Zeppole di Natale

Name: Zeppole di Natale
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed; 1 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated; 1 tsp orange zest, finely grated; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 3 cups vegetable oil; 1/2 cup honey; 1 tbsp nonpareil sprinkles

Traditional Neapolitan fried dough knots glazed in warm honey and decorated with festive citrus zest and sprinkles.

35 minMediumServes 6340 cal/serving

ItalianDessertStovetopVegetarianHalal-friendlyNut-FreeSoy-FreeEgg-FreeAlcohol-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeNightshade-Free

Ingredients

1 cup water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1 tsp orange zest, finely grated
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp nonpareil sprinkles

Instructions

1

Combine 1 cup water, 2 tbsp cubed unsalted butter, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest, 1 tsp finely grated orange zest, and 1/2 tsp salt in a saucepan over medium heat, bringing to a boil.
2

Add 2 cups all-purpose flour all at once and stir vigorously until the dough forms a smooth ball.
3

Remove dough from heat, let cool slightly, then shape into small knots or rings.
4

Heat 3 cups vegetable oil in a deep pot to 350 degrees F, then fry dough pieces in batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
5

Warm 1/2 cup honey in a wide pan, toss fried zeppole to coat, and garnish with 1 tbsp nonpareil sprinkles.

Questions

Can I make Zeppole di Natale dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed. Swap the butter for olive oil where it melts, or a plant-based block butter where it is creamed. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Zeppole di Natale gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 2 cups all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Zeppole di Natale keep?

Keep it covered in the refrigerator and eat it within three days.

Can I halve or double Zeppole di Natale?

Yes. As written it serves 6. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is a plain-text cooking reference of 3,876 recipes, free to read and cook from, with no account and no paywall. In the app, this entry scales itself: half, standard, or double batch, every quantity recomputed inside the step that uses it. No ads, no life stories, no photos of somebody else's dinner.

The entries are curated and public-domain sourced, written to a fixed template and checked against it: tested quantities, one closed vocabulary of methods, and precomputed half and double batches on every line. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser, instantly. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually, and the first 30 days are free.