Sufganiyot—jelly doughnuts—are synonymous with Chanukah. Try filling them with this easy, homemade cranberry jam for a seasonal twist.

Don't let the jelly doughnut intimidate you! I've broken down the process, step-by-step to help you along.

To start with, we'll make the dough. Place the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a bowl. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes until the mixture bubbles up like this:

Now, take the yeast mixture and combine it with the sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk with 2 cups of flour. Mix on a low speed.

Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough. It should look similar this this:

Knead the dough for 5 minutes. This is the time to let out any anger or aggression you've been holding in! Pound that dough. (Or, if you're the always-calm-my-life-is-perfect-what-is-anger type, let the dough-hook on your mixer do the mixing for you. )

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size. As you can see, mine rose right to the brim of the bowl!

Tip the dough out of the bowl and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Roll it out approximately 1/2 inch thick and cut circles with a round cookie cutter or with the mouth of a glass.

Let the circles rise for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep fryer, a pot, or a deep frying pan. Aim for low-medium heat. If the oil is too hot, the outside of your doughnuts will start to burn before the centers are properly cooked through.

Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so both sides can brown. With a slotted spatula, remove each doughnut and place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Let the doughnuts cool before you fill them with the cranberry jelly.

To make the cranberry jelly, you'll need fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar and water.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened. Blend slightly, but make sure to still leave some pieces for texture. Pour into a glass jar to cool.

To assemble the doughnuts, you'll need a sharp knife, or pointed spatula, a Ziploc bag and a fine mesh strainer.

Use the sharp knife or pointed spatula to poke a small hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill the bag with ½ cup of the jam and cut a small hole at the corner. Stick the Ziploc corner into the hole and give a quick squirt. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top of each doughnut.

Eat and enjoy!

Dough Ingredients:

• 4 ½ tsp. dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 ½ cups soy or almond milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 6 tbsp. margarine, melted
• 6+ cups flour
• Oil for frying
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Cranberry Jam Ingredients:

• 6 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Place yeast, warm water and 1 tsp. sugar in bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until bubbled.
2. Mix yeast mixture, sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk with 2 cups of flour on a low speed.
3. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough.
4. Knead for 5 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll out the dough approximately ½ inch thick, cut circles (use the mouth of a glass, or a round cookie cutter) and let rise 30 minutes.
6. Heat oil in a frying pan or pot. Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so each side can brown.
7. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.
8. To make the cranberry jam, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened. Blend slightly, but make sure to still leave some pieces for texture. Pour into a glass jar to cool.

To assemble the doughnuts, use a sharp knife or pointed spatula to poke a small hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill a Ziploc bag with ½ cup of the jam and cut a small hole at the corner. Stick the Ziploc corner into the hole and squirt out approximately 1 tsp. jam into each doughnut. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top of each doughnut. Eat and enjoy!

See? That wasn't at hard as you thought it would be! (Or maybe it was...) Leave a comment and let me know.

Instead of making sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving, and potato latkes for Chanukah, try these sweet potato butternut squash latkes. You’ll get the flavors of Thanksgiving but the crispy fried texture of Chanukah.

If you’ve never made latkes before, don’t feel intimidated. They’re quite straightforward and hard to mess up. Definitely worth a try.

You’ll need a grater or a food processor for this recipe. And you can make these latkes dairy or pareve—the parmesan cheese is optional.

Dice and sauté the onions in olive oil and salt. Set aside. Peel and grate the rest of the vegetables. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Two tips for latke making:

1. Stick a small piece of carrot in the oil. The carrot absorbs the burnt taste the oil sometimes gets. When the carrot looks dark ad shriveled, take it out and replace with a new one.

2. To make the latkes a uniform size, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop up the batter.

Heat the oil and drop each latke into it. Fry each latke until brown on one side—approximately 3-4 minutes. Flip and fry on the other side another minute or two.

Remove latkes from the pan and place them on a paper towel. The paper towel soaks up the excess oil while keeping the latkes fresh.

Serve immediately—that is, if they make them out of the kitchen at all.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 sweet potato
• 4 eggs
• ½ to ¾ cup flour
• 2 tbsp. salt
• Olive oil for frying
• Optional: If you’re serving these at a dairy meal, throw in ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Dice and sauté the onion in 2 tbsp. olive oil and ¼ tsp. salt.
2. Peel and shred the butternut squash, sweet potatoes and potatoes.
3. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Scoop the batter using a ⅛ cup measuring cup for uniformity. Drop into the hot oil (keep the flame on medium-high). Cook until brown and firm on one side. Flip and cook 1-2 more minutes, or until brown, on the second side.
5. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all the batter has been fried.
6. Serve fresh.

Note: Recipe makes approximately 30 medium latkes.

If sweet potato butternut squash latkes aren’t your thing, try these Corn Latkes I shared last year.

And stay tuned next week for some delicious vegetable latkes.

Looking for more Thanksgiving-Chanukah recipes? Try these turkey Turkey Egg Rolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce. Turkey and cranberries for Thanksgiving, with the fried element for Chanukah.

And stay tuned for these upcoming cranberry sufganiyot…

But if all these recipes make you want to smash your head against the screen and wail about the fat content…try some of these instead:

Winter Salad with mixed greens and a fantastic creamy, but healthy dressing.

Kiwi Honeydew Energy-Boosting Smoothie – its name is self-explanatory!

Orange Soup, which doesn’t actually contain any oranges.

Fruity Vegan Ice Cream—all natural, all fruit, no sugar, but still delicious.

Something for everyone—that’s my goal!

It’s that time of year again… the blogosphere has erupted with fall-inspired dishes, with a heavy propensity towards pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin milkshake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin everything!

Last year I shared my Pumpkin Pie Black-and-White Chocolate Bark recipe—my first ever post on this blog! If you missed it then, check it out now.

Today, I’m sharing my Maple-Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Pecan Crunch Topping. If you love fall flavors, prepare to fall in love with this dessert. You’ve got pumpkin, maple, brown sugar and pecan, with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

It’s quick and easy and presents beautifully—an great way to impress friends and family.

For the ice cream, you’ll need heavy cream, pumpkin puree, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. You can make your own pumpkin puree or buy it canned. If you’re buying canned, make sure you buy pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling. The cans are very similar so make sure to read the label carefully. To make you own puree, boil the pumpkin until soft, then drain and mash.
2. This recipe requires an ice cream machine. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can still make the pie with some small variations. Buy a tub of good quality vanilla ice cream. Leave it out of the freezer to soften slightly (but do not let it melt completely). Blend it with the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and salt and continue with the rest of the recipe instructions.

To make the ice cream, blend all ice cream ingredients (except the pie crust). Pour the mixture into the bowl of your ice cream machine.

Churn the ice cream until it reaches soft-serve consistency (as pictured).

Scoop the ice cream into the graham cracker pie crust and stick it in the freezer.

Meanwhile, lightly toss the topping ingredients together and spread over a baking pan in a single layer.

Bake on 375 for approximately 5 minutes. Remove and allow the crunch to cool completely.

Take the ice cream pie out of the freezer and sprinkle the crunch over the top. Return the pie to the freezer to firm up for several hours before serving.

Ice Cream Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 graham cracker pie crust

Topping Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup rice crispies
• 2 tbsp. margarine or butter, melted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Blend the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
2. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream machine and churn until ice cream has the texture of soft-serve.
3. Transfer ice cream into the graham cracker crust and freeze.
4. Toss all the topping ingredients together lightly. Spread topping out, one layer deep, over a baking pan and bake on 375 for about 5 minutes.
5. Take topping out of the oven and let cool fully.
6. Sprinkle topping over the ice cream and return to freezer. Freeze overnight before serving.

Are you a pumpkin fan? What’s your favorite fall dish? Leave a comment and let us know!

This year we have the rare opportunity to celebrate Chanukah and Thanksgiving simultaneously for for the first time since the 1880s, definitely an occasion worth taking advantage of from a culinary standpoint. Chanukah, meet Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, meet Chanukah!

I’ll be sharing some great fusion recipes, including these turkey egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce.

Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without turkey and cranberries. And Chanukah wouldn’t be Chanukah without fried food to commemorate the miracle of the oil. So fried turkey egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce gives you the best of both worlds.

Sauté the onions in olive oil and salt until translucent.

Add in the ground or shredded turkey, crushed garlic and ginger and sauté 5 minutes. Add white wine and soy sauce and simmer until thickened. Throw in the shredded cabbage and carrot and cook 1 minute more, until just wilted. Set filling aside to cool.

Lay out egg roll wrappers, place 2 tbsp. of filling in each, roll up as shown below, and place seam side down on a plate.

Heat oil. Place each egg roll in the oil, seam side down. Fry until brown and crispy (turn at least once so both sides get fried). Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

To make the dipping sauce, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer if there are any lumps.

Egg Roll Ingredients:

• 2 onions, diced
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 4 cups shredded carrot & green cabbage
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 
  
• 15-20 egg roll wrappers
• 
  
• Oil for frying

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup jellied cranberry sauce
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil and salt until translucent.
2. Add in the ground or shredded turkey, crushed garlic and ginger and sauté 5 minutes.
3. Add white wine and soy sauce and simmer until thickened.
4. Throw in the shredded cabbage and carrot and cook 1 minute more, until just wilted.
5. Set filling aside to cool.
6. Lay out egg roll wrappers, place 2 tbsp. of filling in each, roll up and place seam side down on a plate.
7. Heat oil. Place each egg roll in the oil, seam side down. Fry until brown and crispy (turn at least once so both sides get fried). Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.
8. To make the dipping sauce, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer if there are any lumps.
9. Serve dipping sauce alongside egg rolls. For best taste, serve immediately after frying.

(Note: If you want to bake the egg rolls, place them seam side down on a greased baking tray. Spray the tops with PAM and bake on 400 for 10-15 minutes.)

What will you be making for “Thanksgivukkah”? Leave a comment and share your ideas so we can all benefit.

Have you ever dabbled in candy-making? It’s fun to explore the different consistencies of heated sugar.

Today I’m sharing a recipe for sponge candy, also called honeycomb candy or seafoam candy.

You need a candy thermometer, but other than that, no special equipment. Just some sugar, water, corn syrup, honey and baking soda.

Place the sugar, water, corn syrup and honey in a strong pot. Very important – use a big pot, because the mixture is going to grow significantly.

Click the thermometer onto the pot and turn the fire on medium-high. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is absorbed. Then let the mixture boil until it reaches 290-300 F.

Warning: Be extremely careful! Hot sugar can give extremely bad burns.

The mixture should be a lovely, transparent, amber color (as pictured).

Immediately turn off the fire, sprinkle in the sifted baking soda and give one quick whisk. The mixture should visibly bubble and grow and turn into a more cloudy amber. Pour it into a pan lined with parchment paper and let harden for at least two hours.

Note: When mixing in the baking soda, do NOT over-mix, or the candy will collapse and those beautiful air bubbles will pop, leaving you with a heavy, dense candy, instead of a light, crunchy one.

When the candy has hardened, break it into pieces. You can use a knife, but I find it easier to break it with my hands.

See those beautiful bubbles inside? That’s what the baking soda does.

Optional: Dip the candy in melted chocolate. Let chocolate set. Eat and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. baking soda (sifted)
• Optional: dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a pot and give a quick stir.
2. Turn the flame on medium-high and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the bowl.
3. Prepare a large baking dish, lined with parchment paper (NOT wax paper!).
4. When the sugar mixture reaches 290 degrees and turns an amber color, immediately turn off the flame, whisk in the baking soda and pour the mixture into the pan. When you add the baking soda, the sugar mixture should change from clear-ish, amber syrup to a cloudy, thick consistency, which will soon harden.
5. NOTE: Give one quick whisk and then do not touch the mixture again, or it will collapse.
6. Leave the candy to harden and cool for at least two hours.
7. Optional: Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Coat the sponge candy in chocolate and put the chocolate on a piece of parchment paper to set. As soon as the chocolate is set, eat and enjoy.

Today we’ll chat about the darker side of cooking—kitchen disasters!

I’ve had them, you’ve had them, pretty much anyone who’s ever cooked has had them.

So although I only post picture-perfect recipes, don’t let that fool you. I’ve cooked my fair share of monstrosities, and cleaned up my fair share of explosions.

About two years ago, I made cookies that looked, smelled and tasted so bad, I dubbed them “vomit cookies.”

More recently, I tried to make a tomato-free, faux marinara sauce. I spent several hours and lots of ingredients but the end result was simply not salvageable. It looked like borscht, smelled like hand cream and had the texture of grainy farina. FAIL.

As you can see, it looks quite bizarre.

Last year, I went through a candy making phase. I nailed the sponge candy, but came up short on several other types. If you’ve ever worked with hot sugar, or candy, you’ll know how hard it is to clean once it’s cooled. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way when I spent two hours scrubbing streaks and puddles of hardened fire-engine red candy off the counters, floors and stovetop!

And a month ago my tempered chocolate experiment exploded and hardened as it hit the floor, walls and cabinet. Slightly easier to clean than the candy, but it definitely took some serious elbow grease. (Not to mention, that was the last of the chocolate…)

Now, let’s talk about breads. Six or seven years ago, I worked as the baking instructor at an overnight camp. My room was called the “bake shop” – it was un-air-conditioned, crowded, home to a wasp nest (!) and the hot water was off more than it was on… you get the picture.

My primary job was baking with the children, of course. But each Friday I was expected to bake 30 challahs for the Friday night meal (and give my regular classes!). That’s five batches of dough, without an electric mixer. I used to line up five bowls on the table and walk up and down adding the ingredients to each bowl and mixing and kneading each batch. Then I’d put them out in the sun to rise, bring them in and start the braiding and baking. With only two working ovens, that took quite a while.

One week, I decided to be clever and prepare some of the dough the night before, which would give me a head start come Friday morning. I figured I could braid and bake the pre-made dough while the Friday dough was rising. So I made three batches of dough, tipped them into large aluminum foil pans and covered each one loosely with saran wrap. I stuck them in the fridge, turned off the light, locked up and left for the night, feeling very smug and proud of my brilliant idea.

Friday morning, as soon as I opened up, I noticed the fridge door was open… I was horrified! And puzzled. Was it possible I’d forgotten to close the door? Had someone else come in at night, used the room and left the fridge open?

But as I looked closer, I realized the dough had risen in the fridge, and it had risen so much it had spilled out of the pans and literally pushed the door open. Sounds unbelievable, but it really happened. My small fridge was no match for three big batches of dough. True story!

My second bread disaster was less dramatic, but equally disappointing. I’d been researching and playing around with assorted gluten free recipes. Then I discovered a quinoa bread recipe, made with whole quinoa (which I had) rather than quinoa flour (which I didn’t have). The accompanying picture looked delicious and I got to work making the dough.

It ended up being quite an expensive recipe, with lots of seeds and nuts in the dough. But I was excited! This bread would even be protein dense from the quinoa, and the bread in the picture looked soooo good! Healthy and nutty and perfect for avocado toast.

Sadly, my bread came out dark grey and so dense it bounced. Literally. It tasted terrible, too.

Well, I went back to recheck the recipe and see where I’d gone wrong. But I hadn’t. I’d follow the directions to a tee and hadn’t substituted any of the ingredients.

Mysterious, eh?

Suddenly, I started to have my suspicions about the picture. I did a reverse image search, and discovered that the picture had been lifted from a completely different website and a completely different recipe! It was being used a)without permission, b)for a completely different recipe. Oh dear.

So, why am I sharing all these stories? Because it happens to all of us. Something burns, something spills, a recipe comes out completely inedible… but it’s ok. It’s normal. The only people who never have kitchen disasters, are people who don’t cook. So don’t be disheartened. Take a picture, pass it around, have a good laugh, and move on to the next (hopefully successful and delicious) recipe.