Christmas in Italy, step two:

“I struffoli” – little fried balls of deliciousness covered in honey, just like my Nonna used to make every year.  My turn now…  She’d be proud.

Here’s my recipe (sorry, it’s in the metric system – I’m used to it by now).

Ingredients:

400 grams of flour

40 grams of sugar

5 eggs

1 shot of limoncello

Lemon zest

Sunflower oil

Honey (ideally citrus-infused)

Candy decor

Mix flour, sugar, eggs, limoncello, and lemon zest in mixer until dough is formed (should be thick enough to be able to form balls).  Work dough with a dusting of flour and section off into large clumps. Pull fingertip-sized bits of dough from the clumps one at a time and roll into mini balls (this is the most time-consuming part, depending on how big you choose to make them – they are typically very tiny).  Give them a light dusting of flour so they’re all separated, then toss them into hot sunflower oil until they turn a golden brown color.  Oil should be at least half-pan deep and very hot.  Strain them and lay to rest on some paper towel in a serving bowl.  Once all have been fried, remove the paper towel and pour honey abundantly over struffoli, turning with a large spoon to be sure all are covered.  Sprinkle colored candies over them, and enjoy!