Powdered Sugar Zeppoles

This post was sponsored by New York Life. Every family has traditions and life lessons that get passed on from one generation to the next. I am from Italian descent, and as you might imagine many of the lessons and traditions that I remember are somehow associated with food. Recipes and the stories surrounding them have been passed down and I have actually been passing them down to my children without being aware of it. One of my favorite treats as a kid were the zeppoles that my grandpa and uncle would make. Zeppoles are essentially puffs of fried dough served warm and topped with powdered sugar. Just the smell of them cooking up bring back memories of family gatherings.

I have never made zeppoles with my kids before, but I decided to give it a shot.

Ingredients:
·         1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
·         1 cup of warm water
·         2 tablespoons of sugar
·         2 cups of flour
·         1 teaspoon of salt
·         Vegetable oil for frying
·         Confectioner's sugar for after frying

Pour yeast and sugar over 1 cup of warm water in bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast. In a larger bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour the water and yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour. Stir to make a dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise for an hour and a half.

Using a deep fryer or dutch oven type of pot, warm 2 inches of vegetable oil. If you have a thermometer, heat the oil to 375 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the oil by dropping in a small piece of the dough. It should sizzle and brown in a minute.

Scoop dough using a tablespoon and carefully drop into the oil. I like my zeppoles on the bigger side so I used heaping tablespoons of dough. The most I cooked at one time was five zeppoles. I wouldn't recommend cooking more than five at a time.

Fry the zeppoles until they have turned a golden brown color. I used a slotted spoon to turn them during the cooking process for even browning. When you remove them from the oil, place the zeppoles on a plate lined with paper towels.

You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the zeppoles, but if you want zeppoles like I remember my grandpa and uncle making, you will pour some powdered sugar into a bag and drop in a few zeppoles at a time. Shake vigorously until they are all coated and serve warm.