These traditional Struffoli were on the table at every Christmas Eve party I can remember growing up. This is my grandmother's recipe, and every year she would bring a tray of these fried Italian honey balls from the Bronx, coated in honey and covered with colorful sprinkles.
Love Italian desserts? Check out our Pistachio Cream Tiramisu or Italian Rice Pudding (Arborio Rice)!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Struffoli
- ⏲️Ready in: 2 hours
- 👪Makes: about 2 lbs
- 📋Main ingredients: Flour, honey, sugar.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: These delicious honey balls are a delicious small treat for the holidays, that can be made a day in advance.
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Struffoli and the Holidays
This is my grandmother's struffoli recipe, and it's a dessert we had in our house every Christmas Eve. I can still remember Christmas Eve morning when my grandmother would pull up to the house. We'd run out to the car to help her unload, and one of us would always end up carrying the big tray of honey balls wrapped in cellophane inside.
I love struffoli for the holidays because they're served at room temperature and can be made a day or two in advance. Whether you're hosting Christmas or bringing dessert to someone else's house, there's no need to make them fresh right before serving.
They're also the kind of dessert everyone slowly picks at throughout the day, grabbing a honey ball or two whenever they walk past the tray. You can satisfy your sweet tooth without ruining your appetite for the real dessert later, like Italian ricotta cookies or Pistachio Torta Caprese.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Orange juice and lemon zest. Fresh orange juice and lemon zest give the dough a light citrus flavor without overpowering the honey. I use 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice. For a stronger orange flavor, you can substitute Cointreau for the orange juice.
- Vegetable oil. Use vegetable oil for frying. Another neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola oil, will also work.
- Maraschino cherries. These are optional, but they give the finished struffoli that classic Italian bakery look.
- Butter. Use unsalted butter at room temperature so it's soft enough to easily work into the flour with a fork.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to make Struffoli
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: Add the sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, orange juice, and butter. Mix with a large fork until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 3: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated.
Step 4: Once the dough has mostly come together, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes, until smooth, adding only enough additional flour to prevent the dough from sticking. The finished dough should be soft and slightly tacky. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.
Step 5: Divide the dough into 6 smaller portions.
Step 6: Roll each into a long rope about ½ inch thick.
Step 7: Cut the ropes into pieces about ½ inch wide. The pieces can be fried as they are or rolled individually into small balls.
Step 8: Add about 3 inches of vegetable oil to a Dutch oven and heat to 375°F. Fry the struffoli in small batches, stirring as needed, until light golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Avoid overcrowding the pot so the oil temperature doesn't drop too much.
Transfer the fried struffoli to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain. Continue frying in batches until all of the dough is cooked.
Step 9: Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat until it is warm and fluid enough to pour. Place the struffoli in a bowl and pour the honey over them. Toss well.
Step 10: Transfer the honey-coated struffoli to a serving platter and form them into a wreath or pyramid. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then decorate with nonpareils and serve.
Pro-Tips
- Knead based on how the dough looks, not just the clock. Everyone kneads with a different amount of strength, so the exact time will vary. You're looking for a relatively smooth dough, but it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth.
- Don't add too much flour. The dough should be a little tacky. It can be tempting to keep adding flour until it feels completely dry, but too much flour will make the finished struffoli more cakey instead of light and crisp.
- Use a bench scraper if the dough sticks. Lightly re-flour your work surface as needed, but don't keep working extra flour into the dough. A bench scraper makes it easy to lift any sticky dough from the counter and work it back into the dough.
- Keep the struffoli small. This is probably the most tedious part of the recipe, but it's worth taking the extra time. Aim for pieces about the size of a small marble. Smaller struffoli fry more evenly and have a less cakey texture in the center.
- Don't over-fry them. Fry the struffoli just until they're golden brown and begin to float in the oil. They don't need to get dark brown to be cooked through.
FAQs about Struffoli
Yes, struffoli can be made up to a day or two in advance of serving. In fact, we always do make them a day in advance.
Struffoli can be stored at room temperature in an airtight bag for 3-4 days. I wait to put the cherries and nonpareils on until the day I'm serving so that the colors don't run.
This is usually because you worked too much flour into the dough. Make sure to accurately measure flour by weight and don't be tempted to keep adding flour to the dough if it feels sticky.
I like struffoli to be the size of a small marble. This way the fry more evenly and they don't come out cakey.
More Classic Christmas Eve Recipes
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Struffoli (Italian Honey Balls)
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 spider strainer
- 1 bench scraper
- 1 thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoon butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- Pinch salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup honey
- 3 cups vegetable oil or enough to fill a Dutch oven about 3 inches deep
- Nonpareils for decorating
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, orange juice, and butter. Mix with a large fork until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated.
- Once the dough has mostly come together, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes, until smooth, adding only enough additional flour to prevent the dough from sticking. The finished dough should be soft and slightly tacky. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into 6 smaller portions and roll each into a long rope about ½ inch thick. Cut the ropes into pieces about ½ inch wide. The pieces can be fried as they are or rolled individually into small balls.
- Add about 3 inches of vegetable oil to a Dutch oven and heat to 375°F. Fry the struffoli in small batches, stirring as needed, until light golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the fried struffoli to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain. Continue frying in batches until all of the dough is cooked.
- Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat until it is warm and fluid enough to pour. Place the struffoli in a bowl and pour the honey over them. Toss well.
- Transfer the honey-coated struffoli to a serving platter and form them into a wreath or pyramid. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then decorate with nonpareils and serve.
Notes
- Knead based on how the dough looks, not just the clock. Everyone kneads with a different amount of strength, so the exact time will vary. You're looking for a relatively smooth dough, but it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth.
- Don't add too much flour. The dough should be a little tacky. It can be tempting to keep adding flour until it feels completely dry, but too much flour will make the finished struffoli more cakey instead of light and crisp.
- Use a bench scraper if the dough sticks. Lightly re-flour your work surface as needed, but don't keep working extra flour into the dough. A bench scraper makes it easy to lift any sticky dough from the counter and work it back into the dough.
- Keep the struffoli small. This is probably the most tedious part of the recipe, but it's worth taking the extra time. Aim for pieces about the size of a small marble. Smaller struffoli fry more evenly and have a less cakey texture in the center.
- Don't over-fry them. Fry the struffoli just until they're golden brown and begin to float in the oil. They don't need to get dark brown to be cooked through.
Vinny DelGiudice says
This one really makes me miss my grandmother. I love serving these every christmas. They're a fun dessert to make with my kids and remind me of the Christmases from 20 years ago!