Doughnuts with Filling (Jewish Sufganiyot)

Potatoes aren't the only thing Jewish people deep fry on Hanukkah! Arguably the best thing about Hanukkah, pillowy, deep-fried sufganiyot filled with strawberry jelly. In Israel, sufganiyot, which are basically just crazy good jelly doughnuts, are way more popular. They're not the easiest thing to make, but dang, the effort is worth it!

Dough:
1 (1¼ oz) pkg active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. + ¼ cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
½ cup warm whole milk
½ tsp. orange zest, finely grated
2 Tbsp. orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp. brandy (optional)
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more

Frying and Assembly:
vegetable oil, for frying (about 8 cups)
1½ cups strawberry jam
powdered sugar, for dusting

Special Equipment:
deep-fry thermometer
piping bag, and ¼" round tip
2½" diameter biscuit or cookie cutter

Make the dough:
Combine yeast, 1 Tbsp. flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 2 Tbsp. warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer*; let stand until yeast starts to foam, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in egg yolks, whole egg, milk, orange zest, orange juice, brandy, if using, salt, vanilla, 2 cups flour, and remaining ¼ cup sugar. Mix on low speed with dough hook until combined, about 2 minutes.

Add 6 Tbsp. butter 1 piece at a time, mixing well between additions. (Any small lumps of butter will get worked into dough when more flour is added.) Gradually add remaining 2 cups flour (you may not need all of it), mixing until mostly combined between additions, until dough is soft, smooth, and shiny-the dough will begin to pull away from the sides of bowl and climb up dough hook.

Don’t have a stand mixer? You can get the same results by mixing the dough with a sturdy wooden spoon and kneading on a lightly floured surface.

Knead and proof the dough:
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead, adding more flour as needed, until no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a buttered bowl, turn to coat, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Cut the dough:
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until ¾" thick. Using a floured cutter, cut out rounds of dough, twisting cutter to release the dough (this strengthens the edges so the dough puffs when frying). Reroll scraps once.

Transfer rounds of dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover loosely with another kitchen towel. Let rise until not quite doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.

If you are not ready to fry dough, refrigerate rounds up to 3 hours.

Fry the dough:
Fit a large heavy saucepan with thermometer; pour in vegetable oil to measure 4" and heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°F. Working in batches, fry dough until golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and let cool slightly before filling.

Fill and finish the sufganiyot:
Pulse jam in a food processor until smooth (this will make it easier to pipe). Scrape jam into piping bag fitted with ¼" tip*. Insert tip into top of sufganiyot and gently fill until jam just pokes out of hole. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Don’t have a piping bag? With a toothpick, make a shallow hole in the doughnut, then use a plastic bag with a ¼" opening cut diagonally from 1 corner.

Makes about 16 servings.