? name of Italian fried honey cookies

[momiecat]

My grandmother used to make these and sometimes dipped them in powdered sugar. I cannot remember if they were fried but I think they were. They were really sticky and messy but good. Can anyone tell me the name of these cookies. I think she made them around the holidays, especially Christmas.

[lisa1]

My grandmother used to make something we called schalede sounds like (skaleedy). It was a dough formed in a rope, cut into pieces, deep fried, then dipped in warm honey. The dough was flavored with anise and they would melt in our mouth, I am going to attempt to make them for the very first time. Unfortunately both of my grandmothers have passed away so I will not be able to get any words of wisdom from them, I only have a recipe that is somewhat of a mystery and the memory of how the dough feels when I used to help grandma roll and shape the pieces. If I can figure it out I will come back and post the recipe. Merry Christmas to all!!!

[roxlet]

I'm certain you are referring to Struffoli. The dough is very simple -- like a pasta dough, just eggs and flour -- and it's kneaded until "like silk," as my old aunt used to say. Once you let the dough rest, you make ropes, cut the ropes into pieces, and fry them. We didn't use anise, but some cinnamon was added to a 50-50 mix of honey and sugar that's heated until the sugar dissolves. Toss the pieces into the the honey/sugar/cinnamon mixture, and form them into a rough pyramid shape while tossing with multi-colored candy dots.

[christy319]

Can anyone link a great recipe for crostoli? Googling has been surprisingly light on results, and I want to make sure it's a good recipe.

I'd never had these until visiting Cristina's, a bakery/restaurant in Ketchum (aka Sun Valley) Idaho last winter. Cristina, who is from Tuscany, set out a bowl of freshly made crostoli by the cash register. I thought I was going to die, they were so good. But she only makes them on whim--you can't count on buying them there. She didn't use honey, like the OP--just powdered sugar.

[Manassas64]

My go-tos for all things Italian are Lidia Bastianich and Nick Malgieri. Nick's recipe is in his book Cookies.

This is Lidias:

http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/30

[memories]

My mother has been trying to respond to this but has been having trouble so I am responding for her.

This is something my grandmother would also make every Christmas and she would make a tower of them - one tray with honey and one with powdered sugar (we loved the honey ones most)!

If you google "cartellate" you can see some images of the ones my grandmother made, though she called them "Cartegate". All the ladies in my family will be getting together in a few weeks to make them and we were planning on videotaping so we have reference of the process. They are not an easy cookie to make! Let us know if this is the cookie you were referring to and if you would like to see the video!

[momiecat]

Hi "Memories", these do look VERY similar to what my grandmother made, however, hers were not that fancy. How are the shapes made? I would DEFINITELY like to see a video of the process. Most of my Italian relatives have passed on. You are so lucky to have family that still keeps up the traditions. Thank you!

[memories]

She is still having trouble responding! I don't think when I was younger I realized how intricate they were until my mom showed me how to make them a few years ago - I just remember the big mound of honey-sticky deliciousness all stuck together! The honey is not drizzled - it is melted and then each "face" is dipped in the honey and then turned over to settle - all of the little "holes" in the pinwheel hold the honey and soak into the cookie....this is making me hungry!

[Manassas64]

We are Sicilian and we make Sfinge (it's something you make for St. Joseph's Day but we make them at Christmas and New Year's, too). They are fried and light inside, almost empty and you are supposed to stuff them like cream puffs, but we just roll them in warm honey and sprinkle them with cinnamon and powdered sugar and eat them warm.

They are similar to Zeppoli in terms of how they are made and how they look.

[CathyGG]

My Calabrian Grandmother used to make the ones with the powdered sugar (like in Novelli's photo). She called them...Please excuse the spelling. I'm sure it's not right...Nagatali.If anyone knows the correct spelling (in dialect) I would love to see it. I'm guessing it has an apostrophe in it somewhere like N'gatali or maybe N'catali?

[Novelli]

Couldn't say for sure. There's just too many ancient dialects.

But this is a nice reminder to all...Carnivale starts next week! Get that dough ready to fry!

[happenings]

My dear friend and neighbor, Ann Leone, called them cenci. They were my husband's favorite and as we were trying to fatten him up, she would make them several times a year. They are both gone, now, but I appreciated the topic bringing memories of happy times.

They were stretched pastry dough that was deep fried, then dipped into honey and sprinkled with walnuts. I have her recipe for the dough.
2 pound bag white a.p. flour, about 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, 10 eggs. Combine and knead well. Roll out very thin with rolling pin (about 1/12 inch - almost as thin a phyllo) Cut into 1.5 in wide strips. Pinch the strip in half ( max length 15". press ends together to form a large or medium ring. Pastry ring can also be twisted to make a lover's knot. Fry in veg oil in small batches, draining on paper when done and golden brown. Slip the hot pastries into boiling honey, thinned with a little water and remove to platters. Sprinkle with walnuts. Your kitchen may never be the same but they are truly delicious.

[pinehurst]

Are you thinking of zeppole?

[momiecat]

They could be called zeppole but my mom checked her cookbook (Calabrian) and they called them struffoli. I guess they are made in balls and piled up like a Christmas tree. However, my Grandma used to make them a little different, pile them up in an old fashioned roasting pan and they looked like a tangled mass of metal as I recall (long time ago). I think she did that to save time or she was combining a couple of recipes. Any way you shape them, they are delish.

[chowser]

Zeppole are more like large donut holes.

[pinehurst]

So true...NOT light n airy. Those were a fave of mine growing up...those, and these biscotti which would suck up 1/2 a cup of hot cocoa. :-)

[roxlet]

My grandmother would make zeppole two ways -- one, the regular way with sugar, and a savory version stuffed with an anchovy.

[momiecat]

When I started this post I never would have thought that it would turn out to have such interesting perspectives. Thank you one and all for the wonderful input. My Dad passed 3 years ago and, of course, my Grandma many years before that. The Italian traditions are not kept up as much as they used to be. I really miss that, especially out here on the West Coast. You have all helped to rekindle the old beloved memories.

[angelsmom]

My aunt made long strips of dough and then rolled tightly in a circle, fried and honied...divine, and no one has her recipe. She called them Christmas Honey Crowns.

[pinehurst]

We call these "Crispelli" in my family, more like a fatter churro shape than round...but your grandma's sound awesome. I LOVE anchovy crispelli/zeppole.

[Novelli]

See, I've always known crispelli to be somewhat the Italian version of crepes. Not fried, but folded and baked with a filling.
This is interesting.

[roxlet]

Yes, what many American Italians call manicotti, Marcella Hazan calls crespelle.

[melpy]

My family always called struffoli zeppole instead.

[bushwickgirl]

Mario Batali made struffoli on an episode of Molto Mario, back in the day, and after the honey syrup, he sprinkled on those little round multicolored candy balls that are used for topping ice cream. Cute.

[momiecat]

Very interesting. Thank you for the information.

[roxlet]

Yes, it's quite common to put those colored nonpareils on the stuff oil, however, I thought that Mario's recipe was needlessly complicated. Struffoli is extremely basic, the dough being made with just eggs, flour and a pinch of salt. Mario added all kinds of things, which was just gilding the lily, IMO.

[bushwickgirl]

I actually don't remember his recipe at all, just the topping.

Just checked Mario's recipe at FN; he adds orange zest and a little limoncello to the basic flour/eggs/salt, but he may have gone thirty steps beyond that on the show.

[Becca Porter]

I love the Giada recipe, but it is the only version I have ever tried.

[baker7]

I believe they are called turriddi they are a dense cookie that is fried and then you pour warm honey on them and they all sort of stick together. Some recipes call for fig honey to be poured on them. They are yummy

[roxlet]

Do you have a recipe for the turriddi?

[momiecat]

I have seen a recipe on line for the turriddi.

[BiscuitBoy]

Struffoli is the little fried balls, yeah? I can't spell it, or come up with the proper name, but I believe you're talking about "shill a nooze" (dialect)

[momiecat]

Hum, that is a new one. I did see something about the turriddi but cannot remember them being that dense. My mom was busy this morning. Will call her to see if she can help. Thank you all again.

[JEN10]

My Gram, Aunties, Mom and I would make "ribbon cookies". She would make a soft dough that had some orange zest in it, roll it out into thin strips using a pasta machine, then we would cut them into long 1" or so wide strips, pinch the sides together forming pockets, then pinch the pockets together forming a rosette. She would then fry them and we would drizzle with honey and top with powdered sugar.

[momiecat]

Thanks for the idea Jen10. I think Grandma used to dredge her cookies in honey, not drizzle the honey on top. She did not use a machine. Good suggestion and sounds yummy too but I don't think that was it. As far as I remember, there was no orange taste.

[chowser]

If they were flat and shaped, they might be crostoli. I think there are different names for them, too.

[momiecat]

I looked at some images of Crostoli but they did not look exactly like that either. Very close but not exactly what I remember. May be Grandma made her own version of Struffoli or Crostoli. The region her family was from was Calabria. Thank you for trying to help.

[chowser]

The shapes can vary. The ones I had were in a big pan, various thin shaped flat fried cookies that kind of melt together, for lack of a better description, and were covered in honey. Like this, only covered w/ honey:

http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.co...

Oh, the Calabrian version is called chiacchiere.

[roxlet]

In other parts of Italy, those are also known as Cenci, or Lover's Knots. I've made them with both honey and powdered sugar.

[chowser]

I love them. So impressed that you make them. Deep frying is my nemesis. That might not be a bad thing, given how much I love these!

[roxlet]

I try to make them infrequently for just that reason.

[MsMaryMc]

I asked my husband (whose mother was Calabrese) and he said theirs were called something like "scalia" (he has no idea how it's spelled, but guesses it's like the Supreme Court Justice's name). He said the dough was tied in little knots in their version.

[roxlet]

We called those cenci, or lover's knots. You cut the dough into strips, and then tie them in a knot just before you fry them.

[momiecat]

Thank you all for your replies. I emailed my mom (who is not Italian) who said she thinks she has the recipe in one of her cookbooks. I will let you all know if I find out what they were. You all sound so close. Like I said, Grandma may have had her own style in making these. Thanks again.

[momiecat]

Very cool. Thank you for the link. I am sure my Grandma made her own style of these. I wish I had a picture or could remember exactly what they looked like in that roasting pan but all I can remember is that it sort of reminded me of a pile of twisted metal.

[chowser]

That's a good description of plates the guy in my Italian class brought--like a pile of twisted metal. And, I'm pretty sure he called them struffoli. It's interesting to see the variations out there, name and shapes. He's an older guy, late 70's I'd guess, Italian American (Sicilian Brooklynite) but lived in italy for years.

[rainbowskies]

I know exactly what you mean momiecat. My great grandmother was from Calabria and she made these too. They were twisted, flat pieces of fried dough, piled in a mound on wax paper, covered in honey and all gooey, and topped with multicolored candy ball sprinkles. They were wonderful! She used to make them at Easter time I believe. I don't know what they're called and have looked for the recipe for years. The chiacchiere seem to look the closest to what I remember except that they were not covered in powdered sugar. I may have to try making them and using the honey instead. My great grandmother died in 1977 and I haven't had them since then. :(

[roxlet]

Are you thinking of struffoli (Sicilians call them pignolata)? They are balls of dough that are deep fried and then tossed in a honey mixture and usually piled up on a plate. You pick them off one by one to eat. However, powdered sugar doesn't ring a bell, since these are always in honey.

[momiecat]

I did look at Struffoli online yesterday and they were close but I don't exactly remember them in ball-shape. They were piled up in an old roasting pan. I remember them being very sticky. Thank you for the suggestion. As I indicated below, may be Grandma had her own version of these cookie things.

[roxlet]

Good luck, but I'm putting my money on struffoli. There are many variations on the recipe, but mine is incredibly simple -- four, eggs and a pinch of salt. Essentially it is pasta dough that is fried, and they can be made any shape you like. My version has a mixture of honey, sugar and cinnamon that is boiled together until the sugar is dissolved. Then the cooked struffoli are put in the pot, and stirred until each is covered with the honey mixture, and then it is turned out onto a plate -- or a roasting pan, or however you want to serve them.

[momiecat]

You are right. I checked with my mom and she said it is called Struffoli (or Pignolata) alla Calabrese – Calabrian Style Honey Clusters. My mom said Grandma used to pile them all up in the roasting pans to look like a Christmas tree. I still don't think they were all ball-shaped but may be some of them were. I think Grandma made her own version. Mom said they were really sticky. Thanks all.

[roxlet]

They start out as ball shaped, but they sort of 'pop' as they are frying. They are super easy to make, and particularly fun to make with children who love rolling the dough into ropes before cutting into little pillows.

[chowser]

Does struffoli have to be made in balls? Someone made what looked like crostoli but everyone called them struffoli. He was Sicilian (Brooklyn).

[roxlet]

Strictly speaking, they're not really balls. When you make ropes and then cut the pieces, they look more like pillows than balls, and when you fry them, they kind of 'pop' in the hot oil, so they are more an odd shape than a ball per se. I've never seen them in other shapes, however. My feeling is that this shape cooks easily and throughly in the hot oil; I would be concerned if the shape were larger of significantly different. But maybe someone does it that way, and they're fine...

[chowser]

I'm going to bring it up at the next Italian class gathering. The struffoli brought were more like the pictures of the crostoli, flattened ribbons of fried dough. They were definitely flat, not pillowy. I'm wondering if he made a Brooklyn version that amalgamated different recipes.

[Novelli]

otherwise known as...depending on the region of Italy.

bugie (Genova, Torino, Asti, Imperia)
cenci o crogetti (Toscana)
chiacchiere (Basilicata, Sicilia, Campania, Lazio, Umbria, Puglia, Calabria, a Milano, Sassari e Parma)
cioffe (Sulmona, centro Abruzzo)
cróstoli o cróstołi (Ferrara, Rovigo, Vicenza, Treviso, Trentino, Friuli, Venezia Giulia)
crostoli o grustal (Ferrara)
cunchiell' o qunchiell (Molise)
fiocchetti (Montefeltro e Rimini)
frappe (Roma e Ancona)
gałàni o sosole (Venezia, Verona, Padova)
gale o gali (Vercelli e Bassa Vercellese)
guanti (Caserta)
gròstołi o grostoli (Trento)
intrigoni (Reggio Emilia)
lattughe o latǖghe (Mantova)
maraviglias (Sardegna)
rosoni o sfrappole (Modena, Bologna, Romagna)
sfrappe (Marche)
sprelle (Piacenza)
risòle (Cuneo e sud del Piemonte)

[roxlet]

Lovely! Did you make those?

[Novelli]

no, I didn't make the ones in the pic (gorgeous aren't they?).

It was just a random pic that showed up in an image search (haven't taken any pictures of mine), although I do make them yearly in the tradition of Carnevale (sabato grasso, "fat saturday")

I'll have to take some pics of mine next time I make them (not too far away!)

[chowser]

But is it ever called struffoli? I thought it was struffoli from what people in the class said but it seems like those are one thing, but struffoli is different.

[roxlet]

No, chowser, those are definitely not struffoli! What class, btw? Was there a class that taught homey old-fashioned Italian desserts?

[chowser]

No, just an Italian class that likes to eat. I'll have to bring it up and see what they say!

[pinehurst]

If those are the light, crispy treats I'm thinking of, my Neapolitan aunts would call them Guandi indeed....or Wandi, the slang version. Never honey on them, though...they would've fallen apart. Great memory!