Hanukkah Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts) Recipe
By now, you’ve likely caught on to the fact that my family LOVES trying new dishes! Today, we’re kicking off Hanukkah with a recipe for sufganiyot. It’s my belief that, as a citizen of the world, it’s important to experience many aspects of other cultures, so we can increase our appreciation and understanding of people who are different from us. One of my favorite ways to explore is always through food.
Hanukkah Recipes
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, goes from November 28 – December 6th this year. The menu can vary, but there are certain elements that run through traditional Hanukkah celebrations. These include meats, fried foods, and desserts. Sufganiyot is a tempting sweet that, simply put, is the Israeli version of a jelly donut. However, it’s a recipe that’s been created to be kosher.
What Makes a Recipe Kosher?
This recipe for sufganiyot uses ingredients that are typically easily available in US grocery stores. However, ensuring a recipe is kosher is required to make it part of a Hanukkah meal. Kosher foods are permitted under Jewish dietary guidelines. One of the tenets of kosher eating is that milk and meat are not to be consumed together. Since this recipe does not include milk, it is kosher to eat with a meal including meat. If you’re not planning on serving them with meat, you can use milk in place of the warm water used to activate the yeast.
Cooking Notes:
It can sometimes feel intimidating to use hot oil for frying, but I promise you, if you are thoughtful and careful, you will do great! Invest in a high quality cooking thermometer to monitor the temperature, and you’ll be assured you’re doing it right.
Don’t Miss Our Other Culinary Adventures
If you haven’t tried my recipe for Indian samosas or Greek garides tourkolimano, make sure to check them out! Experiencing new ingredients and cooking techniques is a passion of mine, and I hope that you’ll find it just as much fun.
Makes – 18
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm Water
- 1 tablespoon White Granulated Sugar
- 1 packet Active Dry Yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ cups White Granulated Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable or Canola oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups of Vegetable or Canola Oil, to deep fry
- 1 cup Seedless Raspberry Jam
- ¼ cup of Confectioner’s Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
Instructions
- Heat the water in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds. It should feel warm to the touch and not hot. The temperature should be between 100 to 110 F.
2. Add the tablespoon of sugar and let it dissolve.
3. Next add the yeast and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes for it to activate. 5 minutes later the water should be frothy and bubbly. If it is not, the yeast is dead and you would need to start over with a fresh batch of yeast.
4. In a large bowl combine the all-purpose flour, ¼ cup of sugar, salt and ground nutmeg and whisk together.
5. In another bowl, crack the eggs and add it to the bowl, along with vanilla extract and oil. Whisk well.
6. Add the activated yeast water and whisk again.
7. Make a well in the center of the flour bowl and add the egg-yeast water mixture. Mix together until all the flour is incorporated into a sticky shaggy dough.
8. Cover with plastic wrap and let it proof for 2 hours or until it doubles in size.
9. Once the dough is proofed, punch it down and remove from the bowl and place it on a clean and well-floured countertop. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes. You will have to generously four your hands before you touch the dough.
10. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and flour it generously.
11. Roll out the dough into 1/4-in-thick circle.
12. Using a floured 2½-inch-round cutter, cut as many rounds you can. Gather up the scraps and roll it out again and cut more rounds. We got 18.
13. Place the rounds in the prepared baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for another 45minutes.
14. Heat 4 cups of oil in a deep-frying pan to 350 F.
15. Fry the sufganiyot, 2 to 3 at a time, until they are golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure the sufganiyot are submerged in the oil and keep moving them around for even browning.
16. Drain on paper towels.
17. Add the seedless raspberry jam to a squeeze bottle or in a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.
18. Once the sufganiyots are cool enough to handle, using a skewer or a straw poke hole on the side of each sufganiyot.
19. Place the tip of a squeeze bottle or piping bag into the freshly poked hole and squeeze about 2 teaspoons of the jam inside. Repeat with all of the sufganiyots.
20. Once all the sufganiyot are filled with jam, dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately.
Notes
- This recipe is kosher and can be served in a meal with meat.
- If you are planning to serve it in a meatless meat, you can use warm milk instead of water to activate the yeast and also use softened butter in place of oil in the dough.
- You can make the dough rounds and freeze them ahead of time as a meal prep.
These look amazing. I have always been afraid to try and make something like this. But now I have to try!
Yummy!!!! This recipe looks exceptionally good
These look delicious! I have never heard of them before but I know i’d be a huge fan!
Good grief, whew these looks so delicious and so easy to make. I’m not a jelly donut gal but I would surely try these.
This looks like a delicious traditional dessert for Hanukkah. I would love to make these!
My dad loved jelly doughnuts. They were a Sunday treat item for him.
I’ve never really tried these before. It’s my first time making it. I hope it goes well.
I love to plump up each doughnut with my favorite fruit jam – strawberry jam. For a wintry effect, I love to sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar too.
That looks absolutely delicious and tasty! I would really love to try this recipe!
These sound so delicious and it would be fun to be able to try making these as well. I haven’t had this before.
These look delicious. I have never made a filled type ‘donut’ which these remind me of. They are obviously something wonderful you serve during Hanukkah.
Even though we do not celebrate Hanukkah I would love to try this recipe. These Sufganiyots look delicious and something I could handle making.
These look so very delicious. I can wait to try!
I am so loving this recipe and want to try and make these myself. I am pinning this one next and appreciate you sharing!