Cooking with Collette: Hanukkah Recipes

Chef Collette is back in the holiday kitchen, this time preparing a selection of festive favorites to celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of lights. On the menu are baked jelly-filled donuts and oven-baked sweet potato latkes with a honey tahini dipping sauce.

This special Hanukkah edition of Cooking with Collette is presented by Nourish Coffee Bar + Kitchen in Winter Park, FL. The new Winter Menu features locally-sourced produce, sustainable South American coffee and greens picked right from their gardens outside the Center for Health & Wellbeing. To take a look at the menu or to order online visit nourishchwb.com.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Latkes – Makes 12

Ingredients:
Avocado Oil

Latkes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & shredded
1 medium onion, shredded & strained
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Honey Tahini Dipping Sauce
¼ cup honey
¼ cup tahini
1 lemon zested
1 tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees. 

2. In a large mixing bowl mix together the shredded sweet potatoes, shredded onions, flour, salt, pepper, and eggs. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are combined.

3. Place a baking sheet in the oven with ¼ cup avocado oil and allow to preheat.

4. Once the oil and the pan are preheated, take the pan out of the oven and form the latkes on the pan.

5. After all the latkes are formed on the pan place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, take the latkes out, flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes or until cooked through. 

Baked Jelly Filled Donuts

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*plus 2-3 tablespoons for kneading and rolling dough
1/4 cup fine granulated sugar
*plus 1/3 cup for coating
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2/3 cup milk, warmed to 120°F
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup 100% fruit raspberry jam, pureed smooth
1 1/2 tbsp salted butter, melted
2 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and yeast. Stir in 2/3 cup warm milk until incorporated, then add oil, egg yolks & vanilla extract. Using a mixer, beat on high for 2 minutes. Scrape dough from mixing bowl onto a floured surface. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour and knead about 50 times.

The dough should begin to hold together and become soft. If it starts to feel sticky again, add just a bit more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Dip a 2 inch round cookie cutter in flour and cut the dough, dipping the cutter in flour each time to prevent sticking. Transfer dough rounds to prepared baking sheet. Re-roll dough scraps and the repeat until all of the dough has been used. Cover baking sheet with a towel and let donuts rise in a warm place.

(At room temperature, the rising process can take up to 2 hours.) Donuts will be ready to bake when they have nearly doubled in size and look like puffy, uncooked biscuits.

3. About 20 minutes before donuts are done rising, preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or just until tops are a very light golden brown.

4. While they bake, place the remaining 1/3 cup fine granulated sugar in a bowl with a relatively flat bottom and fill pastry bag with jam. Lay out another long sheet of parchment or wax paper for easy cleanup and melt the butter.

5. When done baking, immediately transfer donuts from the pan to parchment paper. Working one at a time, brush the top and sides of the donuts with melted butter and gently roll in the bowl of sugar, tapping off excess sugar. If sugar begins to clump on the donuts, place the butter back in the microwave for 10 seconds and continue.

6. If desired, finish donuts with a light dusting of powdered sugar before filling. Fill the centers with jam using a pastry bag and a long, slender tip.