise and how do you go about it, the measurements and all

    Reply

    • Hi Temi, yes you can use this recipe for business. All you need to do is multiply the ingredients. This recipe uses half kg of flour or 4 cups. If you, for instance, want to make 10kg of flour instead multiply every ingredient by 20 to get the amounts you need. Hope this helps.

      Reply

  72. Hi anti,I have seen ur video of chin ching making I like it and am going to give it a try.pls add me on ur whatsaap groupe I will be very great full!

    Reply

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