Jelly Doughnuts and Hot Chocolate for a Happy Chanukah

106 CommentsMonday • December 22, 2008 • by Ari

Chanukah is a celebration not only of lights and tradition, but also of scrumptious foods fried in oil. Potato latkes smothered in fresh applesauce, jelly-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot – both these foods are as much a part of Chanukah as lighting the candles of the chanukkiyah. Not bad as far as religious observances go eh?

I wrote about Chanukah a couple years ago when I shared a recipe for beignets, so I won’t go into too much detail here. But in a nutshell: Chanukah is an eight day holiday that commemorates when the Jews revolted against Emperor Antiochus IV after he outlawed the practice of Judaism. Eventually they regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem, but before it could be used the Temple had to be purified by burning holy oil for eight days. There was only enough oil for one day, but in a leap of faith the Jews began the ritual, and that small quantity of oil burned for the full eight days. This is why Chanukah is celebrated for eight days, and why foods fried in oil are traditional fare during the holiday. If there’s one thing you can say for certain, it’s that there’s no such thing as a Jewish holiday or gathering where food doesn’t play a significant role! (You can learn more about Chanukah in my post about beignets here.)

Last night (Sunday) was the first night of Chanukah and we decided to celebrate with sufganiyot and hot chocolate. Sufganiyot are ball-shaped doughnuts that are first fried, then pierced and injected with jelly and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They can also be made by pressing two rounds of dough together with a dollop of jam in between them. The first method is easier, but I prefer the second because you get a more even distrubution of filling inside the doughnut. Sufganiyot are best eaten fresh, while the aroma of warm dough and jelly is at its most intoxicating – I dare you to resist! No, I double dog dare you. We served our sufganyiot with hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, whipped cream and cocoa nibs. It was a comforting combination that could only have been made better by the company of family. But thank goodness that even though we live some 3,000 miles apart we have webcams to keep in touch. I can’t imagine living a century ago, when the distance between us would have been an insurmountable one indeed.

I hope that love and light fill your home and heart this holiday season.

Sufganiyot
Adapted from this Epicurious.com recipe.

Ingredients: Makes about 20 doughnuts
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
• About 10 cups vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup fruit preserves or jam, such as blueberry, raspberry or strawberry (Some ingenious readers have suggested other fillings like nutella, apple butter and pumpkin butter in the comments. All good ideas if you ask me!)
• Confectioners sugar for dusting

Special equipment: 1 (2-inch) and 1 (2 1/2-inch) round cookie cutter; a deep-fat thermometer.

Heat the milk in the microwave until warm, about 40-50 seconds. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoon of warm water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes until foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t foam, discard and start over with fresh yeast.)

Add the lukewarm milk to the yeast, then the sugar, spices, salt, 2 tablespoons of oil and eggs. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon between additions, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is too stiff to stir.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in remaining flour. You can use additional flour as needed to prevent sticking, sprinkling 1 tablespoon of flour on the dough at a time. Knead dough for 5 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and bounces back when you press your thumb into it. Grease a large bowl with about 1 teaspoon of oil, then transfer the dough to the bowl and turn once to coat. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

** See alternate instructions below if you want to make jelly doughnuts by piercing the finished doughnuts. **

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a floured rolling pin until 1/2 inch thick. Cutout rounds with 2-inch round cookie cutter. Stretch one round to 2 1/2 inches and put one teaspoon jam in center, then stretch another round to 2 1/2 inches and use it to cover jam, pinching edges of rounds firmly together. (Pinching will stretch doughnuts to about 3 inches in diameter.) Make more jelly doughnuts in same manner. Cut through filled doughnuts with a floured 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, rotating the cutter several times to help seal edges. Transfer doughnuts to a sheet of parchment paper. Put a small amount of oil in your hands, rub your palms together, then lightly touch the tops of the doughnuts to coat with oil. Allow the doughnuts to rise for 30 minutes.

While doughnuts rise, heat about 4 inches of oil (about 10 cups) in a deep 4-quart pot until it registers 375°F on your thermometer. Fry doughnuts 2 at a time, turning occasionally, until puffed and golden brown. The first two doughnuts will brown VERY quickly, so keep an eye on them. Fry doughnuts about 30 seconds on each side, turning them with a metal skimmer once they’ve browned on the bottom. Transfer to a cooling rack over paper towels to drain. Serve warm, dusted with confectioners sugar.

* Alternate instructions: After the dough has risen in the bowl, turn out onto lightly floured surface. Tear off pieces of dough and roll into balls using the palms of your hands. The size of the dough balls depends on how big you want the doughnuts to be, but don’t go too big or the dough in the center of the ball won’t cook through. Set aside on parchment paper to rise for 30 minutes.

Fry balls of dough in oil as above, remove to cooling rack to drain. Add about 1/2 cup of jelly or preserves to a small ziploc bag. Using scissors, cut off the tip of one of the bottom corners of the bag. Close the bag. Repeat for other ziploc bags if using more than one flavor. Using a knife, make a small hole in each doughnut. Carefully pick up your ziploc bag and push the jelly over towards the open tip. Insert tip into the doughnut hole and squeeze to fill it with jelly. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: Makes 4 servings
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Possible garnishes: whipped cream, marshmallows, cocoa nibs, cinnamon sticks, extra sugar, freshly grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan combine milk and sugar over medium-low heat, whisking gently. Add cocoa powder 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking between additions. If small clumps of cocoa powder form use the whisk to break them apart. When the mixture is hot transfer to mugs and garnish according to taste.