Calling all Italians who know how to make "strufoli"...honey balls

[luvwinnie]

Ihave my mom's INGREDIENTS but no DIRECTIONS. I'm just wondering in what order to beat the ingredients together...or maybe it doesn't matter all that much? Her recipe calls for sour cream. Some I've seen on the Web don't.

 

[Razor Roman]

I don't know the recipe my grandma used for Strufoli, and sorry to Hijack the thread, but I loved my grandma's strufoli... but the Christmas cookies I really miss are her sesame seed cookies.

If anyone has a recipe for those, PM me!

 

[Beauty]

Try Pming JerseyJanice, I haven't heard of an Italian dish yet that she couldn't master!

 

[phillybeth]

Can you post the ingredients? I can try to figure out the order for you...

 

[luvwinnie]

Beauty, yes I thought of her! I will do that.

The ingredients are

flour, eggs, sugar, cooking oil, sour cream, dash of salt
Thanks!!

 

[luvwinnie]

Razor, try this
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1818,159169-236201,00.html

 

[Margie J]

Here's a basic stuffoli recipe:

Struffoli

6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 vanilla beans
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 gallon vegetable oil
1 pound honey
1 small jar candy sprinkles

Break the eggs and whisk. Put eggs through a strainer to make sure they are mixed properly. Add sugar to eggs and mix immediately to prevent sugar from burning eggs. Bring butter to room temperature. Flake butter into the flour.
Split vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and add them to the sugar/egg mixture. Put mixture into a mixer and mix (using dough hook) and slowly add the flour. Let dough rest in a cool dry place.
Roll out the dough into small quantities. Cut dough into 1/2-inch strips and cut 1/2-inch pieces from the strips. Place the 1/2-inch squares onto a baking pan.
Put vegetable oil into a large pot and bring to 350 degrees. Fry small quantities of the dough squares in the oil and when golden brown, place onto a baking pan lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. When all dough is fried, let cool to room temperature.
In a saucepan, heat the honey (not to a boil) and add small quantities of the fried dough to the pan. Stir lightly with a large slotted spoon. Remove from saucepan and place onto a serving plate and sprinkle with candy sprinkles.


This is the recipe for Sesame Cookies I use:


Italian Sesame Seed Cookies

Ingredients:
* * *8 cups of flour
* * *4 large eggs or 6 small eggs
* * *1 1/2 cups shortening or unsalted butter
* * *4 oz. sesame seeds (or more)
* * *2 1/2 cups sugar
* * *4 t. baking powder
* * *1 t salt
* * *1 t. vanilla
* * *milk as needed

Directions:
** * 1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
* * *2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with vanilla
* * *3. Cut shortening into dry ingredients.
* * *4. Add egg mixture and enough milk to make a soft dough.
* * *5. Take small portion of dough at a time and roll into long ropes.
* * *6. Sprinkle sesame seeds on a board and roll ropes through the seeds.
* * *7. Cut on the diagonal about every two inches.
* * *8. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I use a food processor to make the dough. Then the dough is rolled into logs the diameter of hot dogs, then cut.

 

[phillybeth]

Beauty, yes I thought of her! I will do that.

The ingredients are

flour, eggs, sugar, cooking oil, sour cream, dash of salt
Thanks!!

I would beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the sour cream. Mix the salt and flour together and mix gradually on low speed until just blended. Let the dough rest for at least 1/2 hour and fry in oil. HTH!

 

[rubyslipperlover]

you say "strufoli", I say "teiglach". very sticky but very good.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Strufoli is one of the few Italian recipes I actual have written down. Let me dig it out to type and post for you.

I don't use sour cream though. I do mix it with my hands--squishing and squashing it till it's well mixed.

Give me a few minutes...

 

[Patricia]

My mother's recipe is a little different, but they are very delicious. I have been eating them for the past two weeks, breakfast lunch and dinner...

All of the ingredients go together and I use the Kitchen Aid. Then they are fried in hot oil. This year I made 14 batches, a bit too much but there is still time to share for the New Year.

3 Cups flour
4 eggs
1/4 cup of cooking oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice

Add honey and let them sit for about 24 hours.. the best...

 

[JerseyJanice]

Easy to find because I used the notebook it's in to prepare some things for Christmas Eve. Here you go:

Place in a large bowl:

2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Make a well in the center of the flour, then add one at a time, mixing well after each addition:

3 eggs

Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix well to form a soft dough. (Like I said before, I just squish it with my hands.)

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a bit. Divide dough into halves. With a rolling pin, gently roll one half into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch wide strips (use a pastry cutter if you have one--a pizza cutter works or just a sharp knife).

Using your hands, roll the strips into "pencils." (It's like playing with Play-Doh.) Then cut them into pieces 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. Repeat with second half of dough.

Deep fry the pieces as many will fit in a single layer in the fryer you use. (You need to preheat the oil. I test it for hotness by putting a piece in. If it starts to fry immediately, the fat is ready. If you have an electric fryer, the recipe calls for the fat to be 365 degrees.)

Cook the pieces 3 to 5 minutes, turning them once, until they're golden. Drain them on paper towels.

After you've fried it all, make the honey coating. Cook in a large skillet over low heat about 5 minutes:

1 cup honey
1 tablespoon sugar

Remove from heat and add the deep-fried pieces. Stir constantly until all the pieces are coated with the honey/sugar mixture. Remove strufoli with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Refrigerate for a few minutes to chill slightly. Then place it onto a serving platter, molding it with your hands into a cone-shaped mound.

Sprinkle with one tablespoon of multi-colored non-pareils, then chill in refrigerate. Serve by breaking it into pieces.

Enjoy! (It's really easier than it may sound. Once you get the rolling and frying going, it's very simple.)

 

[luvwinnie]

Thank you all! How I regret not making them WITH my mom so I could have learned from her...

 

[luvwinnie]

my mom's doesn't say sifted flour...think it makes a huge difference?

 

[JerseyJanice]

The recipe I typed came from an Italian cooking pamphlet printed in the 1950's.

I suspect it made a bigger difference then than it would now. I don't think ordinary bleached flour was milled as finely as it is now, and therefore, lumps and air pockets were more prevalent then.

 

[luvwinnie]

Thanks, Janice! I made it and it tastes great...they are just bigger than my moms. Now I know to make them TINY.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Wow, I haven't had those in YEARS (like 30+!!)! My aunt always made them. I remember getting in trouble one time because my cousins and I ate and ate and ate them ALL.

I'm going to print out the recipes, and maybe I'll even MAKE them sometime! Thanks!

 

[beattyfamily]

I LOVE Strufoli and I remember my Nanny buying them every Easter. Yummy. I now buy them every year at our local, very popular, Italian bakery. I've tried to make them twice now and they are not the same as the bakery's. Mine are more cake-like than the bakery's. I like them lighter and airy.

I think I'll try and make them again this Easter!!

I also enjoy Wandis; does anyone here know what they are? They are shaped like wheels and are fried and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. My friend's mother makes them in the shape of bows and puts honey and powdered sugar on them. They are GREAT.

 

[MariettaC]

Don't know how to make it, but when I think of strufoli I am always reminded of my father who loved to bring it to our house during the holidays.

 

[Margie J]

I also enjoy Wandis; does anyone here know what they are? They are shaped like wheels and are fried and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. My friend's mother makes them in the shape of bows and puts honey and powdered sugar on them. They are GREAT.

Yes, my Aunt made some for Christmas. Those are tasty. She also made sesame candy. I asked her to show me how to make that some day since that takes practice.