1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick of soft butter
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3 Tbsp. orange juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
Finely grated zest of a lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
Finely grated zest of an orange (about 2 Tbsp)
2 1/2 cups flour + more for rolling
vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar for sprinkling
Blend butter, salt & sugar in food processor until uniform. Add milk, egg, yolk, citrus juices and zest. Process until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add flour. Process in pulses until the dough comes together. Scrape down sides and repeat until you have a nice ball of dough.
Knead dough on a floured surface for a few minutes, until the ball is soft and smooth and not sticky. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 40 minutes. You can make this the day ahead is you want, but bring it back to almost room temperature before you roll.
Cut dough in half and work with one piece at a time. Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a square as thinly as you can. Using a fluted cutter, cut strips about 3/4″ wide and 5″ long. Tie each piece into a simple overhand knot. Lay each piece on a floured cookie sheet. When finished you can lightly cover the top with plastic wrap and keep cook until ready to cook.
Heat at least 2″ of oil in pan to 350 F. You could keep oil warm while you’re eating dinner and then quickly bring it back up to temperature afterwards.
Using long-handled tongs, quickly drop a few crostoli in oil (don’t overcrowd as it will drop the temperature of the oil too quickly). Turn them a few times for even browning. They are done with they are a dark gold color. It takes only a few minutes. Transfer to paper-towel covered plate. Arrange on a dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar. (option: mix cinnamon in sugar)
Cinnamon Chocolate Dipping Ganache
1/2 whipping cream
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate
Heat 1/2 whipping cream in a small pan. Wisk in 1/4 tsp. cinnamon (or less if desired). Add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate. The better the chocolate you use, the better it will taste. You can use chocolate chips. Mix until combined. This only takes a minute, so have the pan of cream on the stove and quickly heat it up and make ganache while the crostoli are cooking. Pour into a small dish and serve with powdered crostoli and some fresh berries.
Option: You can make this without the cinnamon, or add other spices (chili) or extracts (rum).
Faux Champagne
4 cups chilled club soda
4 cups chilled ginger ale
3 cups chilled white grape juice
Mix and pour chilled into champagne flutes.
Option: To make faux pink champagne, just add 1/4 cup grenadine syrup to the recipe.
Latin Love Drink
3 oz. Cream of Coconut
1 banana
6 oz. of pineapple juice
3 oz. raspberry syrup
3 oz. grenadine
1 cup crushed ice
flaked coconut for garnish
Blend on high until smooth then serve in two glasses with flaked coconut as garnish.
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