Whether referred to as screppelle or Italian donuts, one this is for sure, this family recipe for these Traditional Molisani Christmas Eve Fritters is simply amazing. I would like to share one of my fondest food memories I have of growing up Italian and it takes the shape of a yeast donut made with potatoes.
I said time and again that I try to avoid fried foods whenever possible; usually I will try to replace frying with baking.
Being of Italian origin, there are a few exceptions to my “no fry” rule and it usually occurs around Christmas time.
One of these fried Italian cookies we love is Struffoli. You have probably heard of these being referred to as Italian Honey Balls. This is a no yeast dough that is formed into little balls and then deep fried for just a few minutes. As they are frying, they puff up to become light and crispy. They are then drenched in honey.
Another exception to my “no fry” rule are known as Crostoli. This is another no yeast dough that is rolled out paper thin and then fried. It literally takes just a few seconds for the dough to puff up. These fritters are then dusted with icing sugar. You have never tasted such a light and flaky dough!
Have you started drooling? I know I am…
Today, the focus will be on another one of my exceptions which I refer to as Screppelle, which are basically Italian donuts.
Growing up Italian meant so many things to me, and one of the best things about my Italian family was all the get-togethers during the holidays. In preparation for Christmas, my mom and nonna would make these delicious screppelle. They are great when they are fresh, but don’t keep especially well, so there was always a mad-rush on Christmas Eve morning, trying to get everything done.
I cannot even begin to describe how delicious these fritters are right when they cool down. The first bite you take has them being still warm and all rolled around in granulated sugar… yum!
I can’t wait to share this family recipe with you…
How to make Italian donuts
The whole process begins with some magical yeast. Proof the yeast according to the packet directions.
Then, mix all the ingredients together: the yeast, flour, salt, and – wait for it! – the boiled/mashed potatoes. Yes, potatoes! It may seem weird, but trust me on this one. 🙂 You’ll need some warm water for this recipe, too – I provide an amount in the recipe below, but really, you only need as much water as “is needed”, cryptic as that sounds.
My mom and grandma never actually measured out ingredients, but instead gained so much experience in making certain recipes over and over again that they would add ingredients “by eye”… they knew what consistency they wanted the dough to be, in the end, and added ingredients until it reached that consistency. Even I don’t have enough experience to make these without measurements though – it takes years of practice!
Anyway, the resultant dough should be smooth, elastic and sticky. Don’t even try to shape it into a ball. Just cover and let it rise for a couple of hours or until double in size.
Once the dough is ready, it will soon need to be deep-fried, so start heating up your oil. Nowadays, most Italians (that I know) will use all-purpose vegetable oil for this recipe, but some say that that leaves a bit of an aftertaste. You can use canola oil, or peanut oil, if you’d like to avoid that. You should also prepare a large plate, lined with paper towels – you’ll need it later.
Now, the fun part! Rub some vegetable oil on your hands, and then pick up some dough in your fingers, about the size of a golf-ball. It will be sticky and gloopy – a throwback to those papier maché projects of yore. 😉
Stretch the dough out in your hands, and drop it carefully in the oil. Be careful not to splash! Do this for 3 or so pieces of dough. The dough should float in the oil.
Then, with two forks, one in each hand, turn the fritters over and over again while they are in the oil, so that they fry evenly. When they achieve a light golden color, remove them from the oil, and place on the plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until there is no dough left, but don’t forget to thoroughly coat the fritters in granulated sugar while they are still somewhat warm! My mom used to toss them with sugar, but I prefer sprinkling them with sugar.
Time is of the essence with this recipe, so I find it most efficient to do this with two people. One person scoops out and shapes the fritters, and drops them into the oil; the other person turns the fritters constantly, and sprinkled them with sugar. I used to help my mom when she would make them, but ever since she passed away, the torch has been passed on to my daughter and I.
Recipe source
Ever since I can remember, these fritters would be made on the morning of Christmas Eve Day.
In the dialect of my paternal grandmother, we would refer to them as scr’pell -which would be spelled as screppelle.
This is an old family recipe with its origins from Ripabottoni, in the province of Campobasso, in the Italian region of Molise.
The dough would be made in the early morning hours and fried in batches just in time for lunch, which consisted of this Saint Joseph’s Day Spaghetti Recipe (made twice in the year; once for Christmas Eve lunch and once on March 19th) and baccala (salt cod) with potatoes. These screppele would be part of the Christmas dessert line-up, along with an endless assortment of cakes and cookies.
I can still envision my paternal grandmother and my mom making this yearly treat. My grandmother would be the one meticulously shaping and dropping the dough in the hot oil; my mom was responsible for making sure they were fried to a golden perfection.
You will probably find all shapes and sizes when it comes to these fritters, and today there are all kinds of variations. The recipe I am sharing with you today is the one that I grew up with – a simple potato yeast fritter, shaped into a 4-5 inch log-like shape.
After my grandmother passed away, the lead was taken by my mom. When I was not working, I would be the official helper, otherwise, this role was assumed (somewhat clumsily) by my Dad.
The tradition continues; now I take charge of this recipe, helped by my husband.
It never ceases to amaze me how certain foods have the power to bring us back in time and elicit so many wonderful memories.
For my dear family, friends and all of you that are celebrating Christmas, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas. And for those not celebrating Christmas, I hope the weekend is full of love, happiness and some wonderful moments!
Buon Natale a tutti ♥
Traditional Molisani Christmas Eve Fritters
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 4 cups all purpose flour 568 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 medium potatoes boiled and riced (about 225 grams or 1 cup)
- 1½ cups lukewarm water
for frying:
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil or canola
for garnish:
- granulated table sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water.
- Stir and let stand for 10 minutes (will get foamy).
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, mashed potato, and water with the dough hook.
- Add the yeast mixture and knead for about 10 minutes. Please note that the dough will be extremely soft.
- Cover and allow to double in size. This will take about 2 hours.
- When the dough is ready, heat up the oil for deep frying (375°F)
- Stretch a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and drop it in the oil.
- When they achieve a light golden color, remove them from the oil, and place on the plate lined with paper towels. This should take 1-2 minutes.
- Repeat until there is no dough left.
- Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- These fritters are best the day they are fried.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Teresa
Hi Maria
I was searching your site trying to remember all the deserts I had growing up but did not know the names of. The Screppelle (Italian Donuts) is one my mother makes religiously for Christmas and Easter but we call them “Cipolli” like Angela. However, We also make them as a savory treat with cheese in the center or anchovies and sometimes mum puts sultanas in the center.
Its good to know these recipes are being saved for all to enjoy and appreciate.
As with some Italian recipes each region has a different name for the same dish as is evident with this recipe as my heritage is Southern Italian, namely Calabrese now based in Sydney, Australia.
I can guarantee that I will be adding your site to my favorites tab.
Thank you.
Maria
Thanks so much for sharing Teresa. My maternal grandmother (from Benevento) would make them savory, with anchovies and sultanas. I guess I was partial to my dad’s family version (from Campobasso) as we lived with my paternal grandparents. I agree the names of recipes can sometimes be so confusing. My daughter-in-law’s family is Calabrese… there are so many wonderful recipes from this region that I would love to document! Thank you so much for your support, appreciate it!
Angela
I can’t believe I found someone who has the same Christmas Eve tradition. However, in my family they are called Cipolli. It is fabulous that you are carrying on the tradition for your family. It’s my job to do the same since my grandparents passed the torch 20 years ago. My family prefers them savory so I don’t top them with sugar. As an alternative, you can leave them plain and they become a wonderful replacement for regular bread with pasta sauce. I also make manicotti (with crepes) for the holiday. It feels like my grandparents are still with us.
My tip is to use Canola oil for frying because it has a higher smoking point. This makes a huge batch and the house can fill with smoke from all the frying. Open a window and have fun with different shapes. I’ll do sticks, rounds, and even try for some ribbons or figure 8s. Thanks for sharing this with the world!
Maria
Thanks so much Angela. I absolutely agree with you, by keeping these wonderful food traditions, we are keeping the memories of loved ones alive… and it does feel like they are still with us. Thanks for the tip. Buon Natale to you and your loved ones!
Joanne Vanelli
Thank you so much for this recipe. It means a lot to me as my mother made these for us every Christmas Eve and she just passed away in November. We are honoring her this Christmas Eve by making these donuts. We are Calabrese and they are called something I can’t even spell, but the recipe is exactly the same, and like your mother and grandmother, my mother never measured anything. So I will be a bit nervous making these for Christmas Eve tomorrow, but I wanted to thank you for this. Family tradition is a treasure.
Merry Christmas!
Doris (Terzino) Regan
I’ll be trying your recipe this year. I too have many fond memories of my grandmother and mother frying the Screppelles and eating them as they came out of the hot oil! My gran came from Francavilla (as best I remember ) and she did much of all the traditional Christmas Eve cooking even the seven fishes.
My question is can this dough be frozen?
Thanks for your insite
Maria
I would do the same thing Doris! Lots of special memories… I agree!
As you know these are best the day they are made. That being said, you ask a very good question. I have never tried. I do freeze my pizza dough as well as the dough for my cinnamon buns, so I would think it should be okay to freeze this dough. I would be very interested in your results if you do decide to freeze it. Thanks so much for stopping by, appreciate it!
Josee
Hello, and thanks for this wonderful easy to prepare recipe. Taste heavenly. Wanted to ask you if you could use this type of dough to make a pizza. Or is the dough to soft to prepare it with this recipe. I just love this dough with the potatoe in it.
At christmas i made them several times.
Thank you, brought back memories.
Maria
My pleasure Josee! I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. That is such a genius idea Josee! You know I have never tried it… but I am thinking it just might work… I would probably add a little more flour to get more structure in the dough. I’m working on a couple of recipes right now for Easter… but I will definitely give it a try. If you try before me, I would love to hear about your results.
I agree Josee, this recipe brings me right back to my childhood… every single time ♥
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with this screppelle recipe, appreciate it!
Mary Stacey
I made this for the first time since my mother passed away.I used to always help my mother as you need two people . I never made the dough as it was already to go by the time I went to help my mother. I would eat a bunch as we fried them. Well they turned out excellent for my first time and my brothers said “they are as good as moms”. The only thing is that they were not enough , we were 12 people but everyone was eating around 3 or 4. I am making them again tomorrow for my brothers birthday, why wait for only Christmas. Can the recipe just be doubled? Thanks a million for the recipe.
Maria
Happy Birthday to your brother!
I am so happy to hear this ♥ Yes, in fact my mom and grandmother would make a huge batch of these screppelle. I think you can double up on the recipe without any problems as you know the consistency of the dough. Just in case, you can always adjust to that consistency either by adding more water or flour. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with this recipe, appreciate it!
Rosemary
I was happy to see a potato yeast dough! My mother made them Christmas Eve but put a whole anchovie fillet in the middle and my youngest son just loved them! He still loves anchovies and do you think that I could try this dough for a savoury application? There is only a minute amount of sugar to proof yeast, so the dough itself would not be sweet!
Maria
Absolutely Rosemary. In fact, I remember some of my aunts would make theses Italian donuts with anchovies. My dad was not to fond of them and so my grandmother (and mom) would leave them out. Great comment! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Barbarito-Levitt Paula
Thank you for bringing this very special recipe wrapped in family history to all of your readers. Although I am familiar with many of the fried treats we Italians celebrate with, I had never heard of Screppelle. Potato adds a lightness to any dough and this particular batter must produce feather like pieces of heavenly goodness. I thought that my frying for 2016 was over, but perhaps not. Happy New Year to you and your family Maria, I look forward to traveling the culinary road with you in 2017.
Sharon
We make these every Christmas Eve. I get up at 6 am to make the dough. My daughter shaped them and my nephew fries them. We have to hide them to keep guest s from eating them before dinner. Tradition for 63 years. We too put anchioves in some. We make those in the shape of balls and leave long ones plain. We serve these instead of bread so we don’t put sugar on them!
Maria
Thanks so much for sharing Sharon.
Mary Di Lillo
Had a smile when I read you blog. My parents are both from Campobaaso and just last night while celebrating Christms Eve with my family. My brother and I were talking to my mom ablout, when she used to make as fritters for Christmas Eve and in February for Carinaival week.
Will share this recipe with my mom and brother.
M
Maria
Aren’t we lucky to have so many wonderful memories! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Wishing you and your family all the best during this holiday season 🙂
Rosa
I love this story! How wonderful that you and your daughter are carrying on this tradition. I also wish you and your family Happy Holidays!!!
Maria
Grazie Rosa ♥
Phyllis
OMG!
I just finished frying some Zepolle. They were a delicious Christmas Eve tradition. I had never made them myself. I only watched my how they were made. As I was mixing the dough I wished I had written down the proper proportions of potato and flour. Then when I opened my email: There was your blog for Christmas Eve fritters. THANK YOU! Your recipe will now be my new traditional recipe as both my children (adults now) grew up eating the zepolle at Christmas and always ask me to make them.
Maria
Hi Phyllis – your comment brought a big smile to my face. Thank you for writing! I started this blog to help keep my family’s traditions alive, and it’s so good to hear about others doing the same. Happy holidays to you and your family. 🙂
Fran
Wow you are a ‘molisana’ just like me. I’m born and raised inOntario but parents from molise region. This recipe is how my mother makes the screpelle on Christmas Eve. Yes with potatoes. We sprinkle them with sugar while they’re hotand keep eating them as they are addictive. Love your blog and keep the recipes coming.
Maria
Thanks so much Fran! It never seizes to amaze me how some of the best memories of our childhood and young adulthood are associated with so many food traditions from the “old country”. Appreciate you taking the time to comment. Wishing you and your family all the best during this holiday season 🙂