Cilento Struffoli – Italian Honey Ball Cookies
Ready in
2h 30 min
Preparation
2h 10 min
Cooking
20 min
Portions
6 Person
Cost
medium
difficulty
medium
Italian honey ball cookies
Cilento Struffoli
The Cilento struffoli or Italian Honey Ball Cookies are small cylinders of fried dough, after which, they are mixed in cooked honey and once cold, they become crumbly and crunchy, they differ from the Neapolitan ones, because they are rigorously mixed with lard, from which they also take the name and I’m yeast-free.
Cilento Struffoli is an ancient dessert that was given to us by the Greeks, in fact, Cilento belonged to Magna Graecia, and is rich in archaeological areas of which, Paestum and Velia.
Struffoli are for us from Campania as panettone for the Milanese, pandoro for the Veronese and panforte for the Tuscans, that is, these sweets are the emblem of Christmas and absolutely cannot be missing on our tables during the Christmas holidays.
Cilento struffoli, are also accompanied by many other specialties, of course, each province has its own and in Salerno, especially in Cilento, in addition to castagnelle, zeppole, knuckles and scauratielli there are figs with chocolate, a unique specialty in the world, very appreciated by British royalty and American presidents.
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g flour 00
- 100 g fat
- 100 g sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 organic lemon
Per Friggere
- 1 liter corn or extra virgin olive oil
- 4 sprigs of rosemary to flavor
- j.e. blotting paper
For Garnish
- 250 g wildflower honey
- 100 g whole hazelnuts
- 100 g almonds
- 100 g confetti little evils*
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Directions
On a pastry board or in a large bowl, prepare the fountain* with the flour
Add the lard to the center of the fountain. If it is hard, melt it in a saucepan without frying it
Put the sugar in the center of the fountain and then break the eggs
Grate the lemon zest directly onto the flour
Start kneading starting from the centerStart kneading starting from the center
Work the dough vigorously for 10 minutes or, until the dough is smooth and compact
On a pastry board, cut the basic dough into three equal parts, knead it a little and give it the shape of a ball
Form sticks with a circumference of 1 cm or exaggeratedly of the little finger
Cut the sticks into small cubes
In a wok or a high narrow pan, heat the oil to 180°C (350°F), if you don’t have a thermometer, put a pinch of flour in the hot oil if it is frying, the oil is ready
drop the cubes of dough into the oil, a few at a time, otherwise the oil will come out, turn with a slotted spoon* and fry until they are golden brown
With a slotted spoon, remove the struffoli from the oil and place them to drain in a container with absorbent paper and rosemary. Continue this operation until you have finished the pasta
in a low and large pan, melt the honey over moderate heat, until it has become frothy
Pour the struffoli, hazelnuts and almonds into the honey. With two spoons, turn the ingredients continuously, until they have absorbed all the honey.
Tips
- The flours are not all the same, therefore, when you knead, adjust with water, the dough should not be too hard or even less soft.
- The flour must be strictly semolina.
- Do not leave the pasta uncovered otherwise it will dry out.
- *Little Evils confetti or Diavolina Confetti are colored sugar sprinkles.
- *The fountain is the hole made in the flour so as not to let the liquid ingredients come out.
Storage
The struffoli can be kept in a dessert holder or glass bell, even for a week at room temperature.
Equipments
- Pastry board
- Cooker
- Fridge
- Cooking pan
- Wok or pot
- Silicone spatula
- Tea towel
- Blotting paper
- Skimmer
- Large bowl
- 2 medium bowls
- 2 tbsp
- 2 Teaspoons
- Tray
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