A classic sufganiyot recipe sure to be cherished by your family.

Ingredients:

• 2 packets active dry yeast (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon)
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water (105°F to 115°F)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon grated Lemon:Lemon:lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (105°F to 115°F)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup jelly, thick jam, or marmalade
• 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) vegetable oil, for frying
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Place yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, and stir to dissolve. Stir in sugar and let stand until foaming, about 5 minutes. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and grated lemon zest in a separate medium bowl.
2. Fit the dough hook onto the electric stand mixer, add yolks and milk to the yeast mixture, and mix on medium low until evenly incorporated. Add the flour mixture and room-temperature butter, and mix until it comes together. Mix on medium high for an additional 5 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)
3. Put dough in a large, clean, lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat in oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. (Use just enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.)
5. Using a 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter, glass, or mug, cut rounds out of the dough; reserve remaining dough. Place rounds on a lightly floured baking sheet; set aside. Gather remaining dough into a ball and roll out again; do this until you have 60 rounds.
6. Place 1 scant teaspoon jelly in the centers of half, or 30, of the rounds. Brush the edges of the jelly rounds with the reserved egg whites, and top with another dough circle. Pinch the edges to seal the doughnuts. Cover with a towel, put in a warm place, and let rise another 30 minutes.
7. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 350°F. Drop the doughnuts in the oil, four or five at a time, and turn when they are golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Drain on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
8. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. When cool enough to handle,sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Although they don’t carry the Hanukkah tradition of foods fried in oil, baked sufganiyot can be a healthier alternative to deep fried ones:

Ingredients:

• 2 packages dry yeast (about 35 grams of fresh, or 2 scant Tablespoons
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1-1/2 cups milk, scalded and cooled
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 4-1/2 cups flour
• Jelly (if desired)
• Cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar (if desired)

In a large mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, salt, spice, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour. Blend 1/2 minute at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour until smooth, scraping sides of bowl. Cover. Let rise in warm place until double (50 to 60 minutes).

Turn dough onto well-floured cloth-covered board; roll around lightly to coat with flour. Dough will be soft to handle.

With floured, stockinet-covered rolling pin, gently roll dough about ½ inch thick. Cut with floured 2-1/2 inch doughnut cutter. Lift doughnuts carefully with spatula and place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Brush doughnuts with melted butter. Cover; let rise until double (about 20 minutes).

Heat oven to 420° F. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Immediately brush with melted margarine or butter and shake in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.  Jelly can optionally be injected with a pastry injector.

Delicious sufganiyot with oozing chocolate center–what a treat!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• Frying oil
• Chocolate bar of your choice (try fancy gourmet chocolate bars for the best results) cut into approximately 1″ squares.

1. In a large metal bowl, stir together warm water and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt; mix until well combined. Add egg yolks and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour. Mix until combined, then knead dough in bowl until all flour is incorporated. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead a few minutes until smooth. Knead in margarine until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl; turn dough several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

About 30 minutes before you’re ready to form doughnuts, remove dough from refrigerator to let come to room temperature. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into an  1/8 inch thick. Using a 2 inch cookie cutter (or a glass), cut out about 24 rounds, dipping cutter in flour as needed to prevent sticking. Re-roll scraps and cut out about 16 more rounds.

Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg whites. Brush edge of a dough round with egg white, then put chocolate bar pieces in center. Top with another round and press edges to seal. Repeat process with remaining rounds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet; let doughnuts rise until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat a few inches of oil in a large (4-5 quart) heavy pot until it registers 360 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer or a scrap of dough sizzles upon contact. Working in batches of 4 to 5, carefully slip doughnuts into hot oil. Fry, turning once until golden brown about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain.

Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. While doughnuts are still hot, toss them in sugar, turning to coat. Serve immediately.

Gluten free diets don’t preclude the enjoyment of Hanukkah’s favorite treat. Try our Gluten-Free recipe and let us know what you think!

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 2/3 cups white rice flour
• 1 2/3 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cups potato starch (not flour)
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
• 1/2 cup sugar (or powdered sugar) set aside for garnishing
• Raspberry, apricot or strawberry jelly (seedless)

Beat 2 eggs, buttermilk and melted butter in a large bowl with a whisk.

Combine dry ingredients in another bowl. Fold slowly into the wet ingredients, mixing by hand with a wooden spoon. When the ingredients are mostly combined, use your hands to knead a few times to make sure the ingredients are fully mixed.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Sprinkle extra rice flour mix on your countertop or a large cutting board. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. If dough is sticky, work in more rice flour blend.

Heat 2 inches of frying oil until very hot, about 375 degrees F.

Use a glass, biscuit cutter or jar with approximately 3-inch diameter to cut disks out of the dough. Place 1/2 teaspoon of jelly in the center of one disk. Brush the beaten egg you’ve set aside around the outer edge of the dough. Place a second disk of dough on top, and use your fingers to crimp the edges until they are sealed. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough. Remaining dough scraps can be rolled into balls (“donut holes”) and fried.

You can also roll the dough out to 1/2 inch and fry without the jelly in the middle. Then insert the jelly after frying with a pastry injector. This is not the traditional method, but some find it easier (and less messy!)

Carefully place sufganiyot in hot oil with a slotted spatula. Cook until very brown on one side. If necessary, turn the donut over and brown on the second side. Remove from oil and place on a plate lined with two layers of paper towel or brown paper. While warm, roll sufganiyot in the bowl of sugar to coat.

A vegan recipe for sufganiyot using soy milk to replace the milk and margarine to replace the butter. These are just as delicious as traditional recipes.  This recipe can also be used if your family easts kosher as an accompaniment to a meat meal. For garnish, dust them with some powdered sugar or dark chocolate shavings, or get creative and let us know the results!

Ingredients:

• 2 packages yeast
• 1/3 cup + 3 tbsp sugar (for developing the yeast)
• 1 cup warm water
• 4 cups bleached pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• oil for frying

Preparation:

In a glass bowl, mix together the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and the water until the yeast and sugar has dissolved. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

In a different large bowl, mix the pastry flour and salt. In a third bowl, combine the 1/3 cup sugar and remaining ingredients, except for oil. Add the yeast mixture, and then gradually add the flour and salt. Combine until a stiff dough forms.

Cover and allow to sit for one hour.

On a floured surface, knead the dough for about one minute, then roll out to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cover with a dish towel or cloth and let rise for about 20 minutes, until doubled in size. Use a doughnut cutter, large cookie cutter or a jar to cut out round doughnuts.

In a deep fryer or a deep pan, heat several inches of oil over high heat. Test the temperature by placing a small piece of dough in the oil. The oil is the right temperature when the dough rises to the surface almost immediately. If it doesn’t rise to the top, the oil is not yet hot enough.

Fry the doughnuts in oil for a minute or two, turning over as needed, until browned on both sides. Allow to drain on paper towels. If you wish you can inject jelly into the finish doughnuts using a bakery injector.

This recipe makes about 12 doughtnuts.