In this post, you’ll find the authentic Italian struffoli recipe from Naples: tiny dough balls, fried, dipped in honey, and sprinkled with colorful confetti.
WHAT ARE STRUFFOLI
Italian struffoli are a traditional Italian Christmas dessert recipe with Neapolitan origins. Although a Southern dish, you’ll find these delicious, sweet bites practically on every table of the peninsula.
HOW TO EAT STRUFFOLI
Struffoli are a hand-eating dessert. People can take the bite-sized balls from the sticky pile with their hands. They could use miniature tongs… but it’s too complicated!
By picking one little fried dough sphere from the pyramid – or other shapes you’ve given the dessert – at the time, you end up ingurgitating quite a lot of these tiny doses of sugary happiness! But that’s ok… it’s Christmas!
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authentic struffoli from Naples
Ingredients
-
5.4
oz
00 flour
125 gr
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon white sugar 15 gr
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature 25 gr
- 2-3 tablespoons limoncello liquor
- the zest of ½ organic lemon
- salt
-
8.5
oz
extra-virgin olive oil
250 gr
-
3.5
oz
pure honey
100 gr
-
1
teaspoon
(gold) confetti/sprinkles
10 gr
Instructions
-
Place the flour on a working surface (or mixer bowl). Form a hole in the middle and pour in the egg, the butter, the sugar, the lemon zest, the limoncello, and one pinch of salt.
-
Work the dough until it comes together and you can form a ball.
-
Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm spot of the house for at least 30 minutes.
-
Take back the dough and work it with your hands to get 2.5 cm/1 inch large cylinders. Cut them into 2.5 cm/1 inch pieces and display them over a floured surface. You may work each piece between your palms to get a spherical, more regular form and a smoother surface (not mandatory).
-
Heat the oil in a medium, tall pot.
-
Use a colander or a fine sieve to shake the struffoli and get rid of the excess flour.
-
Toss them in the hot oil. When golden brown, use a skimmer to transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen paper - to absorb the extra grease.
-
Immediately after frying the dough balls, heat the honey in a large pot until liquid. Throw in the struffoli and mix delicately. As soon as they are all well covered with honey and the temperature has decreased a bit, add the confetti, mix well and pour everything on a serving plate. You can give the pile a pyramid or a wreath shape, according to your taste.
-
Bring to room temperature and serve.
Recipe Notes
- You can make struffoli one to two days before Christmas.
- Struffoli will last five days to one week, if stored at room temperature and covered with a plastic film (yes, it will stick a little).
- You can prepare the dough a day before frying it and store it in the refrigerator.
- Don't store the fried struffoli in the fridge!
Enjoy a sweet Italian Christmas!
Claudia