Sufganiyot!

I have never made sufganiyot (jelly donuts), well, until yesterday. They were, by far, one of the best donuts I have ever tasted. They brought me and many others who had the pleasure of tasting them, back to Israel. This time of year, I crave fresh donuts from certain hole in the wall bakeries in Israel . I’m sure anyone who has visited or lived in Israel during Hanukkah knows what a treat this fried dough confection can be.

I am sharing this recipe so you all can taste what fried heaven tastes like!

Scrumptious Sufganiyot

1 1/2 Cups Lukewarm Water

2 packages Dry Yeast (2 1/4 tsp = 1 package)

2 TBS. Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 Cup Earth Balance Shortening

1 Egg

4 1/2 Cups Flour

Oil for frying

Combine water, yeast and sugar in mixing bowl till yeast is dissolved and starts to foam. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Rise for 45 minutes until the dough doubles in size. Punch down, roll out, and shape with a round cookie cutter. Rise for another half hour. Bring 2 inches of oil up to 350- 375 degrees. fry on one side, then flip over to the other side (about 1 minutes in total). Drain on paper towel, squeeze in your favorite jelly or filling and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can also add melted chocolate on top. Pick your favorite donuts and create them!

On top of these fabulous donuts, we served three types of latkes (potato pancakes).

– White Potato Pepper

– Curry, Sweet Potato, Black Bean

– Beet and Fennel

(These were accompanied by roasted lamb)

* I also tried to accommodate my gluten free, sugar free sister with gluten free and sugar free donuts. They turned out more like cinnamon flavored falafal ball. They weren’t bad, but I will try rice flour next time. Note to self: never make donuts with garbanzo bean flour. Lesson learned!