"Struffoli" & “Italian White Wedding Cookies” For Your Holiday Table

             "Winter is the time for comfort - it is the time for home." - Edith Sitwell

Advent is almost over and we have less than a week before Christmas Day. Are you all ready with your gifts, menu, and your desserts? Don’t panic, I still have lots to do as well, so you are not alone. One of my favorite things about this time of year is holiday baking and making wonderful homemade gifts. The aromas of the house surrounding each and every room. The sweet smell of cinnamon, raisins, nuts, brown sugar, and gingerbread. The oven in the kitchen going non-stop, plus seeing the flour, sugar, and the cookie cutters bring back so many memories of my family baking together for Christmas.

I love and enjoy cooking but baking is my favorite. I guess in my Italian family, I must have inherited the “baking gene.” I have learned so much from watching my mother and grandmothers when I was growing up. We had this wooden board, which was my great-grandmother’s. When the board was placed on the table, I felt like I was transported back in time, and I could see my great-grandmother Sofia rolling out the dough on her board. I have since inherited “the board” which I use to create my own traditions. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, she died when I was too little to remember, but I know that my sweet great-grandmother is right next to me and watching.

Great -Grandmother Sofia

"Struffoli," is one of the most popular Italian sweets found on a dessert table for Christmas Eve. I remember the towers of Struffoli in my Mother’s kitchen! I can just see my mom, my grandmother Julia, and my aunt Sophie making these sweet honey balls in the kitchen in our house in Flushing, NY. I am so grateful that I was there to learn and help make these fried goodies. These are reminiscent of mini éclair puffs drenched in honey! I hope that you try this recipe and make your own memories of this very sweet and traditional dessert.

"Struffoli"

Ingredients:
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour (plus a little extra to work with)
3 Eggs
1/4 tsp of salt
2 cups of vegetable oil
2 cups of honey
1/2 cup of sugar

Directions:
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl add the eggs and salt. Mix well then put on floured board and knead until smooth. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch strips, and then cut the strips into tiny pieces 1/2 inch long. Shape these tiny pieces into balls by rolling them in your hand. Heat oil to 350°F. Drop the balls into the oil carefully a few at a time. Cook until lightly golden, turning them constantly with a wooden spoon, or a spider wand. Remove balls and drain them on a paper towel or use a clean brown paper bag.

Combine the honey and sugar in a saucepan and boil the mixture over low heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Now, add fried balls, 1 cup at a time, and coat in the honey syrup, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove the balls with a spider or slotted spoon and place on a flat plate to cool. Now you can shape you coated Struffoli into a tree or piled up high like a mountain. (A trick if you want to mold the coated honey balls into a wreath or tree shape, wet your hand slightly and that will help you mold the Struffoli easier. Your hands will not stick to the honey.) Then add confetti or sprinkles. They keep up to 2 weeks, if they last that long…

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I have a second cookie to share today which is one that everyone loves to eat. This little, round, sweet, cookie is called by many different names, but in my family we call them “Italian White Wedding Cookies.” These are extremely simple and don’t take long to create. I hope that you enjoy these cookies with your family!

“Italian White Wedding Cookies”

Ingredients:
1 cup of unsalted COLD butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
2 cups of all purpose unbleached flour; plus more for dusting hands
1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
Powdered sugar to coat balls 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the nuts with a spatula. With floured hands, take about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a ball. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 20-30 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in confectioners sugar. Cool on wire racks.  Yield: depending on the size of the balls you make. This recipe makes about 2 dozen.  Enjoy!   

Till Next Time………………………………............

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