Everyone has those dishes they’re fond of because of their sentimentality, and for me struffoli is it. I’m told this is a Neapolitan dessert, but I know it as a South Philly Italian dessert since my Nonna Rose made it every Christmas, along with a ton of other delicious items I’ll eventually get to making. And, like most dessert items I remember her making, these were generously flavored with orange zest. I always remember eating them the following day for breakfast straight off the plate. So, so good.

If you’ve never had struffoli before, you know it’s just a bunch of little fried dough balls covered in honey and sprinkles. I’ve also seen them with hazelnuts, candied dried fruit, or like I did here, pine nuts. These are also one of those things that seem to get better the longer they sit out. I would venture to say its from the oil they are fried in and the massive amount of sugar they are coated it. So, make the full recipe, and try to not eat it all in one go!

I typically don’t like to fry, but for this I will.

Traditional Italian Struffoli Recipe (Honey Balls) | An Authentic Neapolitan Dessert

Learn how to make this classic Italian Struffoli (honey balls) a traditional Neapolitan recipe. These sweet, crunchy dough balls are tossed with toasted pine nuts, drizzled with honey and topped with festive sprinkles – perfect for Christmas or any special occasion.

In This Post:

What is Struffoli?
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Expert Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Storage Guidelines
Recipe Variations

What is Struffoli?

Struffoli, pronounced “stroo-FOH-lee,” is a Neapolitan dessert made of small balls of sweet dough that are fried until golden brown. They get coated with a warm honey syrup and decorated with colorful sprinkles and toasted pine nuts. While traditionally served during Christmas and Easter, this festive dessert has become a year-round favorite in Italian and Italian-American households.

Are these also called Pignolata?

Yes! And that’s what I remember them being called when I was younger. Pignolata, is the other name for this dessert, or at least the Sicilian version. The name pignolata comes from “pignolo” (pine nut), referring to the traditional pine nut garnish and instead of little balls, like the Neapolitan struffoli, Sicilian pignolata can be a bit larger mimiking little pine cones. Very cute.

What does struffoli taste like?

Absolutely delicious! The dough is fried and flavored with citrus, I like orange, and then tossed with lots of honey and toasted pine nuts. They’re sticky, sweet and the nuts and citrus balance it all out. Struffoli is one of those desserts that you have a little bit here and there, and then suddenly, you realize that you ate half the plate.

Ingredients for Making Traditional Struffoli

For The Dough:

All-Purpose Flour – All-Purpose Flour or 00 Flour if available
Sugar – Granulated white sugar
Eggs – Large eggs, ideally at room temperature
Butter – I used salted butter here (it’s what I typically have on hand), if you use unsalted, add in a little extra salt to season the dough
Orange Zest – Add a wonderful citrus flavor and aroma classic for this, and many other Italian dessert. You could also swap in lemon zest if you wanted.
Vanilla Extract
Salt

The Honey Syrup and Decoration:

Honey – This is the star ingredient that gives struffoli its signature sweet coating. Get a good quality honey, but nothing too strongly flavored. You are using a good amount for the coating, so you don’t want it to be too overpowering.
Sugar – Combines with honey for the perfect syrup consistency and mellows out the honey flavor
Toasted Pine Nuts – Place the pine nuts in a even layer on a small baking tray. Toast in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350F. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Alternatively, you can quickly fry them for a minute or two. They will get golden brown fairly quick so keep an eye on them and make sure to have a fine strainer ready to go to fish them out of the hot oil.
Colorful Sprinkles – This is a must. The sprinkles make the dish.

How to Make Struffoli

Make The Dough

First thing to do is get the dough made. Combine all those dry ingredients, flour, salt and sugar, in a bowl, or food processor. Quickly pulse to mix. Next add in your eggs, cubed butter, vanilla and orange zest. Pulse until it’s the texture of wet sand. It should clump and hold together when you squeeze a bit together.

Let Dough Rest

Dump out your dough mixture onto some plastic wrap, smash it into a ball, tightly wrap it up and let rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Roll Balls

Next up, we roll. I like to pinch off about a sixth of the dough, just as much as I feel comfortable rolling out into a long tube, about 1cm in diameter. It’ll all depend on how much space you have to work with. Once you have all the dough rolled out in long lengths, slice them into 1cm pieces. Then, setup a nice space to work with and start rolling each piece into a ball. This is the tedious part, but make yourself a hot beverage before hand, pour a glass of wine, put on some good music, whatever, just get comfortable cause you’ll be rolling for a bit. Pro tip: Recruit some help to cut down on time.

Fry The Honey Balls

Once all your struffoli are all rolled out, you’re ready to fry. Get your oil heated over medium heat. You can test out the oil to see if it’s the right temp by dropping in one ball and making sure it sizzles. If that happens you should be good to go. I do this in about 4 small batches. Add the balls to the oil and fry for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Once they are a nice golden brown remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel lined tray. Just note that once you remove them from the oil they’ll get about a shade darker.

Make Honey Syrup

Next up, get your honey and sugar heated up over medium heat. You want to make sure the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture comes to a brief boil.

Coat Honey Balls

Then, in a large bowl, add your fried balls, honey/sugar mixture and pine nuts and mix till everything is totally combined. You want everything dripping in honey. Now you’re ready to plate it all up.

Shape Struffoli

I like to make a wreath, but you can certainly just pile them up on a plate or even do individual servings in cupcake wrappers. To make the wreath, I invert a glass on my serving plate and dump the struffoli mixture all around it and then gently pull the glass out. Let it cool for a minute and it will hold its shape when you remove the glass.

Decorate

Then the final, and honestly most important part is the sprinkles. Gotta have bright multicolored sprinkles all over it. It’s imperative. That’s it. Eat up!

Tips for Making The Perfect Struffoli

Consistent Oil Temperature

You need to make sure your oil is at the right temperature, 350F, and you maintain consistent heat for even cooking. If you have a thermometer, use it.

Fry in Small Batches

Don’t overcrowd the oil while frying. If you add too many dough balls in at once, the temperature of the oil will drop and you’ll be left with a very oily final product. Fry up in small batches.

Coat them Quickly

Work quickly when coating with the honey mixture, before it cools. Have everything ready to go and then toss and shape your struffoli before everything gets too stiff to work with.

Italian Honey Balls (Struffoli): Frequently Asked Questions

What is Struffoli made of?

Struffoli consists of small balls of dough made from flour, eggs and butter which are fried and coated in a honey syrup. They usually include pine nuts (hence the alternate name Pignolata) and colorful sprinkles.

What does struffoli mean in Italian?

The term Struffoli comes from the Greek word “strongoulos,” meaning rounded in shape. This reflects the dessert’s characteristic small, round dough balls.

What does pignolata mean in Italian?

Pignolata, the Sicilian name for this dessert, comes from “pignolo” (pine nut), referring to the traditional pine nut garnish.

How to Store Struffoli

Room Temperature: You can store the struffoli in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days
Refrigeration: You can store the struffoli in the refrigerator if needed, but make sure to take them out and get back to room temperature before serving. The honey coating will get very hard when it’s chilled.
Make Ahead: These can be prepared 2-3 days before serving. I think they are best at least 1 day after they’re made. The fried dough soaks in the honey, all the flavors meld, and the texture if just perfection!
To Serve: Like I mentioned above, these are best enjoyed at room temperature.

Can you freeze struffoli?

I wouldn’t recommend freezing the glazed and fully prepared struffoli. What you could freeze is the fried balls. Let them fully cool after frying, then store in a plastic bag, or airtight container in the freezer. Then when you are ready to coat them take them out, let them thaw and coat as you normally would with the warm honey syrup.

Variations on Struffoli (Honey Balls)

Citrus and Pistachio

Include candied citrus peel and chopped pistachios.

Chocolate

Add a dark chocolate drizzle and some shaved white chocolate.

Hazelnut

Add chopped hazelnuts and a Nutella drizzle for chocolate hazelnut flavored struffoli.

Amaretto

Add a touch of almond extract or 1 tbsp Amaretto to the dough and decorate with toasted sliced almonds and candied cherries.

Struffoli with Anisette

Add in 2-3 tablespoons of anisette to the dough for a anise flavored version of these classic struffoli.

Other Ways you Can Serve Struffoli

Individual Portions

Serve in individual cupcake liners. This is a great addition to any holiday cookie tray.

The Traditional Mound

Stack in a cone shape, very dramatic, perfect for the center of a dessert spread.

The Holiday Wreath

My favorite, and always how my Nonna made it. Use an inverted glass to help mold them into a wreath shape. Perfect for Christmas celebrations.

Pin Recipe

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Struffoli with Honey and Pine Nuts

Orange scented fried dough balls, covered in honey, topped with toasted pine nuts and colorful sprinkles. The classic Italian holiday dessert from my childhood.

Prep Time40

Cook Time20

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: holiday desserts, struffoli

Servings:

Author: Rachel Lerro

Ingredients

3 c flour
1 tbsp sugar
salt
4 eggs
1 tbsp butter
zest of an orange you can use half, i like these really fragrant and orange
1 tsp vanilla
plenty of oil to fry about 3 cups, i used canola but use whatever neutral oil you like
1 1/2 c honey
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c or a handful of pine nuts toasted

Instructions

First thing to do is get the dough made. Combine all those dry ingredients, flour, salt and sugar, in a bowl, or food processor. Quickly pulse to mix. Next add in your eggs, cubed butter, vanilla and orange zest. Pulse until it’s the texture of wet sand. It should clump and hold together when you squeeze a bit together.
Dump out your dough mixture onto some plastic wrap, smash it into a ball, tightly wrap it up and let rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
Next up, we roll. I like to pinch off about a sixth of the dough, just as much as I feel comfortable rolling out into a long tube, about 1cm in diameter. It’ll all depend on how much space you have to work with. Once you have all the dough rolled out in long lengths, slice them into 1cm pieces. Then, setup a nice space to work with and start rolling each piece into a ball. This is the tedious part, but make yourself a hot beverage before hand, pour a glass of wine, put on some good music, whatever, just get comfortable cause you’ll be rolling for a bit. Pro tip: Recruit some help to cut down on time.
Once all your struffoli are all rolled out, you’re ready to fry. Get your oil heated over medium heat. You can test out the oil to see if it’s the right temp by dropping in one ball and making sure it sizzles. If that happens you should be good to go. I do this in about 4 small batches. Add the balls to the oil and fry for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Once they are a nice golden brown remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel lined tray. Just note that once you remove them from the oil they’ll get about a shade darker.
Next up, get your honey and sugar heated up over medium heat. You want to make sure the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture comes to a brief boil.
Then, in a large bowl, add your fried balls, honey/sugar mixture and pine nuts and mix till everything is totally combined. You want everything dripping in honey. Now you’re ready to plate it all up.
I like to make a wreath, but you can certainly just pile them up on a plate or even do individual servings in cupcake wrappers. To make the wreath, I invert a glass on my serving plate and dump the struffoli mixture all around it and then gently pull the glass out. Let it cool for a minute and it will hold its shape when you remove the glass.
Then the final, and honestly most important part is the sprinkles. Gotta have bright multicolored sprinkles all over it. It’s imperative. That’s it. Eat up!