DIFFICULTY: 3
20 minutes
INGREDIENTS PER 8 PEOPLE
For the Dough:
Flour, 3 1/3 cups
Eggs, 4 large
Anise liqueur, 1 tsp
Butter, 2 tbsps
Sugar, 1 tbsp
Zest of half a lemon, grated
Zest of half an orange, grated
Salt, 1 pinch
For the struffoli:
Olive oil for frying
Honey, ¾ pound
Sugar, ¾ cup
Water, 1/3 cup
Colored sprinkles
Candied cherries, 4 halved
PROCEDURE
Combine all the ingredients for the dough and knead it well. Let it rest for at least one hour, covered. It does take a while for the dough to completely absorb the eggs.
Then pluck off a piece, roll it out under your fingers to form a snake that is more or less as thin as your pinkie and cut the dough into quarter-inch long pieces. Then fry few pieces at a time in hot oil until they will be brown and drain them on some absorbent paper. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Into another pot, preferably round-bottomed, put the honey, sugar and water. Boil the mixture until the foam will die down and it will start turning yellow. At this point reduce the heat and add struffoli. Stir to distribute all evenly through the honey, then turn the mixture out onto a plate. By means of your fingers shape the mixture in a wreath with a hole in the middle or in a dome shape, dipping your hands frequently into cold water avoiding this way to burn yourself.
Sprinkle with colored sprinkles and arrange the cherry halves. Struffoli will keep one week or even more, if covered, and the dessert improves with age.
Thanks to: Joovina Cooks Italian
