Latkes get most of the Hanukkah glory, but don’t forget the doughnuts! Gingerbread Eggnog Sufganiyot are Chrismukkah gold!
So I love latkes. A lot(ke). But a girl can’t live on latkes alone (or can I???) Nothing pairs better with fried potatoes than fried doughnuts, right? Right!
When I first started planning my Hanukkah recipes in the summer (for real. I maybe was the only kid on the block lighting the menorah in August), I knew I had to do a latke AND a sufganiyot for the rare overlapping Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s (I’m calling it Merry Jew Year’s Eve-ukkah. It’s sweeping the nation!)
Here’s a fun fact. This Jew loves eggnog with whiskey. It’s kind of so gross, it’s good? I’ll definitely sip on a glass pre-Christmas Eve Chinese food and Mazel Ball shenanigans! I’ll probably be wearing this and this with this. Just saying. How are you celebrating??
Dough!
Doughnuts!
So I went to buy a candy cane for garnish but I made the mistake of going to the fancy supermarket and they only had organic poop natural-colored candy canes but I wanted super bright classic red and white! And I really didn’t want to go to another store. That’s when I noticed in the back of the display. Candy cane shot glasses! In the basket you go. I had to test her out. She works. 
I was initially going to do an eggnog filling but it was pretty sweet. So I switched to a gingerbread filling and an eggnog drizzle and it was perfect!!
Y’all know I ate this gingerbread filling with a spoon. This is going on a chocolate cupcake real soon!
So the whiskey from testing my shot glass made it all sticky and whiskey flavored, but I managed to smash it just the same!! Get out all your holiday aggression. 
Second rise and ready to fry. 
These are kind of perfect as is! But wait, there’s more. 
Can you imagine surprising Hanukkah Harry with one of these babies?
Ooh! Ahh!
The filling sets as the doughnuts sit, but I couldn’t wait and busted into a piping hot one!
Best devoured the same day you fry. Not that there will be any leftover!
Gingerbread Eggnog Sufganiyot
Ingredients
- For doughnuts:
- 2¼ teaspoons 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2/3 cup warm whole milk 110 degrees
- ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar divided
- 3¼ –4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling dough
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ stick or ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 cups oil for frying plus more as needed (use an oil with a high smoke point such as canola, grape-seed or vegetable oil)
- For Gingerbread Filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
- 2 tablespoons eggnog
- For Eggnog Drizzle:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons eggnog
- Crushed candy cane for garnish
Instructions
- Doughnut time! Combine yeast, warm milk, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Wait 10 minutes, the mixture should get foamy. If it doesn’t the milk was probably too hot, too cold or the yeast is dead. Try again!
- To the yeast mixture, add 3¼ cups flour, remaining sugar, cinnamon and stir to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix with the dough hook until dough starts to come together. Then add salt and combine.
- With the mixer on low, add butter, a little at a time, until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed for about 5 to 10 minutes until dough is completely smooth and shiny. Make sure to scrape down the sides as you mix so everything gets incorporated.
- Knead dough on a floured surface until slightly tacky but no longer sticky, adding more flour if needed, about 5 minutes. Coat a large bowl with oil and place dough inside. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. You can also slow rise in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- When the dough is ready, punch it down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. (Bring to room temperature if doing the slow rise. Roll dough out to ¾-inch thick and cut out doughnuts using a 3-inch round cutter. Roll out scraps to make more doughnuts.
- Place doughnuts on parchment paper–lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until they puff up, about 1 hour. At this point, you can refrigerate them for up to 2 hours if you’re not ready to fry them. Bring to room temperature before frying.
- Time to make the filling!
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric beater until light and fluffy. Then add confectioner's sugar and molasses and beat until smooth. Add in spices and enough eggnog until you have the desired consistency. Place in a piping bag.
- To make the drizzle, whisk together confectioner's sugar and enough eggnog to make it runny but thick.
- When ready to fry, heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 350 degrees. Working in batches and being careful not to overcrowd the pan, fry the doughnuts. Flip them halfway through until both sides are golden brown, about 1–2 minutes per side. Let cool on cooling rack.
- When doughnuts are cool enough to touch, poke a hole in the top using the tip of the pastry bag. Fill with gingerbread filling until doughnut has some heft to it and drizzle with eggnog drizzle and garnish with crushed candy cane. Eat!
- Tip: Doughnuts require deep-frying. Don’t freak out! Invest in a deep-fry thermometer to keep track of the temperature and make sure you roil isn’t getting too hot. Keep your frying station clean and dry—you don’t want any rogue kitchen tools or ingredients falling in the oil.
Notes
