From Israel have come two popular foods for Chanukah—sufganiyot or jelly doughnuts and ponchikot, which are ball-shaped or resemble a doughnut hole.

Try these for Chanukah this year.

Classic Sufganiyot

32-36

• 3 ½ cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 ⅜  t. baking powder
• ⅜ t. salt
• 2 cups vanilla yogurt
• 2 t. sugar
• ½ t. vanilla
• Oil

Confectioner’s sugar or cinnamon sugar

Mix flour, eggs, baking powder, salt, yogurt, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until well blended.

Heat oil in a soup pot. Drop tablespoon of batter around the pot, fry until brown on both sides, drain on paper towels.

Roll in cinnamon sugar or confectioner’s sugar.

Oven-Fried Sufganiyot

24 minis

(Source unknown)

• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1 egg
• 3 ½ cups flour
• 2 T. instant yeast

Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup water
• Sugar coating and filling
• ¼ cup sugar
• Jam

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease mini muffin cups.

Heat milk and butter in a saucepan. Stir in sugar and salt. Let cool.

In one mixing bowl, combine egg and milk mixture. In a second bowl, combine 3 cups of flour with yeast then add to egg-milk mixture and beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer or hand mixer.

Stir in ½ cup flour to make soft batter. Cover and let rise until double in volume.

Turn dough onto a floured work space. Roll dough into a log. Cut off pieces and form into balls. Place each ball in a muffin cup. Cover pans and let rise for 30 minutes.

Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Meantime, combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat, then boil until thick. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Remove doughnuts to a cooling rack then toss in sugar syrup and remove with a slotted spoon. Roll in sugar. To inject, poke a hole in the side of each doughnut; inject jelly.

If not serving immediately, wait to dip in sugar syrup and roll in sugar.

These can be made three months ahead and frozen after cooled.

To use, defrost, cover with foil, reheat in 350 F oven 15 minutes, dip in sugar syrup and either roll in sugar or inject  with jelly.

Pareve Chanukah Ponchikot

36

• 2 cups flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. nutmeg
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup non-dairy creamer
• 1 egg
• Oil

Confectioner’s sugar or cinnamon sugar.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Mix.

Add oil, non-dairy creamer and egg and mix.

Heat oil in a soup pot. Drop by teaspoon into oil and fry on all sides until brown. drain on paper towels.

Roll in confectioner’s sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, food columnist, cookbook author and leader of walks in Jerusalem’s Jewish produce market, Machaneh Yehudah.