Easy Hanukkah Doughnuts & Best Ever Hot Chocolate

Easy Hanukkah Doughnuts & Best Ever Hot Chocolate

Fried food is typically eaten during Hanukkah because it celebrates oil and the miracle of the holiday.  The easiest doughnuts I know of are made using canned biscuit dough.  They are light and fluffy and oh so good.  This is my sort-of Mexican twist to make them taste a little like churros.  Eat these with the hot chocolate, and you will think you are in heaven.  

Doughnuts:

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (make sure you get some really great cinnamon - I personally LOVE Penzey's Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon)
• 1 container (8 large) store-bought biscuit dough
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Place sugar and cinnamon in a paper bag and shake to combine.

Place oil in a deep pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the pan. 

Heat oil to 350 degrees F.

Slice biscuit dough in quarters and roll into balls to form 24 donut holes. Working in batches, place donut holes in hot oil and fry until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the hot donuts to the paper bag and shake to coat with orange sugar. Serve immediately.

Best Ever Hot Chocolate:

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 ounce best-quality unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• Few grains of salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
Garnish
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Method:

In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, combine both chocolates, sugar, and salt. Cover; process at high speed just until chocolates are finely ground. Set aside near stovetop.

In a one-quart, heavy-bottomed, nonaluminum saucepan, heat milk over low heat, stirring often with small whisk, until it is steaming hot. Carefully add chopped chocolate mixture (don’t let the hot milk splash you as you do this!).

Continue cooking mixture over low heat, stirring almost constantly with whisk and scraping bottom and sides of pot with rubber spatula frequently. Mixture will steam for several minutes before coming to a boil, and as temperature increases it will thicken slightly. When mixture achieves a boil, continue cooking and stirring for 30 to 45 seconds.

Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla. Divide among small mugs, top with whipped cream, and serve immediately with the doughnuts.