6 tablespoons room-temperature butter, cut into 1/4 tablespoon bits
4 cups oil for frying (peanut, canola)
To fill:
1 1/2 cups smooth strawberry or apricot jam, or pureed cranberry sauce for Thanksgivukkah!
Powdered sugar
Instructions
Combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one, and in a large bowl if you don’t. Whisk to combine and let sit 5 minutes until a little foamy.
Whisk in egg, milk, flavorings and 2 cups of the flour. Mix with the dough hook or a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
Add the butter bit by bit, mixing after each addition. The butter bits need not be completely incorporated at this time.
Gradually add in another cup (or more) of flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes by hand until a smooth ball can be formed. Place into a buttered bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise 1 hour.
Roll dough to a thickness of 3/4″ and cut out rounds 2-3″ diameter. Place rounds on a parchment-covered sheet and cover with a cloth. Let rise 40 minutes. (Dough rounds can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated at this point for up to 3 hours before continuing.)
Heat 4 inches of oil to 350ºF.
Fry rounds a few at a time for about 1 minute on each side until golden.
Drain and cool on paper towels or a rack for a few minutes before filling.
Fill a piping bag with a 1/4″ round tip with jam and poke into top of sufganiyot. Squeeze gently to fill with jam or cream, stopping as soon as the filling begins to poke out.