Alba’s Napolitan Christmas Struffoli

Struffoli

Ingredients for the Dough:                                                                   

4 cups unbleached flour                                                      

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened                                      

3 whole eggs + 1 yolk                                                           
¼ cup sugar
1 ounce Limoncello liqueur
Zest 1 large orange
Pinch salt

Pinch baking soda

1 ounce whole milk or almond milk

For the syrup:

1 ½ cups honey

¼ cup sprinkles

 

Creating the logs

Cutting into small pieces

Directions for the dough:

In a large bowl add and mix the flour, salt and baking soda together. Make a little well in the center of the bowl.  Add remaining ingredients in the center.  Incorporate and mix batter until it is homogenized.  Knead about 5 minute until  the dough is smooth (if the dough is too tough, add a little milk, if it is too soft add a little more flour). Cover with towel in a bowl and allow to rest at least 30 minutes at room temp.

Once rested, divide into 8 smaller pieces; roll  each piece into thin long logs (thin snakes). Cut each log into tiny ¼ inch pieces about the size of chick peas.  Set on a clean towel to get ready to cook.

Prepare a medium size pan half filled with a light vegetable, canola, or safflower oil.  When hot, add a batch of struffoli at a time and cook.  Stir continuously and cook until just golden (not brown). Transfer cooked struffoli to paper towel to drain the excess oil. Continue this process until all the struffoli have been cooked.

Frying the dough

Directions for the syrup:

In a wide pan, heat the honey on medium-low heat about 3 minutes.  Turn off heat; add the cooked struffoli.  Mix well and uniformly.  Transfer the struffoli to a dish and shape like a wreath or small Christmas tree. Decorate lightly with sprinkles. Allow to rest about an hour before serving. 

Struffoli are sweet morsels of delicious tiny dough balls that are first fried and then dipped in warm honey.  It is a traditional  dessert in the Campania region of Italy which is served for Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Struffoli are decorated with colored sprinkles, candied fruit, and even coated almonds. They can be prepared in advance.  I usually prepare them a few days before Christmas. There are a few variations of this recipe depending of where you live.  Even though struffoli are served at Christmas, there is no rule in America, so you could make them for any special occasion and watch them go swiftly!