We had a wonderful Chanukah. Hope you did too – or if you’re having Christmas, I hope you’re going to enjoy the best one yet. And if neither of those apply, Happy December.
Happy December anyway – this has to be one of my most favorite months of the year. People are decorating, it’s not 100* outside, it’s a great excuse to nest and eat and drink and just enjoy each others’ company.

Recipe (makes a ton of sufganiyot, or a reasonable amount of sufganiyot (24 average size ones) and enough for some monkey bread too):
1 cup water (at 110-115* to activate the yeast)
1-1/2 tbsp yeast
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. evaporated milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp salt
6 c. all-purpose flour
Fillings: your favorite jelly, bite-size chocolates, or just a sprinkling on top
Directions:
In the Kitchenaid, combine the yeast and warm water and wait for it to bubble/activate and the yeast to dissolve – usually about 7 or 8 minutes.
Add eggs to Kitchenaid, combine well.
Add buttermilk and evaporated milk to the Kitchenaid bowl and keep mixing.
Add sugar, melted butter, salt, and flour one cup at a time while it’s still mixing. At six cups of flour, you should be getting a dough that is coming together but not get making a ball. If you lift the dough hook up and it slowly comes down like in the pic to the left-most below, you’re there. Feel free to add more flour if needed.
Move the dough to a large bowl, cover with Saran and a towel so it’s nice and dark, and let rest until doubled, about 90 minutes or so.
Once the dough has risen, it’s ready to make sufganiyot. Heat about 1/2″ of oil to 375* in a large skillet. You can roll the dough out or do like I do and simply shape it by hand into flat little rectangles. Turn the pieces once they become a nice golden brown, then cook on the other side until golden brown all over.

Whatever quantity of dough is left from sufganiyot can be made into monkey bread. Just take whatever dough is left, ask for help from the cutest three-year-old you know:
…and together roll into round pieces, about the size of a ping pong ball. Roll each ball first into melted butter, then roll them around in a bowl with whatever proportion of white and brown sugar you like (you can add cinnamon too) and then place the little pieces in a bundt pan.
Cover the bowl with Saran and a tea towel and let rest for another 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375* and then bake for 45 minutes or so, until browned: