Struffoli are among the most delicious sweets in Campania. A family recipe for your Christmas.

Their most probable origin is Spain and are one of the many legacies that the Spanish viceroyalty left to this region. The first appearances in local recipes as Christmas sweets can be traced back to the seventeenth century.

The preparation of struffoli is very simple and you will find the recipe below.

Ingredients

• 550 gr of flour
• 50 gr of sugar
• 100 grams of butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 50 ml of aniseed liqueur
• 1 lemon peel (1 lemon)
• 1 orange peel (1 orange)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 400 gr of honey
• peanut oil for frying to taste
• 100 gr of candied fruit (cherries, orange, cedar)
• colored codette (silver, gold, various colors) as required

Preparation

The flour and the yeast must be sieved in a bowl in which, subsequently, you will add: melted butter, lemon zest and grated orange, sugar, anise liqueur and a pinch of salt. Mix the mixture until it forms a lot of crumbs.

Open the 4 eggs and pour them into the container, continuing to mix until the dough has reached the desired consistency. Then transfer it to a floured work surface.

Knead well and vigorously until obtaining a smooth dough loaf which will have to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

After the necessary time, take the dough and place it on a floured surface. Roll it out rather thick and, with the help of a knife, make cords of about 1 cm in diameter and then cut them to obtain the same number of cubes. The pieces obtained will be passed through the hands and rounded until they form small balls, making sure that they are all the same.

Heat plenty of peanut oil in a high-pan steel pan. At 180 ° C fry in the struffoli. It is important that you fry a few at a time, so you can better control the cooking. When they have assumed a beautiful golden color and uniform, drain them on absorbent paper and let them cool.

In a separate pan you will have to heat the honey together with a small glass of water until it is liquefied. At that point remove it from the heat dip the struffoli and mix well.

While the honey is still hot, remove the struffoli from the pan and shape them on a serving dish. The most usual shapes are the pyramid, the dome, the donut or the Christmas tree.

Finish your composition by still decorating with candied cherries and colored sprinkles.