Christmas Honey Fritters Struffoli Recipes

Steps:

• Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix together butter, orange-blossom water, vanilla and anise extracts, and egg in another bowl. Pour into flour mixture. Mix well, adding ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff but not crumbly.
• Roll out dough to 3/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured cutting board. Cut dough into 3/8-inch-wide strips, then cut crosswise into 3/8-inch squares. Roll each piece into a ball, transferring to a lightly floured surface as you work.
• Heat 2 inches oil in a medium heavy saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees. Working in batches, fry dough, stirring, until golden. Remove fried dough from oil using a wire-mesh skimmer, and transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Heat honey, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Working in batches, dip struffoli in honey sauce until well coated, and transfer to a sieve set over a bowl to drain; reserve honey sauce. Mound struffoli on a platter, pour remaining and reserved honey sauce over top, and sprinkle with almonds and nonpareils.

Steps:

• Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Make a well in center, and add eggs, ouzo, olive oil, orange juice, and 2 tablespoons honey. Lightly mix with a fork until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. (Add more flour if needed.)
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until dough is smooth, 10 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, fit a mixer with a dough hook, and knead 8 to 10 minutes.) Cover dough with plastic, and let stand 30 to 60 minutes.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces. Using a rolling pin, flatten 1 piece, rolling from the center outward, easing the pressure when the pin is close to the edge, until slightly thinner than the widest setting on a pasta machine. Dust lightly with flour, then feed through a pasta machine on the widest setting (#1), supporting both ends of the sheet with your palms to keep it flat; repeat twice. Turn dial to next narrower setting. Pass dough through twice. Continue to roll dough twice through each ever-finer setting, until thin (#5). Repeat with rest of pieces.
• With a fluted pastry cutting wheel, cut each sheet of dough into strips that are 20 inches long and 1 inch wide.
• Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan until it registers 350 degrees. Wrap end of 1 strip of dough around index and middle fingers, pinching end to create a loop of dough with a long tail. Wrap tail around 3 fingers, then around 4 fingers. Pinch end against spiral. Gently drop spiral into hot oil, and cook, turning once, until golden brown and puffed, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat.
• Transfer fritters to a serving dish, and pour remaining 6 cups honey generously over top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts. Serve warm or at room temperature.