Baked Donuts for Hanukkah and Beyond

Hanukkah may be winding down, but donuts are a wonderful treat to enjoy any time of year.

“One of the nice things about Hanukkah is that there are eight nights,” Faith Kramer, author of “52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen,” told the Journal. “To my sons, that meant eight nights of presents. To me it meant eight nights I could experiment and explore recipes for Hanukkah.” 

Towards the end of the holiday, Kramer happily puts away her fry pan and bakes treats, like her mini black and white donuts. Even though they are baked, they still contain oil, so they “qualify” for Hanukkah.

“The black (chocolate) and white (lightly lemon) glazes are based on the black and white cookies supplied by my grandmother’s favorite Jewish bakeries when I was growing up,” she said.

Kramer’s donuts and glazes are adapted from a Bundt cake recipe in her ”52 Shabbats” cookbook. The donuts are dairy-free and parve.

Mini Black and White Donuts

Makes about 36 mini donuts

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus as needed
2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
Black and White Glazes (see below)

Heat oven to 425°F. Grease a 12-mold mini donut baking pan. (Oil donut molds, even if they are nonstick.) Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, mix milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract. Stir wet ingredients into dry until smooth and combined.
Fill each mold 3/4 full (about 1 Tbsp. of batter). Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave donuts in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. Wipe out the pan. Oil molds. Repeat as above.
Once the donuts are cooled, place them on parchment paper or a wire rack over a baking tray.
Make Glazes.
White Glaze: Sift 3 cups of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract and 3 tablespoons boiling water. If too thick, add hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If too thin add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Note: Avoid using organic confectioners’ sugar. It will discolor the white glaze.
Black Glaze: Put several inches of water in a saucepan. Place a heat-proof bowl on top. Sift 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar into the bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons boiling water and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Turn heat on to medium low. Add heaping 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Stir until melted. For deeper color, add more chips by tablespoons. If too thick or thin adjust, as with white glaze. Keep heated while using.
Brush or spoon white glaze over half of each donut top. Brush or spoon black glaze over the other half. Let the glazes dry. Store airtight at room temperature in a single layer for up to 2 days.
Note: The recipe is written for a mini donut pan. If using a full-size pan, fill molds 3/4 of the way full. Baking time and yield will vary.

Chef Lior Lev Sercarz, owner of La Boîte in New York City, co-founder of the Galilee Culinary Institute and author of “A Middle Eastern Pantry,” likes his sufganiyot, because they are baked.

“Although,” he told the Journal, “The dough can be fried too!”

Baked Sufganiyot Donuts

Makes about 18 donuts

3/4 cup lukewarm water (200g)
2 Tbsp active dry yeast (2 packets, 14g)
2.5 Tbsp butter (35g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
1/4 cup milk powder (57g)
1 Tbsp Yemen N10 spice blend (5g)
2 Tbsp kosher salt (8g)
1 egg (50g)
3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)

To Fill and Finish:
Strawberry jam
Chocolate spread, e.g. Nutella
Confectioners’ sugar
Tahini Labneh Cream (recipe below)
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Place half of the water in a bowl and add the yeast. Let stand for 20 minutes (the mixture should turn foamy).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter with the sugar, milk powder, Yemen spice and salt at medium speed until you get a sandy and homogenous mix. Beat the eggs in a bowl and slowly beat into the butter mixture. Beat in the yeast mixture, the rest of the water, and the flour; mix at medium speed until well-mixed and slightly stringy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Roll the dough out until it is 3/4 inch thick.
Dip a round (2-2.5 inch) cookie cutter or a small glass into a bowl of flour and punch out the doughnuts. Combine any leftover dough, roll it out again and repeat, transferring the doughnuts to a baking sheet. Let the doughnuts rest to proof again, covered with a damp cloth for 30-60 minutes. They should double in size and be pillowy soft.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the sufganiyot for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
Prepare your fillings in piping bags.
Once the sufganiyot has cooled, fill them from the bottom. You can use a knife to make a hole to make it easier.
To finish, give them a light spritz with cooking spray and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Tahini Labneh Cream

1/2 cup vanilla tahini
1/4 cup water
1 cup labneh
1 tsp La Boîte Orchidea spice mix

In a bowl, whisk together the vanilla tahini and water to combine. Then add the labneh and Orchidea and whisk again. The Tahini Labneh Cream can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Dawn Lerman’s strawberry cloud cookies make a great substitute for fried donuts. 

“They are equally as festive and scrumptious, with a dollop of jam in the center,” Lerman, author of “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, With Recipes,” told the Journal. “And they are so healthy.”

They are loaded with fiber from the luscious oats, omega-3 fatty acids from the flax seeds and coconut oil, and protein from the almond flour. 

“You can also substitute oat flour if your guests or family members have nut allergies,” she said. 

Strawberry Cloud Cookies

Makes 10 medium cookies
8 Tbsp coconut oil or softened butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp almond milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup almond flour or oat flour
1 1/4 cups oat flour (you can make your own oat flour by blending oats in a blender)
1 tsp flax seeds (optional)
Pinch of sea salt
Strawberry jam or preserves
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the oil, egg, vanilla, almond milk and maple syrup, and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, flax seeds and salt. Then combine the ingredients from both bowls and mix together with your hands until it forms a sticky dough. If the dough feels a touch dry, you can add a splash of water to thin it. And if it feels a bit wet, you can add a touch more almond flour.
Roll the dough into balls with your hands; I like mine to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet, flatten them slightly with your palm, and push a thumbprint into each ball. Add a dollop of jam or preserves into the thumbprint.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown on the bottom. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before eating.