Hanukkah and American Thanksgiving may not coincide very often, but these pumpkin honey doughnuts will make you wish they did.
To help bridge these holidays, we borrowed a classic dessert of each — fried doughnuts for Hanukkah and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving — and brought them together in one delicious mouthful. The result is a terrifically moist fried doughnut rich with the flavours of pumpkin pie. A glaze of cinnamon- and lemon-spiked honey ties everything together.
PUMPKIN HONEY DOUGHNUTS
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (45 minutes active)
Makes 3 dozen doughnut holes
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup warm water
15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
In a medium bowl, stir together the yeast, flour, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in the water, pumpkin and egg until a thick, smooth batter forms. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 45 minutes.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and stir well. Remove from the heat.
In a large, deep skillet over medium-high, heat 1 inch of oil to 375 F.
Working in batches, carefully drop the batter by the tablespoonful into the hot oil. A cookie or small ice cream scoop makes this easier. Turning occasionally, fry the doughnuts until deep golden brown all over and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried doughnuts to a large bowl. Drizzle the honey syrup over the doughnuts and toss to coat. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Serve immediately.
Nutrition information per serving: 80 calories; 25 calories from fat (31 per cent of total calories); 2.5 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 5 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrate; 1 g fibre; 4 g sugar; 2 g protein; 30 mg sodium.
- Alison Ladman
