Bunuelos is one of my all time favorite food memories from my childhood and I’m so excited to teach you how to make them. My Abuela, my maternal grandmother, always made us bunuelos, or binuelos as we pronounced them every year around Chanukah. My brothers, cousins and I would wait all year to taste the sweet, hot, fried dough doused in sugar.
When my parents moved to Israel, my mom took over the tradition of making binuelos and these days me and my daughters make them too.
What are bunuelos?
Bunuelos, also known as Sfinge, are traditional Moroccan doughnuts covered in sugar, Different customs use different sugars, my family always used granulated sugar, some families use confectioners sugar and some also make a sugar syrup glaze for dipping.
What does binuelos mean in English?
Bunuelos is the Spanish word for donuts.
When are these traditional doughnuts eaten?
Traditionally, in Jewish homes, bunuelos are eaten during Chanukah when we have a tradition to eat fried foods to commemorate the miracle of the olive oil that lasted 8 days.
What ingredients do you need to make Bunuelos?
You need basic pantry ingredients to create this delicious sweet dough.
- Water
- Yeast, I use instant
- Sugar
- Flour, I use all purpose
- Neutral oil such as canola for the donuts and extra for frying
- Salt, I like to use sea salt
How are bunuelos made?
It’s not hard to make these, but it can be messy and requires a bit of advanced planning. Just follow these simple steps and you’re going to have the best Chanukah donuts ever!
- First step is to dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
- Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
- The dough is going to be very sticky! That’s how it should be, don’t add flour.
- Next, cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and a towel and let the dough rise for about 2 hours.
- Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan, or a large pot.
- Oil your hands and form donut shapes.
- Fry the donuts until golden brown and dip in granulated sugar while still hot.
- Eat them fresh and warm!
Can you freeze bunuelos?
You can freeze bunuelos, but I don’t recommend it! These donuts taste best when they’re fresh out of the fryer, and you can be sure there won’t be any leftovers to freeze 🙂
You may also like these recipes:
These Cinnamon Donut Muffins from the blog are a great donut hack!
These Honey Donuts from my friend Alexandria’s blog the Foreign Fork.
I love when you try my recipes! Please rate this recipe and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Happy Baking!
How to make Bunuelos
Equipment
- Candy thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ cup canola oil
- neutral oil (such as canola) for frying
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl mix warm water and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add flour, salt, sugar and oil and mix with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. The dough will be very sticky, don't add flour.
- Cover and let rise for about 2 hours.
- Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan or pot. If using a candy thermometer, heat oil to 360°F.
- Cover hands in oil and seperate a small ball of dough, using your oiled fingers make a hole in the ball to form a donut shape.
- Drop donut into hot oil and fry on each side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oil to a paper towel, and dip hot donuts into granulated sugar.
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