Struffoli – Honey Balls

Struffoli come either baked or fried. Their small size tends to encourage you to keep eating and it may take a lot of will-power to stop.

All purpose flour 3½ cups
Granulated sugar ¼ cup
Baking powder 1½ tsp
Salt ¼ tsp
Eggs 4 large
Vegetable oil ½ cup
Vanilla extract 1 tsp
Vegetable oil for frying (optional) 2 quarts

  • Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.

  • In another bowl, whisk eggs, oil, and vanilla extract together well.

  • Add wet mixture to dry ingredients. Blend just until a dough is formed. Rest dough for 10 minutes.

  • For baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. For frying, heat 2 quarts oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, lay out a slotted spoon and paper towels for drying.

    Shaping struffoli

  • Roll a handful of dough on a lightly floured surface into a rope of about ½-inch in diameter. Cut it into pieces of ½-inch in length.


    Honey Balls
  • Arrange little pieces of dough on prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Move parchment paper with cookies on it to a wire rack to cool.


  • OR drop about a dozen pieces of dough into hot oil at a time, stirring a few times to prevent sticking. Fry 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove fried struffoli and drain them on paper towel.

    Struffoli

  • Before serving, place cookies in a bowl and prepare the glaze by boiling 1 cup honey with ¼ cup granulated sugar. Gently pour the boiling liquid over cookies.

    Using a spatula and with a folding motion, distribute the glaze so that cookies are coated evenly. As the glaze cools, it becomes stickier and adhere to the cookies better.



    Arrange the honey-coated struffoli on a serving platter and sprinkle with nonpareils as decoration.

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