Struffoli

In Naples at Christmastime, there is no dessert table without struffoli. These tiny fried balls of dough, bathed in warm honey and studded with candied fruit, are not difficult to make. They are time-consuming. This is the point. Struffoli exist to bring the family together around the table, each person rolling the little balls while the conversation flows and the children steal pieces of candied orange.

The dough is simple: flour, eggs, a little butter, citrus zest for fragrance. The technique requires patience. Each ball must be the same size, no larger than a chickpea, or they will not fry evenly. This is why Neapolitan grandmothers recruit every available hand. The work goes faster when shared, and faster still when accompanied by strong coffee and gossip.

Do not attempt to rush the frying. Do not let the honey boil. These are the only rules that matter. Everything else is tradition passed from mother to daughter: the shape of the mound, the particular candied fruits preferred by this family or that, whether to dust with confectioners' sugar (elegant) or not (traditional). Make them your own, but make them correctly.