Crazy For Cocoli!

OK ... so the deal is, I have been making my own pizza dough forever. In fact, not that I'm a master pizzaiolo or anything of the sort .... it's just that I have gotten very used to the "rusticness" of the homemade dough, toppings and taste of a pizza that comes from my very own oven!

There is a wonderful Italian treat called COCOLI that if anyone has been to a county fair and ordered an "elephant ear" (basically a slab of bread dough that's fried in oil and rolled in sugar), you will love this tasty morsel! Instead of a giant chunk of dough, these little babies are rolled out fairly thin, cut in small squares and quick fried in olive oil. They are then rolled or sprinkled with granulated sugar while they are still hot so the sugar sticks. And most of all, they're not really deep fried and infinitely easier to make than a conventional elephant ear. Even the dough in this case is very forgiving .... as they get rolled and cut, as soon as they hit the hot oil, they puff into golden bites of deliciousness. No need to worry, "did I knead too much, too little, did I let it raise long enough? As long as they get some "rest" time after kneading, they're going to be perfect.....

I've given you a recipe for what I think is the perfect pizza dough before but I will repeat that here and then continue on with the steps for making your cocoli ... so don't be afraid, try other sorts of toppings, see what you can create and then, let ME know!

Crazy For Cocoli

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package of quick rise yeast (1/4 oz)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar (or honey)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

PLUS

• Additional flour for kneading
• Additional olive oil for coating dough
• 1/2 (or more) cup of inexpensive olive oil for frying
• white granulated sugar for coating the cocoli (or honey, or other toppings of choice)

In the cup of water, dissolve sugar (or honey) and add the packet of yeast and stir to let it proof. In about 5 minutes, it will be very foamy and smell very “yeasty”. In the meantime, in a large bowl add the flour and make a well in the center. Add the salt and olive oil to the well. After the yeast is proofed, pour into the well and gently incorporate the liquid into the flour until a dough consistency is achieved. Once the dough holds together in a sticky ball, sprinkle additional flour on a counter and knead dough for 10 minutes until elastic and smooth. If you're unfamiliar with the kneeding process, google it and you can probably find out with pictures and everything! (I promise, it's easy!)

Shape the dough into a ball. Coat with additional olive oil and place in a bowl loosely covered with a towel until it is doubled in size. (Because of the quick rise yeast, this process should be pretty quick! I usually let mine raise for an hour for flavor alone, but most of the time, with quick rise yeast a 30 minute rise SHOULD be sufficient unless the kitchen is cold.)

When the dough has doubled, cut it into 4 sections so it is easier to work with. Sprinkle a countertop with a light dusting of flour and roll the dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Try to roll a rectangle to make cutting them easier. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, create small squares from the rolled sheet of dough. I make mine about 1 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 inches for ease of placing in the oil. Also, try using as little flour as possible as extra flour will burn in the oil and give a bad taste to your cocoli.

When you cut them into squares, you should have between 4 and 5 dozen. This is enough to feed an army so plan ahead! In a stockpot or something with high sides (this is only to save your stove from oil obliteration .... you can use a skillet or similar), heat the olive oil for frying until a very tiny piece of the dough immediately sizzles when dropped in. If it sizzles and turns golden, your oil is ready. Doing about 8 per batch will assure you that the cocoli will brown and cook beautifully. Drop the cocoli gently in the oil AWAY from you so no hot oil splashes on you. Almost immediately by the time you put the pieces in, the first side will be golden (they literally take about 20-30 seconds per side). Flip them over and let the other side become a golden brown. Immediately remove the cocoli from the oil and either roll them in a bowl of sugar OR use my method ... place them on a baking sheet that has been lines with paper towels and sprinkle sugar over them. (*** NOTE: Using this method will drain some of the excess oil and and make cleaning up any stray sugar MUCH easier!)

Watch the oil temperature so your cocoli don't burn while cooking. Also, you may note that you need to add a few tablespoons of fresh olive oil between batches as the dough soaks up a little bit. These are best served warm and makes a great "party" operation, leaving the sugaring to another crew of people as one person fries the cocoli. Also, another popular topping for these in Italy is to make a pile of them on a plate and drizzle them with honey. You can really try anything you want from a chocolate syrup to candy jimmies! Enjoy and mangia molto!


I'm sort of addicted to these little guys and have learned to use HALF a batch of dough and refrigerate the rest. It will last an additional 2 -3 days in the fridge without going bad. OR, even better ... make yourself a small rustic pizza with the remaining dough. Dinner AND dessert in one fell swoop! What could be better?

As always, until next time, ciao.....