The Christmas dessert table would not be complete without Sicilian Pignolata. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, these tasty little bites are drenched in sticky, sweet honey!
Depending on what region of Italy you are from, you may call these struffoli, cicerchiata or even turdilli. The recipe will vary by adding different types of alcohol (or none at all), lemon or orange zest, honey or even simple syrup. But the basic principle of frying little dough balls and covering them with a sweet syrup remains the same throughout the different regions. They may be served during the Christmas holidays, Carnevale in the month of February or even Easter.
However, for me, this is Sicilian Pignolata and will always be a Christmas tradition. There are a few other typically Sicilian sweets that are a must for special occasions and holidays such as:
Origins of this recipe
During the holidays, each of my aunts had her own Christmas specialty and pignolata was my mother’s sister’s tradition. Unfortunately that ended when my aunt passed and my mother didn’t have that recipe. I recalled that my cousin in Sicily made us pignolata during our last trip to Sicily. So I decided to give her a shout and ask her for her recipe.
Imagine my surprise when she listed ingredients such as semolina, cinnamon and Grappa? I verified this with my mother and just as I suspected, the pignolata recipe had definitely evolved throughout the years. Although my mother did not remember the original recipe, she was quite sure they did not have grappa to add to their pignolata back when she was a child. Regardless, I decided to give it a try.
How to make Sicilian Pignolata
Make the dough:
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour; semolina flour; sugar; salt; baking soda and cinnamon. Mix eggs; vegetable oil and Grappa in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Scrape the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a dough. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll one piece at a time into a long rope about 1 cm thick. Cut into 1 cm pieces.
Roll each piece in the palm of your hands to form a ball. Place onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Continue with the remaining dough.
To fry the pignolata:
Pour about 1 inch of oil in a shallow wide frying pan and heat on medium-high heat. Test to verify if the oil is hot enough by dropping 1 piece of pignolata into the oil. It must be bubbling vigourously.
Use a slotted spoon or spider to carefully drop pieces of pignolata into the hot oil in one even layer. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook about 2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel covered baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pignolata balls.
In a small sauce pan, gently heat the honey until liquefied. Transfer the pignolata to a large bowl and pour in the warmed honey. Stir until all pieces are coated with honey.
To serve Sicilian Pignolata:
Place the pignolata on a serving platter in a mound (almost like a Christmas tree shape) and top with colored candy sprinkles before serving.
Watch my step by step Sicilian Pignolata making video:
Tips and suggestions for making Sicilian Pignolata:
- If you don’t have Grappa, substitute rum or brandy.
- After the first batch of pignolata are fried, you may have lower the heat down to medium as they will brown quickly and may not be thoroughly cooked in the center.
- Store pignolata in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
I took my first bite and although it wasn’t exactly my aunt’s pignolata, I really enjoyed it. The semolina makes them crisp and the hint of cinnamon (I don’t like overpowering cinnamon flavor!) and grappa was just enough to give them a distinct flavor. My mother came over the next day to sample a few. While she agreed it was not the pignolata of her youth, she still approved. The only critique she offered was that they were not sufficiently coated in honey so I had to step up the amount of honey. So mille grazie Graziella for the new and improved recipe!
Let me know how much you enjoy your Sicilian Pignolata by sharing your photos with me with #mangiabedda or @mangiabedda on Facebook or Instagram. Happy holidays!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups semolina flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup grappa rum or brandy may also be used
- 1 cup honey
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Colored sprinkles for serving
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, semolina, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, vegetable oil and Grappa.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Scrape the mixture onto a floured surface and knead lightly until a dough is formed. If sticky, add a bit more flour.
- Divide the mixture into 4 pieces. One piece at a time, roll the dough into a long rope about 1 cm thick. Cut into 1 cm pieces, roll in the palm of your hands to form a ball. Place onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Continue with the remaining dough.
For frying:
- Pour about 1 inch of oil in a shallow frying pan and heat on medium-high heat. Do not fill the pan more than half way with oil. Test to verify if the oil is hot enough by dropping 1 piece of pignolata into the oil. It must be bubbling vigourously. Using a slotted spoon or spider, carefully drop pieces of pignolata into the hot oil in one even layer. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook about 2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel covered baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pignolata balls.
For serving:
- In a small sauce pan, gently heat the honey until liquefied. Transfer the pignolata to a large bowl and pour in the warmed honey. Stir until all pieces are coated with honey.
- Place pignolata on a serving platter in a Christmas tree shape and evenly cover with sprinkles before serving.
Notes
- If you don't have grappa, substitute rum or brandy.
- After the first batch of pignolata are fried, you may have lower the heat down to medium as they will brown quickly and may not be thoroughly cooked in the center.
- Store pignolata in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
both my mother and father were from sicily and came here as childred. My mother made it just like sarah wrote,
the only thing different was that my mom added sliced almonds to the fried dough when the honey was added.
this is much easier and i still use it to this day and i am now 76 years old.
Hi Anna, there are so many variations of pignolata and the addition of almonds sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing this with me!
I would like to make a comment in regards to the recipe for pinulate. I was taught by my Sicilian mother how to make the pignulate that she made when she lived there. The dough is just flour and eggs. Rolled in pencil thin strips and laid out to dry for several hours. Then cut in 1” pieces fried in oil until crisp. Heat honey to boiling, then when it reaches soft ball stage, turn off heat and add the fried pieces of pasta. Mix, turn out on a board to cool, then form into cones, thus the name pinulate or like pinecones…
Hi Sarah, this is the way my relatives make pignolata back in Sicily. However your way sounds very interesting, I have never heard of that method before! That’s what’s so fascinating about Sicilian cooking, it can vary so much from one small town to another. Thanks for sharing this with me!