Jelly Doughnuts
on Oct 27, 2023, Updated Oct 04, 2024
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The traditional Hanukkah treat, doughnuts filled with jelly, plump, and crunchy with cinnamon sugar on the outside.
The joy of a good jelly doughnut is hard to overstate. Puffy and tender, light and fluffy, but toothsome, with that delightful pocket of sweet jelly just waiting to be discovered in the middle.
Jelly doughnuts go by a lot of different names in this country and around the world (and also can be spelled jelly donuts). In their purest form, they are doughnuts without a central hole, fried and stuffed with jelly or jam. The doughnuts can be filled either before frying (the jelly is sandwiched between two disks of yeast dough, sealed and fried). Or, you can fry the doughnuts and then inject them with filling, which is what I do in this recipe. This technique removes the risk of not-properly-sealed doughnuts coming apart in the pan and leaking out their filling.
Table of Contents
In Israel, jelly or jam doughnuts are extremely popular, especially during Hanukkah. They might sometimes have fillings other than jam, such as chocolate or halvah. They can also be prepared in savory versions stuffed with meat or vegetables.
For a full Jewish feast, serve jelly doughnuts to follow a dinner featuring Jewish Brisket, Latkes, Braised Red Cabbage, and Noodle Kugel.
Jelly Doughnuts: The traditional Hanukkah treat, plump, light and fluffy doughnuts filled with jelly, crunchy with cinnamon sugar on the outside.
Ingredients for Jelly Doughnuts
- Yeast – Traditionally, the dough used to make doughnuts is a yeast dough and requires two risings. One for the ball of dough itself, and another rising for the shaped doughnuts before they are fried. Both of these risings are necessary for light and fluffy doughnuts.
- Milk – Make sure the milk is warmed so it can absorb the yeast properly.
- Unsalted butter – Melt the butter before mixing it in.
- Egg – You’ll need one egg and one egg yolk to help provide richness and structure for the dough.
- Flour – Flour is the main ingredient in the dough and is also used for the kneading process. Add more flour as needed if the dough starts to feel too sticky.
- Nutmeg, mace, or cardamom – Adds a little spice to the batter. (These are the spices that make doughnuts taste like doughnuts!)
- Cinnamon – To mix with sugar to create the cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Sugar – Both for the dough and the cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Jelly – You can use any type of jam you like, and this is a great way to play around with those jams or jellies that you may have picked up at a farmers market or specialty store or on your travels. Raspberry and strawberry jam or jelly are very popular filling flavors, but you can really use anything from apricot to mixed berry to pear…whatever you fancy.
- Vegetable or canola oil – For frying.
How to Make Jelly Doughnuts
- Prep surfaces: Generously flour a clean work surface and lightly oil a medium-sized bowl.
- Mix milk and yeast: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk, then sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Stir to dissolve and allow it to sit until it gets foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Make the dough: Add the butter, salt, and sugar to the yeast mixture and stir or blend to combine. Blend in the egg and egg yolk, then beat in the flour and spices in two batches.
- Form the dough: Turn the batter onto the floured work surface and knead the dough for 2 minutes. Add more flour as needed if the dough feels too sticky.
- Let rise: Form the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free place until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Roll dough: Clean and re-flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and roll it out with a floured rolling pin to a ½-inch thickness.
- Cut circles: With a 3-inch cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut as many rounds as you can. Gather the scraps, let them sit for another 15 minutes, then roll the dough out again and cut as many more circles as possible.
- Let sit: Place the circles on a very lightly floured baking sheet with a couple of inches between each doughnut. Cover and let sit for about 1 hour, until they are quite puffy.
- Prep sugar coating and oil: About 15 minutes before you are going to fry the doughnuts, place paper towels on a clean surface. Mix together the cinnamon sugar. Pour the oil into a deep skillet or pan. Heat to 375 degrees (check with a thermometer) over medium heat.
- Fry: Use a spatula or slotted spoon to transfer three or so doughnuts into the pan; don’t crowd them. They will rise and bob on the surface; fry for about 1 minute, until golden brown on the underside. Then flip them and cook until the second side is golden brown, another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the doughnuts, allowing excess oil to drain back into the pan, and let them rest for a minute on paper towels.
- Roll in sugar coating: Roll each doughnut in the cinnamon sugar.
- Squeeze jelly: Gently squeeze a couple of teaspoons of jelly into the middle of the doughnut. Repeat until all of the doughnuts are filled.
- Serve: Serve warm or at room temperature!
FAQs
Jews call jelly doughnuts Sufganiyah (or Sufganiyot for the plural), and they are often enjoyed during Hanukkah. The story goes that over 2,000 years ago, after the Second Temple of Jerusalem was ransacked by invaders, there was only enough oil to keep the temple menorah lit for one day and night. Inexplicably, the oil burned for 8 days and 8 nights, thus earning the holiday the name “Festival of Lights.” Foods cooked in oil, like doughnuts and latkes, are symbolic of this Hanukkah miracle.
In Austria, they are called Krapfen; in Germany, Berlinerkrapfen, Berliner doughnuts, or simply Berliners. The French call them Boule de Berlin, in Italy, they are called Krafen, and in Poland Ponchiks. In the upper Midwest region of the U.S., they are called Bismarck. The list goes on; suffice it to say that jelly-filled doughnuts are a pretty popular treat.
Bismarck doughnuts are named after the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. He was the head of Germany when Kennedy made his famous misspeak, saying “Ich bin ein Berliner,” thinking he was saying “I am a Berliner,“ but actually saying “I am a jelly doughnut.”
Pro Cooking Tips
- For the first dough rising, you will need a warm kitchen. If your kitchen is too cool, they won’t rise correctly. As an alternative to finding a warm spot in the kitchen, you can preheat your oven to 200 degrees, then turn off the oven and place the dough or the cut doughnuts into the warm oven with the door left open. The residual warmth of the oven will allow the dough to rise properly.
- Cut the doughnut rounds as closely as possible to one another to minimize scraps.
- Don’t crowd the doughnuts in the pan. This will cause the oil temperature to drop, and they won’t fry up properly. Also, the doughnuts might stick to one another.
- You can occasionally gently press the doughnuts down into the oil to help promote even cooking inside and out.
- To fill the doughnuts, use a chopstick or wooden dowel to poke a hole into the side of each doughnut. As you slide it in, give it a wiggle to create a small pocket in the center of the doughnut. Fill a pastry bag or sturdy plastic bag with the jelly. If you are using a plastic bag, cut a very small triangle from one of the bottom corners of the bag. Insert the bag tip into a hole on the side of the doughnut.
- Fry the scraps! They are perfect for snacking as you fill the round doughnuts with jam. You can toss them with the cinnamon sugar after they are fried.
What To Serve With Jelly Doughnuts
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Jelly Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1 (.25-ounce) package active dry yeast (or 1 heaping tablespoon dry yeast)
- ¾ cup warm milk (about 100 F)
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk (lightly beaten)
- 2 ½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (or mace, or cinnamon)
- Vegetable oil (for frying)
- ¾ cup jam or jelly (any flavor)
For the Coating:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Generously flour a clean work surface and lightly oil a medium-sized bowl.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, add the warm milk, then sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Using an electric mixer or the dough hook for a standing mixer, stir to dissolve and allow it to sit until it gets foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the butter, salt, and sugar, and stir or blend to combine. Blend in the egg and egg yolk, then beat in 2 cups of the flour. Beat until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, then beat in another ½ cup of the remaining flour plus the nutmeg, mace, or cinnamon. When the batter has formed into a cohesive ball, turn it onto the floured work surface and knead the dough for two minutes. Add more flour as needed if the dough feels too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl. Cover with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free place until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Clean and re-flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and roll it out with a floured rolling pin to a ½-inch thickness. With a 3-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, minimizing the space between each round. Gather the scraps, let them sit for another 15 minutes, then roll the dough out again and cut as many more circles as possible. Place the circles on a very lightly floured baking sheet with a couple of inches between each doughnut, cover with a clean dishtowel or loose plastic wrap, and let sit for about 1 hour, until they are quite puffy.
- About 15 minutes before you are going to fry the doughnuts, place paper towels on a clean surface. Make the sugar coating: in a shallow bowl, mix together the 1 cup sugar with the cinnamon. And pour at least 2 inches of oil into a deep skillet or pan. Heat to 375 F over medium heat.
- Use a spatula to transfer two or three doughnuts into the pan. They will rise and bob on the surface; fry for about 1 minute, until golden brown on the underside, then flip them and cook until the second side is golden brown, another 1 to 2 minutes. You can occasionally gently press the doughnuts down into the oil to cook the sides evenly. Remove the doughnuts, allowing excess oil to drain back into the pan, and let them rest for a minute on the paper towels.
- Use a chopstick or wooden dowel to poke a hole into the side of each doughnut, and as you slide it in, give it a wiggle to create a small pocket in the center of the doughnut. Fill a pastry bag or study plastic bag with the jelly. If you are using a plastic bag, cut a very small triangle from one of the bottom corners of the bag. Insert the pastry bag or snipped corner of the plastic bag into a hole on the side of the doughnut. Gently squeeze a couple of teaspoons of jelly into the middle of the doughnut. Remove the bag carefully from the doughnut, and repeat until all of the doughnuts are filled.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
