For the first time in nearly 100 years, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will overlap. It's only happened three times before and it won't happen again until 2070. To celebrate this unique calendar occurrence we're whipping up a batch of sufganiyot, delicious jelly doughnuts that are synonymous with Hanukkah. Miriam Szokovski's sufganiyot recipe features a festive filling of cranberry jam that's perfect for the holiday season.
Sufganiyot with Cranberry Jam
Courtesy of Chabad.org and Miriam Szokovski
4 ½ tsp. dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 ½ cups soy or almond milk
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp. margarine, melted
6+ cups flour
Oil for frying
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Cranberry Jam Ingredients:
6 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water
Place yeast, warm water and 1 tsp. sugar in bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until bubbled.
Mix yeast mixture, sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk with 2 cups of flour on a low speed.
Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough.
Knead for 5 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
Roll out the dough approximately ½ inch thick, cut circles (use the mouth of a glass, or a round cookie cutter) and let rise 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan or pot. Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so each side can brown.
Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.
To make the cranberry jam, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened. Blend slightly, but make sure to still leave some pieces for texture. Pour into a glass jar to cool.
To assemble the doughnuts, use a sharp knife or pointed spatula to poke a small hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill a Ziploc bag with ½ cup of the jam and cut a small hole at the corner. Stick the Ziploc corner into the hole and squirt out approximately 1 tsp. jam into each doughnut. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top of each doughnut. Eat and enjoy!
