You should note that it’s important to carve out a couple of hours to make this recipe. It’s time-intensive and requires a lot of rolling dough, frying, and prep work. I promise it’s worth every bit of effort, and you’ll create the best holiday memories!
Table of Contents:
- Create Holiday Baking Memories
- Healthy Struffoli Ingredients 101
- Make Our Gluten-Free Struffoli Recipe
Create Holiday Baking Memories
I always say, “Memories are made in the kitchen!” and that is particularly true of recipes specific to your heritage. Over the years, we’ve created a ritual of sorts surrounding holiday baking. It’s one of our favorite things to do with the kids! Here’s how we make cookie prep a family affair.
Make a Special Beverage
You already have cookies; all you need is a healthy drink! One of our favorite drinks to have while baking is hot chocolate. The kids look forward to it, and it’s nourishing to their bodies! Mom and Dad can enjoy cocoa as well or try a coffee latte.
Your family will remember the littlest things, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make them feel special.
Take Lots of Pictures
Be sure to capture the moment! When your children get older, they’ll ask about holiday memories. Our kids love looking at past cookie-baking sessions and seeing how they’ve matured!
There are so many options that make it easy to save memories. You can upload your photos to a cloud or even have them printed in a physical book. Of course, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned instant print camera!
Create Ambience
Create a Christmas wonderland by indulging the senses. We love playing Christmas music while baking. It makes everyone feel festive! Create a custom playlist just for cookie baking. Have each family member include their favorite holiday tune. What a great way to learn about each other.
We also love diffusing Christmas-scented essential oil blends. If you need inspiration, here’s a list that includes all of our favorite holiday blends. Who needs toxic candles?
Healthy Struffoli Ingredients 101
This recipe sounds fancy, but it uses pretty basic ingredients! You probably have most of these staples in your pantry. Here’s what you need.
Oil: You need about 3-4 inches of quality oil to fry the cookies. We recommend using a combination of coconut, grapeseed, and olive oil. You can also use avocado oil. Stay away from unhealthy cooking oils such as canola and soy.
Eggs: Every cookie recipe needs a binder! If you can, purchase cage-free, organic eggs. Eggs keep the treats from falling apart, and they also add a significant boost of protein.
Gluten-Free Flour: Good holiday treats don’t have to be full of gluten! High-quality gluten-free flour creates a light cookie that doesn’t have a gritty texture. If you have trouble finding such an option near you, you can always find a good variety online.
Sea Salt: Traditional table salt undergoes a rigorous harvesting process that strips most nutrients. We recommend using Colima sea salt because it’s hand-harvested. This means all of the good stuff stays intact! Plus, it tastes incredible and adds gourmet flair to any recipe.
Almonds: Almonds give the cookies a delightful crunch. These nuts are full of antioxidants that can help balance oxidative stress. Free radicals are the main culprit in this health issue, and it causes everything from aches and pains to accelerated aging. (1)
One of the things we cover in our book, The Essential Oils Diet, is bioactive foods. Bioactive-rich foods contain compounds such as polyphenols, antioxidants, and fiber.
Honey: The cookies get coated in a delectable sweet sauce after frying. Honey is the perfect light sweetener for this recipe! We prefer raw honey over other kinds as it’s minimally processed and contains all the health benefits God intended!
Raw Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is one of the best healthy fats! It contains MCTs which skip a step and go straight to your liver. (2) This gives your body a boost of energy that may help you burn more calories.
Chocolate: Chocolate makes everything better! In this recipe, it makes a perfect cookie garnish. We recommend using chocolate that’s vegan and sweetened with stevia. There are some fantastic options out there that taste amazing!
Liquid Stevia: I love using multiple healthy sweeteners in my recipes as it gives them a full-bodied flavor. I find this form of stevia blends beautifully with other ingredients, plus it doesn’t have any fillers! Stevia adds a lot of sweetness without adding lots of empty calories.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: This blend of spices adds the perfect touch! Pumpkin pie spice usually includes nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. You can find it in most well-stocked stores or follow our easy tutorial.
Make Our Gluten-Free Struffoli Recipe
These delicious cookies will be a hit at all of your holiday gatherings. They’re delicious and fun to make!
- Cooking oil (we like a mix of coconut, grapeseed and olive).
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
- 3 pasture-raised organic eggs
- 1 cup raw almonds (finely chopped)
- 1 cup raw organic honey
- ¼ cup raw organic coconut oil
- 1 (70%) organic chocolate bar or 1 bag vegan, stevia-sweetened dairy-free chocolate chips
- 3 droppersful vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
- ½ teaspoon organic groundCeylon cinnamon or organic pumpkin pie spice
- Large pot
- Mixing bowl
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Metal strainer
- Serving bowls
- In a large pot, heat 3-4 inches of cooking oil over medium-low heat. You can use any or a combination of grapeseed, coconut, or avocado oil. Feel free to add a splash of olive oil, but don't use it as your primary choice.
- Sift the flour and salt and place in a large glass bowl. Beat the eggs, and mix with the flour. At this point, your dough should be sticky. If not, add another egg.
- Knead the dough on a floured board until pliable. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Take small pieces of the dough and roll them into thin tubes. You want your tubes to be thinner than a pencil.
- Chop the dough tubes into ¼-½-inch long pieces.
- Deep fry the struffoli in heated oil until golden brown. Drain well in a metal strainer or place on a paper-towel-covered plate while cooling.
- While the struffoli is cooling, make the honey sauce. Mix the honey, coconut oil, liquid stevia, almonds, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Bring to a simmer over low heat.
- Immediately turn off the heat, and let cool until it thickens.
- Pour in the fried dough and mix until the sauce completely covers the struffoli.
- Immediately, serve the struffoli in individual bowls and top with chocolate. Enjoy!
Step One: Heat the Oil
In a large pot, heat 3-4 inches of cooking oil over medium-low heat. You can use any or a combination of grapeseed, coconut, or avocado oil. Feel free to add a splash of olive oil, but don’t use it as your primary choice.
Step Two: Mix the Dough
Sift the flour and salt and place in a large glass bowl. Beat the eggs, and mix with the flour. At this point, your dough should be sticky. If not, add another egg.
Step Three: Create the Struffoli Pieces
Knead the dough on a floured board until pliable. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Then, take small pieces of the dough and roll it into thin tubes. You want your tubes to be thinner than a pencil. Chop the dough tubes into ¼-½-inch long pieces.
Step Four: Fry the Struffoli
Deep fry the struffoli in heated oil until golden brown. Drain well in a metal strainer or place on a paper towel-covered plate while cooling.
Step Five: Make the Sauce
While the struffoli is cooling, make the honey sauce. Mix the honey, coconut oil, liquid stevia, almonds, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Bring to a simmer over low heat.
Immediately turn off the heat, and let it cool until it thickens.
Step Six: Combine the Struffoli and Sauce
Pour in the fried dough and mix until the sauce completely covers the struffoli. Immediately, serve the struffoli in individual bowls and top with chocolate. Enjoy!
