Photo: Sue McCrory

Yesterday was a special day in my family. We converged at my brother’s house late in the afternoon for our annual strufoli-making party. Each year my mom directs, my dad watches, the younger of my two brothers manages, and all ten of us execute in some fashion. It was a great event, once again.

In preparation for this post, I googled strufoli to learn the history and should have figured. There’s a whole range of info out there. In turns, this sweet treat is: a Christmas tradition; “a favorite at Italian weddings;” Sicilian; Neapolitan (spelled struffoli); alternately flavored with orange rind, anise, vanilla, chocolate or nuts; a “cookie” (not exactly, not in my family!); and a “honey ball” (again, not exactly, at least not when we make it).

Strufoli is most definitely fried, coated with honey, predominantly associated with Christmas and Italian cuisine (don’t be fooled by the “Mc” in my married name.)

Back to the party. There we all were, three generations strolling in expectantly with rolling pins, pastry cutters and large, empty plates in hand. The bigger your plate, the bigger your bounty of strufoli on Christmas Day. Two-plus hours later, we left reeking of oil (my clothes still smell) and contentedly holding a plate piled high with strufoli for decimation on the 25th.

Here is the recipe from my grandmother, Emma Graziano, for how to make “strufs.” It’s a tradition we treasure.

STRUFOLI
4 cups flour
2 T baking powder
6 eggs, beaten, to which is added 3 T water
2 T vegetable oil
corn oil for frying

Mix flour and baking powder; mix eggs and oil in a separate bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in the egg mixture. Mix with a fork. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 5 minutes. Cover loosely with wax paper and let rest 1 hour. Roll dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured board. With a pastry cutter, cut the dough on the diagonal into 1/3 to 3/8 inch strips; then cut across the strips, also on the diagonal, to form small diagonal-shape pieces of dough. Work a quarter of dough at a time for easy handling. As you cut them, put the un-cooked pieces into foil pans to help keep them from sticking to one another. Fry small amounts at a time in 1-inch deep hot corn oil. Use a slotted spoon to lift out when lightly brown. Layer on brown paper to absorb extra oil.

Note: the strufoli can be made ahead of time (as many as 2-3 days ahead) and then honeyed. Store in an air-tight container until you are ready to honey.

SYRUP
1  1/2 cups good quality honey
scant 2 cups water
2-3 handfuls granulated sugar

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and boil about 20-30 minutes. The honey will darken a bit and definitely thicken. It’s done when you can perform this test: a drop of the honey will form a ‘string’ when put between your thumb and forefinger and you open and close those two fingers together.

Divide the strufoli into batches. Pour the syrup over the strufs; gently stir with a wooden spoon or toss to coat. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on your hands and gently shape the strufoli into a mound on your plate. Sprinkle lightly with non-pareils.