Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
Growing up, Hanukkah was one of the few times that we ate doughnuts as a family — piping hot, jelly-filled, homemade sufganiyot. After biting into a dangerously hot, fresh-from-the-fryer doughnut, there would be no going back to doughnut-shop, room-temperature fried dough. We were spoiled.
Hanukkah was the only time my mom would dare make a yeasted dough, and she’d use her ancient electric frying pan to fry one after another. My sister and I would fight to eat the first ones, covering our faces, hands, clothes, kitchen floor and dog with powdered sugar. Since then, I’ve held a grudge against pre-fried doughnuts, knowing what type of magic occurred as we huddled in the kitchen during Hanukkah.
While my family history with sufganiyot runs deep, these treats have been a longstanding tradition for Jews all over the world. According to acclaimed food historian Gil Marks, the first recipe for jelly doughnuts was written in Germany in 1485. Called “ponchik” in Polish, it was dubbed “sufganiyot” after Polish Jews brought the pastry to Israel, where it was given its new name after the Talmudic word for “spongy dough.”
A sweet yeasted dough with a red-jelly filling is the quintessential sufganiyot. I’m always inspired to think outside of the raspberry jam-jar, and so I not only inject my doughnuts with blueberry jam, but infuse the dough with vibrant berries for a new twist on a beloved holiday sweet.
Making sufganiyot at home is labor-intensive and messy, but always worth it. Here are my top tips for ensuring that this year is the year you tackle homemade doughnuts:
- I make my latkes in advance and freeze them, long before Hanukkah starts, so I can focus on frying sufganiyot fresh. Freeze your latkes on a foil-lined baking tray, and reheat at 375 F for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Make your yeasted dough the night before, and let it rise overnight in the fridge. Not only will it save time, but it is easier to roll out cold dough than dough at room temperature.
- Use a heavy-bottomed pan for even heating.
- Use oil with a high smoke point. This is not the time to use your favorite olive oil! Use a sunflower, grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil for best results.
- Not sure if your oil is OK to reuse? If it is murky, has a slightly bitter, fishy smell, or begins to foam or smoke, you may want to change it.
- Don’t fill your pan too high with oil. If you have too much oil, it is more likely to splash and splutter.
- Use a thermometer to test the oil temperature, and keep it between 350 F and 375 F for best results. Remember that adding dough to your oil will cause the temperature to lower, so let the oil come back up to temperature between batches.
- Invest in a squeeze bottle (you can find one in restaurant supply stores or online) to make injecting simple.
- Enjoy your sufganiyot the same day you make them, so go ahead… have seconds (and thirds).
- Dispose of your oil safely by letting it cool to room temperature, pouring it into a nonrecyclable container and disposing of it in the garbage. Never pour oil down your drain.
Blueberry Sufganiyot
Makes about 2 dozen
Total time 2½ hours
- 2¼ tsp. (one 7g package) active yeast
- 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- ½ cup frozen blueberries, defrosted
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. lemon zest
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
- 1½ cups blueberry jam
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Confectioners’ sugar, for serving
Combine the yeast, granulated sugar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. The yeast should dissolve and small bubbles should form on the surface.
Meanwhile, add the blueberries to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add the blueberries, egg, vanilla extract and lemon zest to the bowl, and whisk until well combined.
Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until a smooth and elastic dough forms, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the butter, and mix on low speed for an additional 4 to 5 minutes until the butter is fully incorporated. The dough will be tacky but shouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add flour, 1 Tbs. at a time.
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size. You can also let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the rough to ¼ inch thickness. Using a 2½- to 3-inch biscuit cutter or a floured glass, cut the dough into circles and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes.
Set up a cooling rack layered with a paper towel beside the stove.
In a large, heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil to 350 F.
Add the blueberry jam to a blender, and blend until no whole blueberries remain. This will make it easier to fill the doughnuts. Add the jam to a squeeze bottle or zip-close bag with a circular piping attachment.
Using a spatula, transfer the dough into the oil one at a time, careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry up to four at a time for approximately 90 seconds per side, or until deeply golden. Remove the sufganiyot from the oil using tongs or a spider strainer, and transfer them to the wire rack lined with a paper towel.
Once slightly cooled, use a straw or chopstick to poke a hole into the center of each sufganiyot. Squeeze the jam into each one using the squeeze bottle or zip-close bag.
Dust the sufganiyot with confectioners’ sugar right before serving.
Note: Sufganiyot are best served fresh. If you have any leftovers, they will keep for up to a day in an airtight container.
Variation: Air-fry the sufganiyot at 375 F for 7 to 8 minutes, until golden brown.