((Courtesy of http://www.chabad.org/))

Oil played a significant role in the Chanukah story?the small jug of oil that miraculously provided fuel for the Temple Menorah for eight days. It is a Jewish tradition to eat foods that reflect the significance of a holiday ? such as matzah on Passover, and apple dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah ? and Chanukah is no exception. For at least the last thousand years, Jews have traditionally eaten oily foods on Chanukah.

Among the most popular Chanukah dishes are potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiot (deep-fried doughnuts).

Actually, oil is also symbolic of the spiritual war waged by the Maccabees.

It is also customary to eat dairy foods on Chanukah, in commemoration of the bravery of Yehudit, brave woman whose daring courage led to a great Maccabee victory.

Apple Brandy Latkes

? 2 cups all-purpose flour
? 3 teaspoons baking powder
? 1 teaspoon salt
? 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
? 1 tablespoon sugar
? 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
? 1/4 cup golden raisins
? 1/2 cup cider or apple juice
? 1/3 cup milk
? 3 tablespoons brandy
? 2 eggs
? 1 red apple, unpeeled, cored and sliced in wafer-thin wedges
? Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle
? Oil for frying

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, vegetable shortening, sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Make a well in the center and add cider or apple juice, milk, brandy and eggs. Stir to mix.

Heat about 1/8-inch oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a drop of mixture sizzles. Slide 2 tablespoons of mixture for each latke into hot oil. Place 2 to 3 apple wedges on top. Flatten slightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Fry over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes longer until the second side is nicely browned. Serve hot, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Makes 10 to 12.

Ada Shoshan?s Apple Latkes

- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 ? cups orange juice, yogurt or milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Dash of salt
- ? - ? cup sugar depending on taste
- 3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Confectioner's sugar

Makes approximately 36 latkes.

Mix eggs with orange juice, yogurt, or milk in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture along with the grated apples. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet. Allowing 1 large tablespoon of batter per latke or pancake, drop into the hot oil. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until slightly golden.

Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

Spiced Cake Donuts

Yield: 16 to 20 three-inch doughnuts

Special Equipment

? 3 or 4-inch doughnut cutter
? Deep-fry thermometer

Ingredients

? 3 cups sifted unbleached, all-purpose flour (sift before measuring), plus more, as needed, for dusting
? 1 cup (un-sifted) cake flour
? 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
? 1 teaspoon baking soda
? 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
? 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
? 1 1/2 teaspoons fine table salt
? 1 cup mini chocolate chips or dried (but supple) currants (optional)
? 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
? 3/4 cup sugar
? 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
? 1 cup sour cream (close to room temperature)
? 1/4 cup milk
? 4 generous tablespoons shortening, melted

1) To assemble the doughnut dough: Whisk the sifted flour with the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sift this into another bowl. (If planning to add either of the optional embellishments, whisk them in now.) In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a wooden spoon). Beat the sugar with the eggs, until light-colored and increased in volume (mixture will be loose). Blend in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream, shortening and milk together, until well blended. Add the sour cream mixture to the egg mixture, alternating with the dry ingredients and, when blended, chill the dough for 2 hours.

2) To set up to make doughnuts: When getting ready to shape doughnuts, place a large wide pot on the stove and fill it half way with fresh vegetable oil. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot, making sure that the mercury tip is suspended half way down the depth of oil (so it does not touch the bottom of the pan). Heat the oil to between 365oF and 375oF, and maintain this temperature while you cut your doughnuts.

3) To shape and fry doughnuts: Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, like you were working with biscuit dough, knead the mixture gently and superficially, just to smooth out the exterior. Pat, then roll the dough out, 1/2-inch thick and cut out doughnuts and holes, using a floured doughnut cutter. Fry the doughnuts until golden, turning them once, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side, keeping an eye on your thermometer and regulating the heat so the oil doesn't either get too hot or cool down too much. Remove the doughnuts with a slotted implement, and let them drain on paper towels. .Drain them well on doubled paper towels. Line several wire cooling racks with doubled paper towels.

Chocolate Variation:
For deep-dark chocolate doughnuts (with or without chocolate chips):
Reduce the sifted all-purpose flour to 2 3/4 cups and the cake flour to 1/2 cup. Add 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed) and an additional 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to the dry ingredients, before sifting. Omit the spices but keep the baking powder, soda, salt eggs and granulated sugar the same but increase the vanilla to 2 teaspoons. After sifting the dry ingredients, if desired, whisk in 1 cup mini chocolate chips. Follow the remaining instructions for making spiced cake doughnuts, using this mixture. (Don't be alarmed when you feel the increased stiffness in this particular dough after being chilled for 2 hours. This is intentional for easier rolling.) Yield: 18 doughnuts when using the chocolate chips or about 15 when not.

Dark chocolate glaze or frosting

Yield: enough to glaze or frost about 24 doughnuts).

Combine 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate and 5 ounces of chopped unsweetened chocolate in a bowl and pour over it, 1 1/3 cups of boiling hot evaporated milk or heavy cream. Let the chocolate sit, for just a few minutes, until it's melted, then stir the mixture until it's smooth. Transfer this to the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the steel blade and add a pinch of salt with 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of softened and cubed unsalted butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Process the mixture until it's completely smooth. Use almost immediately, as a glaze, or let it cool to a spreading consistency then whip it and use it, as a frosting. (This glaze will remain fluid for the longest time if you use heavy cream but will thicken quicker to be turned into a frosting when using evaporated milk.)

Chocolate peanut butter glaze

Use this to coat the tops of 24 doughnuts. (If feeding a group, make sure there are no allergies to peanuts.)

Bring 1 cup heavy cream to a simmer with 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, stirring until homogenous but not over heated. Stir this into 24 ounces of chopped and melted semi-sweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Strain and use as a glaze while still fluid. Sprinkle the glaze with crushed salted cocktail peanuts. Store any leftover glaze in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and, once very chilled, make truffles! Just scoop it into large acorn size pieces and, after rolling them into balls, roll them in the powdered sugar toppings, as listed (either the one flavored with cinnamon or cocoa). Store the truffles in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Glaze

Yield: enough glaze to accommodate 24 doughnuts.

Whisk together, 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoon light corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. If too dry, add more a few more drops of milk and corn syrup or, if too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar. When right, the mixture should be bright white, quite thick and very smooth and shiny. If it starts to set, re-warm briefly, in the microwave, uncovered. (For a colored glaze, Stir in 2 to 3 droplets of a pastel food coloring, like pink, yellow, mint green, light blue or violet. Stir the coloring in, drop by drop, until the desired color is achieved.) This is a glaze only, and is not meant to be whipped into a frosting.

Optional additions to chocolate or vanilla glaze: Add up to 1 scant teaspoon of a complimentary extract or flavor. If so, reduce the vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon.

Some flavor combinations:

Dark chocolate glaze: 1 scant teaspoon peppermint, hazelnut raspberry flavor extract

Additions to vanilla glaze, only:
A few drops of a pastel food coloring blended in with wooden craft sticks.

Optional additions to vanilla glaze:
Pale yellow glaze: banana extract (flavor). Pale pink glaze: strawberry, raspberry extract or peppermint (flavor). Mint green: spearmint extract (flavor)

Decorating Ideas for completely cooled doughnuts:

Dip tops of doughnuts in either the chocolate or vanilla glaze (left white or doubled and divided and each portion colored a different pale pastel). For a two-toned doughnut top, use a small offset metal spatula, placed over a bowl, to spread two different glazes, on half of the tops of each doughnut. For the most consistent color, apply the glaze to doughnuts twice, with 10 minutes in between each application.

To further decorate glazed doughnuts:
Sprinkle glazed doughnuts with any of the following, soon after applying the glaze, before it sets:

Assorted jimmies (sprinkles), toasted coconut, plain shredded and sweetened coconut, a combination of both: plain and toasted coconut, ground chocolate wafer cookies, baby M & M's, crushed candy canes (or crush round hard peppermint candies, crushed salted cocktail peanuts.

Or, after applying one glaze (twice), drizzle the tops with a glaze of a different color, letting it fall off the tines of a fork in an irregular pattern.

Simple "sugar-coating" ideas:

For freshly fried and barely warm and well drained doughnuts or those re-warmed in a preheated 350oF oven for 10 minutes and left to cool until barely warm.

1. Sifted powdered sugar and cinnamon: whisk 2 cups sifted powdered sugar with 1/4 cup ground cinnamon (or to taste). Place in a plastic bag.

2. Sifted powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa: whisk 2 cups sifted powdered sugar with 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (or to taste). Place in a plastic bag.

3. Decorating sugar (in an assortment of vibrant colors): Grind three bottles, one at a time, in a spice grinder and place in a plastic bag.

4. Cinnamon Sugar: whisk 2 cups sugar with 1/4 cup ground cinnamon (or to taste). Place in a plastic bag.