zeppole

  • 4
  • 10 mins
  • 35 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 eggs
  • oil, for frying (vegetable, canola or peanut oil)
  • powdered sugar, to dust the zeppole

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Cook until the butter completely melts.
Add the flour all at once and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon, until the dough comes together in a ball. Continue cooking for a minute or two.
Place the dough in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix with a paddle attachment, until you don't see any more steaming rising up from the bowl.
Add the eggs, one at a time, until they are fully incorporated. You can also use a hand held mixer, or even mix up the dough by hand.
Meanwhile, pour in enough oil into a large, heavy pot (I use my Dutch oven). You should have at least 2 inches of oil, I usually use one full container of oil. Heat up the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transfer the dough to a large ziptop bag. Cut a hole in one corner. Slowly pipe out the dough and cut off snippets of the dough right into the oil. Be careful not to splash yourself. You can also use 2 small spoons to drop bits of dough into the oil, or use a small portion scoop.
Keep the temperature above 350 at all times, preferably 360-375 degrees.
Fry the zeppole about 5 minutes, turning over the ones that don't turn themselves over.
Take them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate, baking sheet, etc. When you're done frying all the zeppole, dust them with powdered sugar.

Instructions