Makes 16 Donuts

Hanukkah is the perfect time for jelly doughnuts, AKA sufganiyot. These days you can find them in every flavor imaginable, but I grew up with exactly one option, jelly. So you can go ahead and use this dough to make Pistachio Rhubarb Cardamom Sufganiyot if you like! But I like to keep it classic with a jelly donut. I prefer a sweet, seedless raspberry jam, but use whatever “sparks joy.” (no one says that anymore)

The dough for these vegan jelly donuts here is a traditional yeasted dough that fries up spongy, light, and airy, perfect for piping in a nice blob of jam. You’ll need a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip to squeeze that jam in.

To get the ideal airy donut-ty texture (fun fact: sufganiyot is rooted in the Hebrew word for sponge), keep an eye on your oil temperature and follow the frying tips closely. If the oil is too cool, they’ll absorb it and turn into oily bricks of dough; too hot and they’ll brown before the inside cooks.

This is definitely a fun project, not quick or effortless, so set aside an afternoon (about 4 hours), queue up the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack (the Zero Mostel version, obviously), and get someone else to handle the cleanup. Oh, and I wouldn’t advise subbing out the bread flour for the best results possible

This recipe was originally in the Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook!

Vegan Jelly Doughnuts (Sufganiyot)

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Notes

~Don’t fear the fryer! Ok, you can fear it a little. Hot oil is scary. If you happen to have a deep fryer, you’re golden (literally). Use manufacturers instructions and preheat it to 350 F. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. You don’t necessarily have to flip them halfway through depending on your fryer, but it won’t hurt to do so.

If you’re using a dutch oven or cast iron (like me!): Fill with 2 to 3 inches of oil, just make sure there are about 3 inches of space above the oil line. Use a candy thermometer and preheat oil to 350 F, starting at medium low so that the oil doesn’t burn and adjust flame as needed.

If you don’t have a thermometer, then test a lil’ ball of dough. It should form tiny bubbles quickly and fry golden brown in about a minute, without smoking.

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Course Dessert

Servings donuts

Equipment

deep fryer
pastry bag with big round tip

Ingredients

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast one 0.75-ounce packet
1 cup lukewarm unsweetened soy milk or your favorite nondairy milk
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
3½ cups white bread flour plus extra for kneading
2 tablespoons sugar plus more for coating
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted
Canola oil for deep-frying
1 cup seedless raspberry jam

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast and milk and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In a blender, blend up the water and flax for about a minute until frothy and viscous, kind of like an egg white. Set aside.
In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt, then make a well in the center. Pour in the yeast mixture, the flax mixture, and the coconut oil, then mix to form a dough. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and slightly tacky, but not dry. Then turn it out onto a floured counter to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Wash out the mixing bowl, lightly coat it with nonstick cooking spray, and add the dough ball. Toss the dough ball to coat it in oil, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl somewhere warm and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Lightly flour the counter and a baking sheet. Turn out the dough onto the floured counter, knead it a couple of times, then roll it out until it’s about ½ inch thick. Using a floured 3-inch cookie cutter (or a drinking glass), stamp out your doughnuts and place them on the floured baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Dip the cutter in flour between cuts to prevent sticking. Squish the dough scraps back together and roll them out again to make more doughnuts, then cover the sheet with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the doughnuts rise for about 20 minutes.
While the doughnuts are rising, get your fryer ready (see instructions above) and preheated to 350°F. Have ready a layer of paper towels or brown paper bags to drain. Pour some sugar into a shallow dish for coating the doughnuts.
Using a metal slotted spoon, lower the doughnuts into the oil, a few at a time so you don’t crowd the fryer, and fry until golden brown, about a minute and a half on each side. Use the slotted spoon to transfer them to the paper towels or bags until cool enough to handle but still warm, then roll each one in sugar until completely covered.
Once all the doughnuts are fried and sugared, it’s time to fill them! Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and fill it with the jam. Poke the tip into the side of each doughnut, wiggling gently to create a little space inside, then squeeze a nice blob of jam inside! If you overfill them, the jam will leak out, but that’s okay. Serve! Store any leftovers in a paper bag, if you can manage to not eat them all right away.