Doughnut Be Jelly

During Hannukah it is traditional to eat food fried in oil to symbolize the vial of oil that the Maccabees thought would only last one day, but ended up lasting eight days. My favorite part of Hannukah isn’t the fried food, but the symbolism of light within the holiday. Each of the eight nights we light a menorah and place it near our windows so that the light may shine brightly.

This year, we can all use a little bit more light in our lives and what brings more light than mini doughnut holes and a jelly dipping sauce? For the dipping sauce, you can use whatever frozen berry you would like. I use strawberries because those are my favorite!

Doughnuts

2 Cups all purpose flour

2 Teaspoons baking powder

½ Teaspoon Nutmeg

2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons butter (room temperature)

1 Egg + 1 egg yolk

½ Cup milk or dairy alternative milk

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Corn Oil for frying

Glaze

1 Cup powdered sugar

1-3 tablespoons water (as needed)

Blue and white sprinkles to coat

Jelly Dipping Sauce

1 Bag frozen strawberries

½ Cup honey

1 Teaspoon lemon zest

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Make sure your butter is at room temperature, this ensures a light and fluffy texture. Beat in the egg and egg yolk. Continue beating for about three minutes until the mixture is slightly shiny and pale yellow. Beat in the milk and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. While beating the liquid mixture, slowly add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Try not to over mix to keep the texture light and fluffy.

Refrigerate the dough while you heat the oil. Heat the oil in a large pot, should be about 1 ½ - 2 inches deep. Using a candy thermometer, make sure the oil reaches 350 degrees.

Once the oil is heated, take the dough out of the refrigerator and using a mini ice cream scoop (about one inch in size, can be found at most grocery stores or ordered on amazon) scoop about 6 doughnuts into the oil at one time.

Fry each doughnut for about 90 seconds on each side. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Continue until there is no more batter.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and water in a bowl. Before glazing the doughnuts, make sure they are cooled to room temperature.

Dip each doughnut hole in the glaze and then immediately into the sprinkles. Leave to dry for about an hour while you make the dipping sauce.

To make the dipping sauce, pour the bag of frozen strawberries into a pot over medium heat. Add the honey and lemon zest and a little bit of water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!