Pumpkin Donuts for Thanksgivukkah

A happy coincidence in the Gregorian and Hebrew calendars brings us Thanksgivukkah this year – a simultaneous Hanukkah and Thanksgiving food fest – and a phenomenon not likely to be repeated on November 28th for possibly a century.

This basically means two things:

1) Not a lot for those of you who don’t celebrate Hanukkah! Or

2) You need to rally up the troops to cook (and eat) everyone’s favorite holiday foods all at once!

I don’t know about you but I’m excited about having butternut squash soup, latkes, pecan pie and donuts at the same meal.

Among my planned Thanksgivukkah mashup items are pumpkin donuts and sweet potato latkes with apple sauce, and both are featured below. If you prefer cider donuts with jam, here’s that recipe as well as one for apple latkes.

The donuts:

• yeast, 2 packets
• plain flour, 2 1/2 cups (more for dusting work surface)
• cinnamon, 1 tbsp
• pumpkin puree, 3/4 cup (mix with 1/4 cup lukewarm milk to loosen)
• sugar, 4 tbsp
• egg yolks, large, 2
• melted butter, 3 tbsp
• vegetable oil, as needed, for frying
• strawberry jam, for filling
• icing piping thingy, or meat baster, for stuffing the jam
• large mouth and appetite, for eating

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast and 2 tbsp sugar over just-warm water (1/4 cup),  leave for 5 minutes till frothy
2. In a large bowl, sieve flour with cinnamon
3. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yolks, 2 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt and the yeast mixture
4. Knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes, or in a food processor fitted with a dough hook
5. Shape into a ball in an oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in a warm spot
6. Pour veg oil into a deep pan and heat up to about 375F. (Or drop a teeny bit of dough into it and wait for the oil to be at sizzling temperature)
7. Dust work surface with flour and pat the dough down onto it, rolling it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/3 inch
8. Cut out shapes with a donut or cookie cutter
9. Fry, very carefully, in the oil, lowering the donuts into it on a slotted spoon to prevent splattering
10. They brown quickly, so watch till they turn golden on one side, and flip to the other (they will plump up)
11. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up the grease
12. Sprinkle or roll them in sugar
13. If you like, pipe jam into them, or inject jam with unused meat baster
14. Serve warm
15. They also freeze well. Before eating, defrost donuts a few hours and warm them in a moderate oven (330F) for about 10 minutes

For the sweet potato latkes:

• sweet potato, 1 large one, grated
• potatoes, 1 large, grated
• shallot, 1, large, chopped finely
• rosemary, 1 generous tsp, chopped finely
• egg, 1
• flour, 1 tbsp
• cornmeal, 1 tbsp

1. Saute the shallot till fragrant and caramelized
2. Mix all the ingredients together and season generously
3. Fry as per the latkes above and serve with applesauce