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5.0 from 15 votes

Struffoli (Italian Honey Balls)

Struffoli or Italian Honey Balls are tiny balls of fried dough tossed in a delicious sticky honey sauce and decorated with festive sprinkles. It's such a fun and impressive Italian Christmas dessert that the whole family can get involved making!

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Resting time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 364 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

For the dough
  • 3 cups Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour (420g) spooned and leveled*
  • ⅓ cup sugar (65g)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 3 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 Zest of one orange
  • 2 tbsp dark rum
  • 4 tbsp melted butter (55g)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • vegetable oil for frying
For coating
  • 1 cup honey (300g)
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Put all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & orange zest) in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the middle and add the melted butter, eggs and rum.
  2. Mix the ingredients together until it starts to come together then knead into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Once rested, cut the dough in half then cut each half into 3 equal pieces. One at a time roll each piece of dough into a long sausage shape about 1cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut each log into small pieces roughly 1cm (1/2 inch) in size (just like making gnocchi but much smaller).
  4. Roll each cut piece of dough into balls using the palms of your hands and place on a board or surface lightly dusted with flour so they don’t stick. Make sure they are in a single layer and not on top of each other.
  5. Using a thermometer, heat the oil in a large pot to 375°F (190°C) at least 2-3 inches deep. Fry the struffoli in batches until golden brown (30-40 seconds). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
  6. Once the struffoli have cooled, add the honey to a large pot (big enough to hold all of the struffoli) and heat it gently just until it becomes very liquidy, it will only take a few seconds.
  7. Add the cooled struffoli and gently stir until they are thoroughly coated in the honey, let them soak up the honey for 2-3 minutes.
  8. Arrange the struffoli in your desired shape (ring or mound) on a serving plate (see notes for tips) and once the honey has cooled sprinkle over your festive sprinkles.

Notes

  • Flour - although Italian 00 flour is typically used to make these regular all-purpose flour will also work! Make sure to spoon it into cups and level it with a knife if not weighing it with a kitchen scale.
  • Rolling out the dough - Don't flour your surface to roll the dough into logs unless you really need to as it can make it much harder to roll out. There's enough butter in the dough so it shouldn't stick.
  • Shaping the dough - you can pinch small pieces of dough and roll them into balls rather than rolling out logs and cutting them but I find that it's harder to keep them at an even size. Rolling and cutting the dough is very easy, just like making gnocchi but much smaller.
  • Frying - make sure you use a candy thermometer to heat your oil to the correct temperature. It makes things much easier, if your oil is too hot they will brown too easily and be raw in the middle.
  • After frying - make sure to drain the struffoli straight after frying on kitchen paper so any excess oil is absorbed.
  • Decorating - You can decorate the struffoli with any kind of sprinkles you like, some variations also decorate them with glacé cherries and almonds.
  • Honey coating - make sure to warm the honey very gently (it doesn't have to be hot) just so it turns very liquidy, this makes it much easier to coat the dough balls. If you want to add in a splash of liqueur make sure you don't add in too much (1-2 tbsp max) or it'll thin the honey down too much and they won't stick as easily.
  • Storage - the fried dough balls will keep well in airtight containers for 4-5 days or can be frozen then you can toss them in honey when you are ready to serve them.
  • Leftovers - prepared struffoli with honey will keep well for around 3 days.

Nutrition Information

Calories 364kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 63g (21%) Protein 8g (16%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 41mg (14%) Sodium 179mg (7%) Potassium 237mg (7%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 29g (58%) Vitamin A 226IU (5%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 37mg (4%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 364

% Daily Value*

Calories 364kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 63g 21%
Protein 8g 16%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 41mg 14%
Sodium 179mg 7%
Potassium 237mg 5%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 29g 58%
Vitamin A 226IU 5%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 37mg 4%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.