Stuffoli

I  was watching Giada DeLaurentis' Christmas cooking special and Giada and her Aunt Raffy made Stuffoli for dessert.  This dessert looked like so much fun and I thought my family would really enjoy it.  I decided to research Stuffoli a little bit and I found 100 different ways to make it.  I decided to try Giada's recipe first which was the most involved one although I did adapt it a little bit.  I think it came out really delicious.  I curious about some of the other recipes so I plan to make a few different ones to see which I like best.  I served this as one of the desserts for our Chanukah party this year.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

1 large lemon, zested (about 2 teaspoons)

1/2 large orange, zested (about 2 teaspoons)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon white wine, such as pinot grigio

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Canola oil, for frying (I used vegetable oil)

Honey Coating:

1 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Sugar sprinkles, for decoration

Preparation:

For the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together 2 cups of flour, lemon zest, orange zest, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the eggs, wine, and vanilla. Pulse until the mixture forms into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pull of a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll into a rope on a lightly floured surface.  Cut each rope of pastry into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a small ball about the size of a hazelnut. Lightly dredge the dough balls in flour, shaking off any excess. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.). In batches, fry the dough until lightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

In a large saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, and lemon juice over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the fried dough and stir until coated in the honey mixture. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan for 2 minutes.

On a large platter pour out struffoli and try to arrange into a high pile or you can place a tall glass sprayed with non-stick cooking spray in the middle of a platter and arrange the stuffoli around the glass to form a wreath shape.  Drizzle any remaining honey mixture over the struffoli. Allow to set for 2 hours (can be made 1 day in advance). Decorate with sprinkles.