Description
Variations of crostoli can be found across Europe. You’ll find this light, crispy dessert at Polish weddings, Venetian carnival, and Christmas tables across the continent. Whether it has a wavy edge, is tied in knots or just squares of dough, the dessert is always a crowd-pleaser.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- finely grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1/2 to 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons rum, orange liqueur, or grappa
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- pinch of fine sea salt
- oil for frying
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Mix the dough: In a large bowl mix the butter, yolks, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth. Mix in 1/2 cup milk and the rum. Blend in the flour and salt. Add more milk if needed. You want the consistency to be like firm pasta dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cut into 8 portions. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roll and shape: Set up your pasta machine. Put rollers to widest setting (7 on my machine). Working with one portion at a time, flatten the piece with your hands. Dust the pasta rollers with flour and run the dough through the widest setting. Continue rolling the pasta, reducing the setting each time by one notch, until you reach the finest setting. Before you run the dough through the second last setting, it will be getting a bit long to handle. Cut the dough ribbon in half crosswise and continue rolling half sheets until you get to the narrowest setting (1 on my machine). With a sharp knife or fluted pastry cutter, cut the dough into strips about 5 inches by 2 inches. Each half ribbon should produce 5 to 6 crostoli (or 10 to 12 per portion). Cut a slit down the centre of each pastry strip. Thread one short end through the slit to create a knot. Repeat with the remaining dough. (Note: The frying goes very quickly. If you are working alone, roll and cut all the dough before you begin frying, covering it with a dish towel so it won’t dry out. If you have a helper, one person should fry while the other person rolls and cuts.)
- Fry: Fill a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan with 2 inches of cooking oil and heat over medium to 375°F or until a piece of dough dropped in sizzles and browns in 15 seconds. Because the crostoli cook so quickly and expand in the oil, it’s best to cook one at a time. Gently, place a strip in the hot oil and fry until golden (this took only 15 to 20 seconds). Flip and cook the other side (about 15 more seconds). Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining strips. If space is an issue, stack the crostoli / paper towel layers on top of each other. The cookies are very light and won’t crush each other.
- Dust with sugar: When they have cooled or just before eating them, dust with icing sugar. Don’t dust them when they are warm or the icing sugar will melt and make a sticky mess.
- Store in an airtight container. They will keep for a few days.
Notes
While you can roll the dough by hand, the thinner the crostoli, the better. You’ll get the most consistent results with a pasta machine. If rolling by hand, you want the dough so thin you can’t accurately measure it. It should be thin enough to see through but not tear when you fold it.
Adapted using Canadian ingredients from a recipe given to me by an Italian friend.