Hi! I am officially on my Christmas vacation! 
It is so nice to have some time off! My boss bought me a couple fun Christmas gifts.
This one cracked me up. I think I might have to use this checklist with boys I meet.
Also she bought me a Runner’s Calendar. It even has motivational quotes and tips!! Love it!
This weekend my parents and I made our Christmas family treat, struffoli. Struffoli is an Italian dessert of fried dough in honey. Ok, I am a dietitian and of course know this is not healthy… but, gosh darn it, this stuff is delicious!
Normally we follow a family recipe, but my mom decided to try out a recipe from the cookbook (and local restaurant in Caesar’s) Rao’s.
The funny thing about this cookbook is many of the recipes are foods that my mom already makes. My mom really should have her own cookbook!
There are a lot of variations on this recipe but here is a similar recipe from Mario Batali. The main difference is we eliminated the lemon and orange zest as well as limoncello. The recipe we used also included good ol’ butter.
Here is a step by step of our struffoli making. My mom, dad, and I were hard at work! Well mom and dad were hard at work…I was working hard at picture taking.
The end product should look similar to this.
My dad was kind of making a mess.
Mom stepped in and helped us out.
Stretch it out…
cut into small pieces….and get ready to roll!
I decided it was about time I helped out and got rolling.
For deep frying, we pulled out the big guns. Check out this baby!
In they go…
until a nice golden brown color.
Drizzle with honey and top with sprinkles. The final product…
Struffoli is hands down amazing! Sweet with a bit of a crunch. It is one of the reasons I look forward to the holidays.
I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow which includes gym, my aunt’s birthday lunch, and a fun dinner with friends. I also have to finish wrapping the last of the Christmas presents. Wrapping is not one of my strongest areas. For that reason, most of my gifts are in gift bags.
What is your favorite holiday recipe?
Other Swanky Scoop:
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Well the Struffoli looks pretty! I guess I don’t really have a fave holiday recipe. I’m always too busy looking for new recipes. There is a Paula Deen cookie recipe that I have made for many years in a row that people seem to love. Guess that sort of counts. I hope you have a fantastic Christmas!
Wow!
These look… interesting.
It makes me remember Brazilian Rabanadas
Struffoli sounds amazing! I love honey, it is definitely my favorite. I love baklava because of all the honey…yum!!
I love that Romance Pro/Con gift from your boss! How funny!! They all have more con’s than pro’s if you date them long enough
Enjoy your vacation! I am jealous!! I am at work today and tomorrow, and back on Tuesday. Boo!!!
My favorite holiday recipe is pineapple souffle at dinner, and for dessert, Christmas Crack! My new found addiction and love!
I have a block of sticky notes from (probably) the same company—it reads “PLEASE” at the top, and then there are a bunch of boxes that can be ticked… including things like “like me” “go away” “do this” etc, followed by “thank you” “soonest” and my fave “I shouldn’t have had to ask”. Love!
The struffoli looks neat—and clever to use latex gloves! I’ve got to try that… my fave recipe is simple: I am a sucker for a ginger bread cookie.
Happy holidays!
Oh my gosh! Those look amazing!
Wow! How neat do these look. I have never seen them before, but definitely need to think I need to give them a try.
xo
Yum! Struffoli looks awesome!
Um, can I get some of those Romance pro/con’s note card?? I think I might whip them out on my next date. “Uhh, yeah, don’t mind me. I’m just taking notes. So far you’ve scored 4/9. Ya might consider getting a second bottle of *good* wine!”
Haha..the way my dating life is, I honestly might have to use this.
Lol at the pros/cons romance list! Your boss seems really cool.
Love your family’s dessert! Looks delicious
Have you always made this dessert or is it “new?” and how would they make it years ago without a fry daddy?
Anything doughy fried or roasted is a winner in my book. If you left these for Santa…um, hello! can we say, ca-ching?
They are definitely a winner!!! We make it every year but this is the first time I blogged about it. We have a family recipe but decided to change it up a bit.
Normally we just fry them in a frying pan with oil. That is actually the recommended way to do it (and that what I would do if you don’t have a fryer). It is just so much quicker (and cleaner) with a fryer.
Hope you had a nice Christmas!!
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