Jelly doughnuts, also called sufganiyot, have grow to be a traditional Hanukkah deal with, one in all numerous meals fried in oil which are in style on the vacation (latkes, or potato pancakes, are one other).

They’re doughnuts with out a central gap, fried and full of jelly or jam. In Israel, jelly doughnuts for Hanukkah are particularly in style and are typically crammed with chocolate or halvah. Additionally they will be ready in savory variations, full of meat or greens.

The story goes that over 2,000 years in the past, after the Second Temple of Jerusalem was ransacked by invaders, there was solely sufficient oil to maintain the temple candles lit for in the future and evening. Inexplicably, the oil burned for eight days and eight nights, a feat now celebrated as Hanukkah, the eight-day “pageant of lights.”

There are two methods to fill jelly doughnuts. You possibly can fill them earlier than frying (the jelly is sandwiched between two disks of yeast dough, sealed and fried). Or you’ll be able to fry them first after which inject them with filling, which is what I do right here. This method removes the chance of not-properly-sealed doughnuts coming aside within the pan and leaking their filling.

The normal yeast dough used to make doughnuts requires two risings, one for the ball of dough itself and the opposite for the formed doughnuts earlier than they’re fried. Each risings are vital for mild and fluffy doughnuts.

You need to use any kind of jam you want; strawberry and raspberry jelly are in style.

PHOTOS: Jelly doughnuts: The best way to make the last word Hanukkah pastry

Jelly Doughnuts

Serves 16

Elements:

1 (.25-ounce) package deal energetic dry yeast or 1 tablespoon dry yeast
¾ cup heat milk (about 100° F)
¼ cup melted butter
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup sugar
1 giant egg and 1 egg yolk, frivolously overwhelmed
2 ½ to three cups all-purpose flour, divided
¼ teaspoon floor nutmeg, mace or cinnamon
Vegetable oil for frying
¾ cup jam or jelly, any taste

For the coating:

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon floor cinnamon

Instructions:

Generously flour a clear work floor and frivolously oil a medium-size bowl.

In a big bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, add the nice and cozy milk, then sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Utilizing an electrical mixer, or the dough hook for a standing mixer, stir to dissolve and permit it to take a seat till it will get foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the butter, salt and sugar, and stir or mix to mix. Mix within the egg and egg yolk, then beat in 2 cups of the flour. Beat till the dough begins to tug away from the perimeters of the bowl, then beat in one other ½ cup of the remaining flour plus the nutmeg, mace or cinnamon.

When the batter has shaped right into a cohesive ball, flip it onto the floured work floor and knead the dough for 2 minutes. Add extra flour as wanted if the dough feels too sticky. Kind the dough right into a ball, and place within the oiled bowl. Cowl with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and let sit in a heat, draft-free place till the dough has doubled in quantity, about 1 hour.

Clear and re-flour your work floor. Flip the dough onto the floured floor and roll it out with a floured rolling pin to a ½-inch thickness.

With a 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, lower as many rounds as you’ll be able to, minimizing the house between every spherical. Collect the scraps, allow them to sit for one more quarter-hour, then roll the dough out once more, and lower as many extra circles as attainable. Place the circles on a really frivolously floured baking sheet with a few inches between every doughnut, cowl with a clear dishtowel or unfastened plastic wrap, and let sit for about 1 hour, till they’re fairly puffy, about 1 inch thick.

About quarter-hour earlier than you’ll fry the doughnuts, place paper towels on a clear floor. Make the sugar coating: In a shallow bowl, combine collectively the 1 cup sugar with the cinnamon. And pour a minimum of 2 inches of oil right into a deep skillet or pan. Warmth to 375° F over medium warmth.

Use a spatula to switch two or three doughnuts into the pan. They are going to rise and bob on the floor; fry for about 1 minute, till golden brown on the underside, then flip them and cook dinner till the second facet is golden brown, one other 1 to 2 minutes. You possibly can often gently press the doughnuts down into the oil to cook dinner the perimeters evenly. Take away the doughnuts, permitting extra oil to empty again into the pan, and allow them to relaxation for a minute on the paper towels.

Then place them within the bowl with the sugar coating and switch to coat fully.

Use a chopstick or wood dowel to poke a gap into the facet of every doughnut, and as you slide it in, give it a wiggle to create a small pocket within the heart of the doughnut. Fill a pastry bag or sturdy plastic bag with the jelly. In case you are utilizing a plastic bag, lower a really small triangle from one in all its backside corners. Insert the pastry bag or snipped nook of the plastic bag into the opening on the facet of the doughnut. Gently squeeze a few teaspoons of jelly into the center of the doughnut. Take away the bag rigorously from the doughnut, and repeat till all of the doughnuts are crammed.

Serve heat or at room temperature.

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Katie Workman writes usually about meals for The Related Press. She blogs at She will be reached at Katie@themom100.com.

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