Zeppole!

Zeppole are like little Italian donuts, but a little lighter and fluffier. This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. To say they all didn't turn out beautiful...

is...

an UNDERSTATEMENT! These were the first ones to make it out of the pot, and aren't they beauties?! :)

This recipe just didn't seem to work out the way it was written, so I lowered the temperature of the oil and added flour... let's just forget this ever happened and go back to the pretty ones...

 much better! The zeppole are fried in a pot of very hot oil...

which makes me a little nervous! But I was prepared and luckily the fire extinguisher was not necessary.

There they are getting nice and toasty. Once I removed the zeppole from the oil I tossed them in orange sugar which goes very well with dark chocolate.

All you need to do is put orange zest and sugar in a food processor and blend. You can do this with lemon, lime, or you could get really fancy with vanilla bean and lavender. You can add these mixes to cookies or a cup of tea too.

And there you have 'em!

Ingredients-
Orange Zeppole
1 stick of butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 T. orange zest
vegetable oil for frying

Orange Sugar
1 T. orange zest
1/2 cup sugar

Chocolate Sauce
3/4 cup cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions- ( I had better success by adding a little more flour. The less flour you add the lighter they will be. I also kept the temperature at 300 degrees so that they did not burn too quickly. )

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to low heat and stir continuously until the mixture forms a ball, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add the orange zest and beat until smooth. Set aside.

For the organge sugar- place the orange zest and sugar in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended. Put the sugar in a small bowl.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. (Too hot from my experience.)

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked zeppole to the dish with the Orange Sugar. Roll to coat in the sugar. Continue frying the remaining dough.

For the Chocolate Sauce- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the Chocolate Sauce into a dipping dish. Serve alongside the zeppole.