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Zeppole

By Snejana Andreeva

on Nov 12, 2022, Updated Apr 18, 2025

There’s nothing better than Italian donuts (Zeppole) with powdered sugar. Every single country around the world has its own version of fried dough, and my home country of 🇧🇬 Bulgaria is no exception. In Bulgaria, we call these “Mekitzi” or “Ponichki” which are similar in taste. This super lazy version is much easier to make and hits the spot .

• Why You’ll Love Zeppole
• How to Prepare
• Nonna’s Tip
• Variations and Substitutions for Zeppole
• Similar Recipes
• Best Served With
• Common Questions
• Italian Donuts (Zeppole) Recipe

Italians 🇮🇹 have several different names for this delicious fried dough, such as pizza fritte, fried doughnuts, zeppole, or sfinci. Fried pizza dough is made in a variety of ways, depending on where you live. These fluffy delicious bites of heaven will have you and your guests begging for more!

Why You’ll Love Zeppole

You’ll love these donuts for how easy they are to make and how amazing they taste. The incredible texture of these fried doughnuts, that’s both crispy on the outside and super soft on the inside, will 🤯 blow your mind. The fun part of this recipe is how creative you can get, from added glazes and flavors to fruit-filled surprises.

The quick frying process for these 🍩 donuts makes sure that you will achieve golden perfection. Whether you’re a fan of the traditional powdered sugar on these doughnuts or you want to try some fun glazes, these doughnuts are such a great treat for a Saturday morning or to have a special homemade breakfast for guests.

How to Prepare

🖤 Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.

🔘 Shape each piece into a thin, flat disc, using your hands, a pastry cutter, or a knife. Dust the discs with flour if they stick to your hands.

🔥 Heat oil in a pan with high sides until it shimmers; test readiness by placing a wooden spoon tip, and if it bubbles, it’s ready.

🍩 Avoid overcrowding the pan; cook 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time.

♨️ Reduce heat to medium as soon as doughnuts are placed in the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.

💛 Place fried donuts on a paper towel then dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

Nonna’s Tip

I just wait for the oil to shimmer to know that it’s ready. Feel free to use a thermometer if you need to; the oil needs to be at 375F.

Variations and Substitutions for Zeppole

1. After frying , you could fill the center of the doughnut with fruit preserves or jam such as my healthiest jam .
2. Feel free to experiment with different glazes such as 🍫 chocolate, maple, or fruit-flavored glazes instead of just using powdered sugar.
3. If you have allergy or dietary concerns, you could whole wheat or a gluten-free flour dough to accommodate.
4. The frying oil is up to you! You can use oils such as 🥥 coconut, vegetable, canola, peanut or even sunflower.
5. Instead of icing sugar, top the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar, sprinkles, or chopped nuts.

Similar Recipes

Mekitsi

20 mins

Garlic Bread Christmas Tree

30 mins

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

55 mins

Best Served With

Served these Italian donuts by themselves, with some coffee, or 🫖 tea.

Common Questions

You can use a large round cookie cutter to cut out the dough or you can simply rip the dough with your hands, roll it into a ball, and shape/stretch the dough into thin round disks.

Feel free to use any high smoke point oil, I used sunflower because avocado oil is very expensive. I filled my skillet with oil to the halfway mark. I didn’t measure, but I used about 4-6 cups of oil.

Heat the oil to 375F, but I just wait for it to shimmer. Feel free to use a thermometer if you need to.

I recommend enjoying these fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container for a day or two. Reheat briefly in the oven, microwave, or air fryer to restore their crispiness.

A New Recipe Card!!

1. Check off each step in instructions!
2. Add ingredients to your shopping list!

Video

Equipment

• ▢ Rolling Pin
• ▢ Pizza Cutter
• ▢ Frying Pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 700 grams pizza dough , I like getting it from an Italian bakery
• ▢ dusting of flour , if the dough sticks
• ▢ oil for frying , sunflower, avocado, or any you like
• ▢ powdered sugar

Instructions

• ▢ Take the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces. I rip equal size pieces with my hand, but you can use a pastry cutter or a knife to be precise.
• ▢ Roll the dough into dough ball with your hands, and shape/stretch it out so that it looks like a flat disc. The disc should be thin. Dust each one with flour if it sticks to your hands.
• ▢ In a pan with high sides, heat up the oil and make sure it “shimmers." You can test the oil by placing in the tip of a wooden spoon, and if it bubbles, it’s ready.
• ▢ Don’t overcrowd the pan, cook 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time. As soon as I place them in, I reduce the heat to medium and fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
• ▢ Set on paper towel, dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

My Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Italian Donuts (Zeppole)

Equipment

• Rolling Pin
• Pizza Cutter
• Frying Pan

Ingredients

• 700 grams pizza dough I like getting it from an Italian bakery
• dusting of flour if the dough sticks
• oil for frying sunflower, avocado, or any you like
• powdered sugar

Instructions

• Take the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces. I rip equal size pieces with my hand, but you can use a pastry cutter or a knife to be precise.
• Roll the dough into dough ball with your hands, and shape/stretch it out so that it looks like a flat disc. The disc should be thin. Dust each one with flour if it sticks to your hands.
• In a pan with high sides, heat up the oil and make sure it “shimmers." You can test the oil by placing in the tip of a wooden spoon, and if it bubbles, it’s ready.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan, cook 3 or 4 doughnuts at a time. As soon as I place them in, I reduce the heat to medium and fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
• Set on paper towel, dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

Video

Nutrition

Italian Donuts (Zeppole) https://themodernnonna.com/zeppole/ November 12, 2022

Home › Recipes › Cookies & Snacks

Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

By Snejana Andreeva

on Dec 15, 2022, Updated Nov 08, 2023

My lemon cheesecake thumbprint cookies melt in your mouth . This recipe is one of those recipes that you’ll need to triple, because it’s THAT good. 🍋Whether you’re a lemon lover or simply looking for a unique and delicious cookie, these Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies are a must-try. They’re perfect for any occasion, from a casual afternoon tea to a fancy dessert spread.

• Why You’ll Love Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
• How to Prepare
• Nonna’s Tip 🍋
• Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies Variations and Substitutions
• Other Holiday Recipes
• More Holiday Cookies
• Common Questions
• Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Why You’ll Love Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

These lemon cheesecake thumbprint cookies are ideal for anyone who cannot tolerate 🥚 eggs as they are completely egg-free . The dough takes 5 minutes to whip up, so these cookies are easy enough for anyone who is not even a baker. They’re only 5 ingredients , which you probably already have on hand. I can honestly say that this is one of those cookie recipes that you cannot get enough of.

How to Prepare

🥣 Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held mixer and bowl to cream butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes until smooth.

🍋 Add sugar and lemon extract and mix until smooth . Then add flour, and mix until a sticky dough forms. Scrape down the sides to fully incorporate any remaining flour.

🧊 Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

🥄 Remove dough from the refrigerator, use a small ice-cream scooper to portion the cookies, rolling each in a touch of flour to prevent sticking.

🍓 Place rolled cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper . Flatten each with your thumb, creating an indent, and add a teaspoon of preferred jam/preserve to the center.

🔥 Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the lemon cheesecake thumbprint cookies for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are light and golden brown .

❄️ Allow the cookies to cool completely and optionally dust with icing sugar. They can be stored at room temperature for up to a week.

Nonna’s Tip 🍋

You MUST refrigerate the cookie dough for at least one hour and you have to use a touch of flour to roll each one as they will stick.

Lemon Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies Variations and Substitutions

• Try adding a decorative topping like chopped nuts or a sprinkle of coarse sugar for holiday decoration.
• I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour , but feel free to experiment with a gluten-free 1-1 replacement and let me know how it goes!
• Instead of lemon extract , you could try almond, vanilla, orange or another you have on hand.
• Feel free to experiment with different jams or preserves , for example, you could use strawberry, raspberry, apricot or even marmalade.
• You could try dairy-free or vegan alternatives to the butter and cream cheese if you or your guests have allergies.

Other Holiday Recipes

Antipasti Christmas Wreath

10 mins

Holiday Butter Board

20 mins

Holiday Candy Cane Prosecco

5 mins

Holiday Cheese Board

20 mins

More Holiday Cookies

Looking for an even fancier-looking cookie? Try my puff pastry cookies .

Easy Gingerbread Cookies

3 hrs 23 mins

Italian Amaretti Cookies

25 mins

3 Ingredient Sugar Cookies

20 mins

Shortbread Butter Cookies

27 mins

Common Questions

Feel free to use any jam or preserve you enjoy. I love fig or apricot but you are more than welcome to use any you have on hand.

The lemon extract is optional so don’t worry if you don’t have any on hand. You can also use pure vanilla extract, or almond extract, or leave them plain. Or, if you don’t have pure lemon extract, but still want the flavor, you can also use the zest of a lemon in the recipe.

You MUST refrigerate the cookie dough for at least one hour and you have to use a touch of flour to roll each one as they will stick.

Feel free to freeze the cookie dough tightly wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and shape as usual.

The cream cheese and butter must be softened in order for the cookies to bake correctly.

You can use salted or unsalted butter. I have made them with both and both results are delicious.

While 1 cup of flour weighs 160g in my kitchen, it might weigh anywhere from 120 to 180g in your kitchen and there’s a few reasons for that. The weight of ingredients may vary due to the brand of ingredients, the brand and style (wet vs dry) of measuring cups and spoons, and the technique for measuring into cups: scooping and leveling versus spooning the ingredients into the cup measure. For best results, go by the weight listed in the recipe.

A New Recipe Card!!

1. Check off each step in instructions!
2. Add ingredients to your shopping list!

Video

Equipment

• ▢ Measuring Cups + Spoons
• ▢ Mixing Bowls
• ▢ Baking Sheet
• ▢ Parchment Paper

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup cream cheese , softened
• ▢ ½ cup white sugar
• ▢ 1 stick softened salted butter
• ▢ 1.5 teaspoons lemon extract , optional if you don’t have any on hand
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour , + 2 extra tablespoons for rolling the balls
• ▢ 18 teaspoons jam , I used fig preserve

Instructions

• ▢ In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese together for about 2 minutes or until smooth. You can also use a hand-held mixer and a bowl as well.
• ▢ Once creamy, add the sugar and lemon extract and mix until smooth. Add in the flour and mix until a sticky dough forms. If there’s any flour on the sides, you can scrape it down and mix again until fully incorporated.
• ▢ Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. After an hour, take out the dough, remove the plastic and use a small ice-cream scooper to scoop out the cookies. I scoop each cookie, roll it in a touch of flour as it will stick to your hands if you don’t.
• ▢ Repeat this step for all 18 cookies. Place each rolled cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press each one down with your thumb to make an indent. Add a teaspoon of any jam/preserve you like to the middle.
• ▢ Preheat the oven to 350F and bake until the edges are light and golden brown. This should take 13-15 minutes depending on the oven.
• ▢ Let them cool completely and optionally dust with icing sugar. These are perfectly stored at room-temp for up to a week.

My Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.