These cute little doughnuts are perfect little mouthfuls of fluffy doughnut, powdery sugar, aromatic cinnamon and a refreshing hint of orange. If you're not a fan of traditional sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), try these as an alterntaive.


How did doughnuts and latkes become traditional Chanukah fare?

After winning the war against the Syrians, the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to liberate it. They entered the Temple and cleared it of the idols placed there by the Syrian vandals. Since the Temple’s golden menorah had been stolen by the Syrians, the Maccabees now made one of cheaper metal. When they wanted to light it, they found only a small cruse of pure olive oil bearing the seal of the high priest. It was sufficient to light the menorah only for one day, but by a miracle of G‑d it continued to burn for eight days, till new oil was made available, which is why we celebrate Chanukah for eight days. Because of the miracle of the oil, it’s traditional to eat fried foods on Chanukah (like doughnuts and latkes).






Dough ingredients:

  • 2¼ tsp. dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp. warm water
  • ¾ cup soy or almond milk
  • 6 tbsp. sugar
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp. oil
  • 3+ cups flour
  • Oil for frying

For the Coating:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp. cinnamon
  • zest of 1 orange
  • seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean
  • pinch of sea salt or kosher salt

Directions:

  1. Place yeast, warm water and 1 tsp. sugar in bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
  2. Mix yeast mixture, sugar, oil, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk with 2 cups of flour on a low speed.
  3. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough.
  4. Knead for 5 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
  5. Roll the dough into small balls and let rise on parchment paper for 30 minutes.
  6. Heat oil in a frying pan or pot. Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so both sides can brown. NOTE: If you find that the outside is becoming too dark before the centers are cooked through, your oil is too hot and you need to either add some new oil to bring the temperature down, or take it off the fire for a couple of minutes, then lower the flame and try again.
  7. Remove the doughnuts from the oil and drain briefly on a paper towel.
  8. Place the coating ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork or whisk to make sure the flavors are evenly distributed. While the doughnuts are still warm, roll them in the mixture so that it sticks to all sides.

Yields: 30 doughnut holes