Struffoli

Duration: 1 h

Difficolty: Medium

Origin: Campania

Struffoli are a typical dessert from Naples. Christmas is approaching and it’s time for tradition. In fact, struffoli are generally prepared during the Christmas period and thanks to their small shape, the size of a chickpea, they lend themselves to spectacular decorations, using colored decorations of sugar and candied fruit. The name struffolo has an uncertain origin, the most probable being the derivation of the Greek word “Stroggulos” (“rounded in shape”).

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 250 g of flour 00
• 2 whole eggs + 1 yolk
• 25 g of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 30 ml of anise liqueur
• 1 lemon
• 35 g of Butter

For the gasket:

• 500 ml of honey
• Colorful sweets
• Candied fruit pieces

How to Proceed

To prepare the dough, pour the flour into a well and add the eggs, the sugar, the pinch of salt, the liqueur, the grated peel of a lemon and the melted and cooled butter. Work for a long time until you obtain a dry and consistent dough. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. At this point, cut some pieces and work them until they become thin sticks, from which to cut many balls (the size of both the sticks and the struffoli is a free choice, I prefer them quite small).

At this point heat the oil in a saucepan. When it is boiling, pour in the struffoli, a little at a time and fry them until golden brown, turning them over.

Once cooked, dry them with absorbent paper.

For the garnish, melt the honey in a pan, pour the struffoli inside and turn them over. When the struffoli are completely covered in honey, turn off the heat under the pan and add the candied fruit and sprinkles.