Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Crostoli - A Fried Holiday Sweet

Around this time of year we get in undated with sweets.there are endless cookies and scores of cakes. In th e midst of all this home baked goodness there's the crostoli , a fried sweet treat. it's a light an dairy alternative to all those snaps and tortes. One bite is crunchy, sweet and downright heavenly.

Crostoli is an Italian treat however the Poles make their own version called krusciki. The Piedmontese Italians also have a thinner version called bugie . It's basically a simple egg rich dough that's then fried. In Ital crostoli are a big carnival food.They can be made and then cooked on the spot being served piping hot. The Tuscan version requires Marsala wine for a sweet kick. while the Polish version is whiskey and sour cream laced. Some recipes just call for an egg, sugar and flour mix without any alcohol. However recipes vary from family to family. the one universal is that they all have powdered sugar dusted on them. (which creates a heavenly sweet cloud when you bite into one)

Crostoli can also be made plan and served with various sauces for dipping (hits was popular at the famous crepe chain The Magic Pan decades ago). You can make bougie or crostoli, ,nix the sugar at the end and serve with sweet dips. Most popular are chocolate along with apricot and raspberry dips. You can also sprinkle them with just cinnamon for Mexican vibe.

Instead of baking sweet treats this holiday season, think about frying them. crostoli are a different holiday sweet that everyone will enjoy. Not only that they are just heavenly to eat, light an airy as spun sugar.

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