As Easter approaches, chocolate bunnies and Peeps might be hogging the spotlight on store shelves, but let’s not forget the real MVP of springtime sweets: the Zeppole.

These heavenly Italian dough balls are deep-fried to golden perfection, dusted with powdered sugar, and sometimes dressed with pastry cream, custard, or a drizzle of honey.

Like any good Italian tradition, every family has their own secret recipe.

This year, don’t settle for prepackaged treats, whip up a batch of these festive fried delights.

I’m sharing my family’s tried-and-true recipe, so you can celebrate St. Joseph’s Day—and the lead-up to Easter—with a sweet, crispy bite of Italian heritage.

Get your Italian on and fry up a batch—it’s Zeppole time.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup white sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
2 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 tsp. maples syrup (you can substitute and use 1 tsp. vanilla)
zest of one small lemon
1 stick unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup)
1 cup room temperature water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sifted, all purpose flour
4 large eggs
olive oil light kind used for frying (not the extra-virgin olive oil), or avocado oil
confectioner sugar (or as we call it in Canada, icing sugar)

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl mix together: 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup (or vanilla) and lemon zest. Set aside.

Turn your stove on to medium heat, and using a saucepan, combine the following in the saucepan: butter, 3 TBSP sugar and the water.

Stirring constantly, bring this to a boil.

Once it has boiled, remove from the stove and stir in the flour.

Return the saucepan to the stove, and keep stirring until the mixture forms a ball. Continue stirring for 5 minutes.

Take mixture from saucepan and add to the Sugar/cinnamon/vanilla/lemon bowl you had set aside (or if you prefer to use a food processor you can put it in there).

Using a hand mixer (or food processor), add your eggs one at a time, so that each egg is mixed in well with the dough.

Continue beating until mixture is smooth.

At this point you are going to fry the dough, but if you want to do it later, you can. Simply cover the bowl with saran wrap and refrigerate and fry them later.

TO FRY THEM:

Add enough oil into a large frying pan (about 2 inches). Heat oil over medium heat.

Fry them in batches so they are not crowding each other.

When oil is hot, using a melon baller, or small ice cream scooper or a tablespoon and drop the dough into the hot oil. Turn the zeppole a few times so that all sides get a nice golden color.

Once they are all puffed up and golden on all sides (takes about 5 minutes) place each one on paper towels.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and if you like, you can sprinkle with cinnamon as well.

Best eaten right after they are made.

OPTIONAL:

You can fill them and/or top them with your favorite custard or cream as well.