It is traditional during the eight days of Hanukkah to eat foods fried in oil commemorating the miracle of the oil. The story goes…
After Antiochus’s forces had been defeated and driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that most of the ritual oil had been destroyed. A single container was still sealed by the High Priest, but it was only enough to light the Temple’s menorah for a single day. They used this and miraculously it burned for eight days, the time it took for new oil to be pressed and made ready.
While latkes have become the most popular food eaten during the holiday, a close second has become jelly doughnuts, or Sufganiyot, the Hebrew word for these Hanukkah treats which have originally been most popular in Israel, and are now gaining great popularity here in the states.
Although I have made my share of latkes over the years, if we ate jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah it was because I bought them at the bakery. Until this year.
I decided to try my hand at these, and I think they came out pretty darn good for a first attempt. It’s the kind of thing of course that is best eaten as soon after making them as possible.
My husband and I were only too happy to oblige as we gorged on them as soon as they were done, while still a bit warm.
I will be making them again, and as I always say, since practice makes perfect, I expect them to be even better.
Sufganiyot (adapted from a recipe by Irene Fong and the Test Kitchen, Canadian Living)
(makes 18)
Ingredients
½ cup granulated sugar
1 and ¼ cups warm water
2 pkg active dry yeast, (or 4 and ½ teaspoon) I used rapid rise yeast
4 egg yolks
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour (approx)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Vegetable or canola oil, for deep-frying
1 cup raspberry jam
½ cup (or more) powdered sugar
Preparation
In large bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon of the sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
Beat in egg yolks, butter, vanilla and remaining sugar. With wooden spoon, beat in flour and salt, adding more flour if necessary to make a soft sticky dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes.
Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over.
Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 and ½ hours.
Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; roll out to ½-inch thickness.
Using a round 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 18 circles.
Transfer to a large lightly floured baking sheet. Cover loosely and let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk and rounded, about an hour.
In deep-fryer, wok or deep saucepan, heat about 2 inches oil until deep-fryer thermometer register 350 degrees. Deep-fry doughnuts, 3 at a time, turning once until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
Cut small slit in side of each doughnut. Using pastry bag fitted with small plain tip, pipe about 2 teaspoons of jam into the center of each.
(This is a bit of guesswork, I found, but it will be much easier if you have the proper tip, and a large enough pastry bag to keep the jam from spilling over the top of the bag.)
