Chanukah Gelt Wontons Recipes

HANUKKAH GELT COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Cut dough evenly into 16 slices; place slices 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten each slice until it measures about 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle slices with sanding sugar; place 1 piece of gelt on center of each slice.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown (gelt may be slightly melted but should hold its shape). Cool 5 to 10 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

HOMEMADE HANUKKAH GELT

Steps:

• Brush a 24-cup mini muffin pan or two 12-cup mini muffin tins (preferably nonstick) with oil.
• Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each, until completely melted and smooth, about 90 seconds.
• Divide the melted chocolate evenly among the cups of the prepared muffin tin, about 1 3/4 teaspoons per muffin cup. (You can also use a pastry bag for this part.) Tap the muffin tin against the counter to remove any air bubbles and even out the chocolate.
• Top with gold sprinkles and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Use an offset spatula to remove the chocolate from the tin.

CHANUKAH GELT WONTONS

Steps:

• Lay out 12 of the wonton wrappers on a clean work surface.
• Unwrap the chocolate coins and place one in the center of each wonton wrapper.
• Lightly brush the edges of each wonton wrapper with water and place another wonton wrapper on top, pressing the edges to seal in the chocolate coin.
• Place butter and canola oil into a large frying pan and melt on medium heat.
• Fry each wonton for 2-3 minutes per side.
• Place the cinnamon sugar in a shallow bowl and dip both side of the wonton until coated.
• Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.

HANUKKAH SUFGANIYOT

Steps:

• For the sponge: In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and yeast, whisking until the yeast is dissolved and there are no lumps. Add the flour and using a spatula, combine until uniform. The mixture will be the consistency of pancake batter. Cover with plastic and let it sit at room temperature until bubbly, and the mixture has grown by about half its volume. This will take 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the dough: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs and yolks, and mix again at medium speed for 1 minute. The eggs and yolks will not fully emulsify with the butter mixture, and it will resemble very wet scrambled eggs. This is ok!
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom again with the spatula, then add all of the flour and mix until just combined, about 10 seconds on low speed. Remove the paddle, scraping off any of the butter, egg and flour mixture back into the bowl. Switch to the dough hook and add all of the sponge. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix, kneading the dough into a smooth ball. This will take 20 to 25 minutes. You can stop the mixer halfway through and scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
• Lightly spray the top of the dough with neutral cooking spray and cover with plastic. Let it proof at room temperature until doubled in size, usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Gently punch down the dough, transfer to a large bowl lightly sprayed with neutral cooking spray, cover with plastic and transfer to the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
• When you're ready to fry, set up 2 sheet trays. Cut 16 to 18 squares of parchment paper, about 3 inches square, and spray each with neutral cooking spray. Line them up on the sheet trays, without overlapping. Remove the dough from the fridge and gently turn it out onto a floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and gently roll it out into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. This dough rolls best cold. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, punch out circles of dough, cutting 16 to 18 rounds.
• Place the cut rounds on the squares of parchment, giving each its own square. Spray the rounds with a little neutral cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic. Allow them to proof at room temperature until doubled in size and light to the touch, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When the dough is proofed, heat the oil in a deep pot until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350 degrees F. While it heats up, set up a sheet tray with a resting rack right by the stove. Keep a slotted spoon handy.
• When the oil is hot, pick up the rounds of dough on their parchment paper squares and carefully drop about 5 rounds at a time into the hot oil. The parchment will separate itself from the dough as it starts to fry, and you can fish it out and discard as you go. This makes transferring them to the oil very easy. Allow them to fry, flipping them with the slotted spoon, for 3 minutes on each side. They should be deep golden brown. Use the spoon to transfer them to the resting rack when done. Repeat until all the dough is fried.
• For the fillings and toppings: Place the sugar in a mixing bowl. Once the sufganiyot are cool enough to handle, gently roll each in the sugar, coating well. It's fine if they're warm when you do this. Transfer to a clean tray to continue cooling.
• Fit a piping bag with a Bismark piping tip. Fill your piping bag with your filling of choice. Once the sufganiyot are cooled to room temperature, use the piping tip to poke a hole into the side or top (a style preference) of each, and squeeze in the filling, being careful to not overfill. Repeat until all the sufganiyot are filled. Best enjoyed the day they're made!