Ricotta puffs aka Zeppole

I was motived to make this recipe for several reasons. One, I had milk and cream that needed to be used and I hadn’t made ricotta yet this week. Two, my husband has been asking me to make him doughnut holes. And three, I saw this recipe by The Cottage Market blog and just had to try it. I loved the instructions from Andrea – so Italian!

Next time I make these, I’m going to add a little limoncello to the batter and dust with lemon zest. I think that would be good too! Enjoy!!

 

Zeppole

Ricotta puffs

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Ingredients

  • • 2 eggs
  • • 1 cup of unsifted flour
  • • 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
  • • dash of salt
  • • 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • • 1 cup of whole milk ricotta cheese (1/2 lb) (homemade or store bought)
  • • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • • Confectioners Sugar for Dusting or maybe Cinnamon Sugar
  • • Canola or vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  1. Crack your two eggs into the mixing bowl and beat until foamy.
  2. Add all of your dry ingredients into the eggs in the mixing bowl slowly and then add your ricotta and vanilla.
  3. Continue to mix until combined. The batter will be thick…creamy and sticky. It is not a cookie dough consistency…it is a rich thick waffle type batter. Do not over mix.
  4. Have your oil ready in your fry pan. (Andrea uses a cast iron skillet - I used my everyday fry.
  5. Fill fry pan about 1-2 inches high with oil.
  6. Your oil should be approximately 375 degrees. Or as most Italian Grandmas would say "until it's hot" because they didn’t use a thermometer. (neither did I)
  7. Andrea uses a small melon ball scoop sprayedwith oil so that batter doesn’t stick. I tried that and found it too cumbersome. I just used 2 spoons - scoop batter in one, scrap off into hot oil with the other. I use this method when making cookies too. No exact measurement, about 1/2 to 1 small teaspoon.
  8. Carefully drop it into the oil…repeat with consecutive scoops but don’t let them touch…turn them a few times for even browning and you are talking about a few minutes. Mine seemed to take seconds.
  9. Once they are a nice deep golden brown it is time to scoop them up and place them on brown paper or paper towels to drain. You won’t believe how NOT oily they are!
  10. Continue adding more. Truly this only takes a short time because they cook so quickly.
  11. Sprinkle with Confectioners sugar or if you like... Cinnamon Sugar and by the way…they are even delicious plain!

Notes

Here’s a little suggestion from Andrea - so you know exactly how long to cook them for…make a test one and break it open…then…eat it. Bet you can't eat just one! : ) You can go from batter to serving in less than 30 minutes! I did have a challenge keeping the right oil temperature. I had to keep turning down the heat (gas cooktop) because they would cook up in a few seconds. You don’t have to serve these warm…but I highly recommend it because they are just over the top when they are warm and fresh! These would be such a treat at Holiday gatherings.

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https://christinasfoodandtravel.com/ricotta-puffs-aka-zeppole/

Nutrition

Calories: 1372 cal
Carbohydrates: 189 g
Fat: 44 g
Sodium: 518 g
Cholesterol: 497 g
Protein: 53 g
Fiber: 4 g
In my effort to make all the recipes I’m blogging about, I’ve had quite a bit of cooking going on in my kitchen. Some neighbors and friends have been the recipients of the “surplus”. When I was dropping off a dish to a friend she said “I see a blog about this in the future.” Now that the word is out, I think a line is forming for next week’s recipe handouts. 🙂

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