Ingredients
Maritozzi**
6 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of oil
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup Anisette liquor
Dried raisins
Live yeast*
Flour as much as is needed to make a soft yeast dough
Egg wash
2 egg yolks, beaten
*Live yeast is generally available at Italian pastry shops, but if it is not available 1 bag (2 1/4 teaspoons) dry traditional yeast can be used
** Makes about 36 buns
Directions
o Mix ingredients and work into a soft malleable dough (Should be much softer than a regular bread dough).
o Shape the dough into a ball and place in a container. Let the dough rest until it doubles in volume.
o Take the dough and cut a chunk of dough, about as much as is needed to make a meatball.
o On a wooden board shape the chunk of dough into a taralli style log -- about 14 inches long, 1/2 inch thick.
o On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, shape the log into a swirled bun by first make a largish circle with part of the dough, and then making another smaller circle of dough on top of the first one (smaller than the bottom one) and then again repeating the process until you top the bun with the end of the log (The maritozzi should have the appearance of a soft ice cream that one gets at Dairy Queen).
o Brush the maritozzi with the beaten egg yolk.
o Keep the maritozzi on the table and let them rest until they increase in volume a little.
o Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
o After the second rise, place the maritozzi in the oven on the middle rack, and bake until they are a golden brown.
Notes
The maritozzi were made by Pierina Faustini; the photo was taken by Mary Melfi. P.S. In some parts of central Italy maritozzi were originally made specifically for the Easter holidays. Nowadays they are eaten any old time. | 
