Italian Honey Balls: A Gluten-Free Struffoli Recipe!
Ingredients
Dough
- Cooking oil (we like a mix of coconut, grapeseed, and extra-virgin olive oil)
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt OR sea salt, ground
- 3 pasture-raised organic eggs
Topping
- 1 cup raw organic local honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil, extra-virgin AND unrefined
- 3 droppersful vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
- 1 cup organic raw almonds, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon organic ground Ceylon cinnamon OR organic pumpkin pie spice powder
- 1 (70%) organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan chocolate bar (naturally sweetened), chopped OR 1 bag organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan chocolate chips*
Instructions
For the Dough:
- 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.
For the Topping:
- While the struffoli is cooling, make the honey sauce. Mix the honey, coconut oil, liquid stevia, almonds, and cinnamon 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.
Notes
**Good brands of healthy chocolate include Dr. Bronner’s chocolate bars, Lily’s, and Rawmio (these come in many different flavors!), or Hu Baking Gems. Good brands of healthy chocolate chips include Hu Baking Gems (coconut sugar sweetened), Just Date (date sweetened), Lily’s (stevia sweetened), and Pascha (completely unsweetened).