Hot oil for deep frying
Butter for shaping
2 C. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. honey. Yes, 1 whole cup.
1 TB. sugar
sprinkles of whatever color you prefer. Mary F.J. Chiarello typically uses rainbow sprinkles, my favorite.
Mix together flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, and add in the eggs one at a time, mixing slightly after each addition. Add in vanilla. Lightly knead into a soft dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead some more, just until the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide in half. For each half: roll out to 1/4" thick, then cut into 1/4" wide strips. Roll each strip into a pencil shape/snake. Cut each dough snake into pieces about 1/2" long. Heat the oil until bubbly but not too hot. (Yeah, I know this is super specific. The best way to tell is to drop a test dough piece in. The oil is the right temperature if the piece slowly puffs up and turns a golden brown in about 10-15 seconds.) Put the dough pieces in a few dozen at a time, removing as they rise to the top and become golden brown on both sides. As they do this, remove them from the oil and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels. Once they are all done, set them aside. In a separate deep saucepan, heat the honey and sugar together on low for about 5 minutes. In a metal (or other heat-resistant bowl) stir together the hot honey and fried dough. Put in the refrigerator and let cool and set about an hour. Remove from the fridge and get out a plate or serving dish. Butter your hands well, and then take handfuls of the honey clusters and shape them into the desired shape on your plate. When you've used all the clusters, liberally coat the outside with your sprinkles.
Some background info: the word "strufoli" literally means "beehive", which is descriptive of the shape you traditionally sculpt this dessert into. (Think hut-shaped rope basket thingy. Not the wooden boxes we typically keep bees in today.) However, the shape of your strufoli is up to you. The last time I made this with my grandmother, she suggested shaping it into a Christmas wreath and using red and green sprinkles!
How you eat strufoli: strufoli is the original unhygienic party food. You set your plate of strufoli out, and then everybody walks by snatching little pieces off and getting sticky until it's all gone. Remember, this dessert came from the same people who kiss each other *on the mouth* as form of greeting. If you can get past kissing your cigar-smoking great uncles on the mouth, you can eat strufoli.
Butter for shaping
2 C. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. honey. Yes, 1 whole cup.
1 TB. sugar
sprinkles of whatever color you prefer. Mary F.J. Chiarello typically uses rainbow sprinkles, my favorite.
Mix together flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, and add in the eggs one at a time, mixing slightly after each addition. Add in vanilla. Lightly knead into a soft dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead some more, just until the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide in half. For each half: roll out to 1/4" thick, then cut into 1/4" wide strips. Roll each strip into a pencil shape/snake. Cut each dough snake into pieces about 1/2" long. Heat the oil until bubbly but not too hot. (Yeah, I know this is super specific. The best way to tell is to drop a test dough piece in. The oil is the right temperature if the piece slowly puffs up and turns a golden brown in about 10-15 seconds.) Put the dough pieces in a few dozen at a time, removing as they rise to the top and become golden brown on both sides. As they do this, remove them from the oil and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels. Once they are all done, set them aside. In a separate deep saucepan, heat the honey and sugar together on low for about 5 minutes. In a metal (or other heat-resistant bowl) stir together the hot honey and fried dough. Put in the refrigerator and let cool and set about an hour. Remove from the fridge and get out a plate or serving dish. Butter your hands well, and then take handfuls of the honey clusters and shape them into the desired shape on your plate. When you've used all the clusters, liberally coat the outside with your sprinkles.
Some background info: the word "strufoli" literally means "beehive", which is descriptive of the shape you traditionally sculpt this dessert into. (Think hut-shaped rope basket thingy. Not the wooden boxes we typically keep bees in today.) However, the shape of your strufoli is up to you. The last time I made this with my grandmother, she suggested shaping it into a Christmas wreath and using red and green sprinkles!
How you eat strufoli: strufoli is the original unhygienic party food. You set your plate of strufoli out, and then everybody walks by snatching little pieces off and getting sticky until it's all gone. Remember, this dessert came from the same people who kiss each other *on the mouth* as form of greeting. If you can get past kissing your cigar-smoking great uncles on the mouth, you can eat strufoli.
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