Schmaltzy Butterscotch Sugar Zeppole
Pronounced ZEP-oh-lay…traditional Italian donuts that sound fancy but are super easy to make! It looks like a lot of steps, but once you start you’ll see this whole deal goes quickly and is pretty darn simple.
Time: 30-ish minutes
Yield: 8 servings, ~70 Zeppole
Author: Heather
Skill Level: Smedium haha!
Why this is SO good:
Fluffy soft center, crispy outside, Schmaltzy Butterscotch flavor…these will disappear about as fast as you can fry ‘em! New Saturday morning routine? We think so!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
8 TBSP unsalted butter
1 tsp (boring)white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs, room temp
oil for frying, dutch oven pan
1/2 cup Schmaltzy Butterscotch Sugar
How to make it:
In a large dutch oven pan, heat oil to 375 F. The oil should be 2-3 inches deep.
Put the 1/2 cup Schmaltzy Butterscotch Sugar into a container with a lid, set aside til the end.
In a large saucepan, combine the 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, 8 TBSP of butter, the 1 tsp white sugar,and 1/4 tsp salt.
Bring to a boil, stirring often!
Remove from heat and add the 1 cup flour and stir in completely.
Back on medium heat and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Dough will look thin!
Dump the batter into a large mixing bowl and mix on medium for 1 minute to cool the dough a bit.
Add the 4 eggs, one at a time, slowly! Add them too fast and the eggs will COOK and that ain’t good…lol
After all 4 eggs are in, beat for another minute until the dough is thick. If you pull the beaters out of the dough, it should ‘pull’ a thick ribbon of dough up on the beaters!
Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a 1/2” opening. You can also take a gallon ziplock, fill it with the dough, zip shut, and squish the dough away from a corner and cut a 1/2” opening there!
Get ‘yer (clean) scissors! Pipe 1-inch lengths into the hot oil, cutting them quickly as you go. Pipe close to the surface so you can avoid oil splashes!
Fry for 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Transfer to a plate with a paper towel on it to soak up extra oil, about 30 seconds.
Transfer the Zeppole to the container with the Schmaltzy Butterscotch Sugar, and give it a gentle shake to coat the Zeppole. Put them on a plate or in a bowl, or straight into your mouth! Enjoy!
How to store it:
In an airtight container for up to 3 days - but they likely will be all gone before then!
So, what if:
Can I freeze this dough. Yep - up to 3 months, in an airtight container. Make sure the dough is thawed all the way through, and give it a mix to make sure the temp throughout is the same, about room temp. If you put cold dough in hot oil IT WILL SHOOT BACK AT YOU and can definitely hurt you. Use caution and make sure the dough is room temp before you drop it in the oil.
What’s the best oil for this deep fry setup. We use peanut oil, but you can use vegetable oil or canola oil.
What else can i coat these things with. Well…Lots! Any of our Divine Sugars will be delicious (think Espresso Love, Ebony Cocoa, Sweet Red Raspberry…etc!). Traditional powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon sugar, you can dip them in a jam or a chocolate ganache, strawberry cream cheese is good too….give ‘em a try!
