Fried Puff Balls

In pre-nineteenth-century cookbooks, these little fritters are called pets de putain. I have been unable to pinpoint the moment—certainly early—during the nineteenth century at which, with a somewhat irreverent insouciance, they were distinguished by the more respectable title of pets de nonne, the largest of the lot being attributed, traditionally, to the Mother Superior.

The mixture is an ordinary pâte à choux, the same that, baked in various forms, is transfo