Zeppole are just donuts Italian style. They’re really easy to make, and have a nice, tender, chewy inside. Since the brain trust at Pillsbury decided to quit making their cheap little biscuits in a tube, this is what we have to resort to. They’re actually better, so that helps make up for not being able to just pop open a tube of biscuits whenever the urge for donuts strikes. And yes, we’ve tried many different biscuits in a tube, and they’re just not the same. Full disclosure, this is a picture of zeppole I found on the internet. Mine do NOT look like these. They look more like some weird amoebas from outer space. But no matter how they look, they all taste delicious. I just make half the recipe for four people, but if you really want to pig out, go for it!
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 tsp yeast
2 eggs, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T olive oil
4 c flour
Warm the milk and water up to around 95-110 degrees. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
Stir everything together until it’s well mixed. It will be a very wet and sticky dough, somewhere between bread dough and pancake batter.
Cover and let sit in a warm place for about an hour until it’s at least doubled in size and is bubbly.
Heat some oil to 350 degrees. Dig out a blob of dough with one tablespoon, and use a second tablespoon to drag it off into the hot oil. Try to make a nice little ball…but you’ll fail. Fry in small batches, flipping them over until they’re well browned all over. Drain briefly on paper towels, then while still warm roll them in a mixture of one cup sugar and one Tablespoon cinnamon