Homemade Struffoli Recipe

If you've ever celebrated a big fat Italian Christmas, you've probably encountered a tempting platter of honey-covered dough balls. Struffoli, as per Nonna Box, comes from Italy's Campania region, although it may have its roots in neighboring Greece. The name is thought to come from the Greek word "strongoulos," meaning round or spheroid, though despite any ties to Greece, struffoli is very much considered an Italian dessert. Every Italian nonna's got their own way to make struffoli, but in its most basic form, it's a fairly simple dish: fried dough formed into balls, then drizzled with honey.

Recipe developer Stephanie Rapone describes the struffoli she makes as having a "crisp outer texture" and being "rich and buttery on the inside." She likes to flavor hers with Grand Marnier, although the traditional liqueur used in Italy has often been an anise-flavored one. You certainly don't have to use Grand Marnier, though — you can always sub in a cheaper orange liqueur or else a different liqueur such as amaretto, or you could use a sweeter liquor like brandy or rum. Rapone acknowledges that you can also just leave the booze out, saying "it's still delicious" if you do.

To make the struffoli, you'll need flour, salt, baking powder, and eggs. You'll also need the zest from a lemon and an orange as well as some of the juice from that lemon. For flavoring, you will need honey, Grand Marnier or other liqueur (if desired), and vanilla. While Rapone says "I prefer the flavor of vanilla bean paste," she does note that "you can use vanilla extract instead." Finally, you may need some nonstick cooking spray, and if you want to add a decorative touch to the struffoli, you can opt for either sprinkles or powdered sugar.

Before you get started making the dough, Rapone advises removing the butter from the fridge and cutting it into ½-inch chunks an hour ahead of time, that way it can come to room temperature. Meanwhile, you could also zest the orange and lemon and squeeze enough lemon juice to equal 2 teaspoons, then set the juice aside.

Once your butter is room temperature, you can mix the flour, salt, baking powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon each of the orange and lemon zests in the food processor, then add in the butter. Blend until the mixture appears course –- as Rapone describes the dough, it should look "like wet sand." At this point, add the eggs, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of liqueur, then mix until the dough forms a ball. Take that dough ball and wrap it in plastic, then stick it in the fridge for an hour.

Dust your countertop or cutting board with flour, then place the dough on the floured surface and cut it into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a "snake" about ¼-inch in diameter, then cut each one into smaller chunks about ¼-inch in size. Roll the chunks into balls. As Rapone tells us, these will be "about the size of a blueberry."

Toss these dough balls in about ¼ cup of flour, shaking off the excess. Rapone also suggests dropping the floured balls in a sieve, then shaking it to remove any surplus flour.

Pour a sufficient amount of oil into a deep, heavy pan so that it reaches about 2 inches up the sides. As Rapone explains, though, "You want to make sure there is at least 4 [inches] of empty space to the top of the pan for safe frying." Heat the oil to 375 F, and use a thermometer to make sure that it reaches that temperature and stays there.

Once the oil is at 375 F, put about ¼ of the dough balls into the pot and fry them until they are light golden in color, which should take two to three minutes. Use a slotted spoon or similar implement to remove the fried dough and drain it on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until you've fried all of the dough balls.

As the dough balls are cooling, mix the honey with the remaining sugar and liqueur and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Heat these ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, allowing them to come to a slow boil while stirring occasionally. You'll need to cook the syrup until the sugar dissolves, a process that may take about three minutes or so.

Remove the paper towels from under the fried dough balls, being careful not to spill them, then shake the plate a bit so the dough balls separate. Pour the honey syrup over top, stirring to make sure all of the dough balls are evenly coated.

Spray a drinking glass (size doesn't really matter) with nonstick spray, then place it in the center of a round serving platter that's about 14 to 18 inches in diameter. Arrange the struffoli around the glass in a circular shape — if you do so using your hands, Rapone suggests that you might want to spritz a little cooking spray on them first. (On your hands, not on the struffoli.) Drizzle any remaining honey syrup over the top of the struffoli. If you want to decorate the struffoli with sprinkles or powdered sugar, do so after the struffoli has had a chance to cool down.

Let the struffoli sit for at least an hour or up to a day before serving it, and remember to remove the glass first! Rapone says that struffoli is "typically a holiday dish, [so] there are usually other desserts to go with it," and these might include Italian cookies, pastries, and/or gelato or perhaps some fresh fruit to cut the sweetness a bit.

Rapone calls struffoli "party-friendly" and says that when she makes this dessert she just "set[s] it out for people to serve themselves." If you prefer that people not have their hands all over your creation, you can create a more germ-free version by skipping the serving platter and glass and instead filling cupcake liners to create individual serving portions.