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Hanukkah, which stretches from December 18 to December 26 this year, is also known as the festival of lights. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, during which, according to tradition, a tiny ration of oil miraculously lit the temple’s menorah for eight nights. As such, many Hanukkah holiday dishes are fried in oil — latkes are often the star of the dinner table, but the quintessential Hanukkah dessert is the sufganiyah (or sufganiyot, plural), a strawberry or raspberry-filled jelly doughnut dusted with powdered sugar. Here are a few places to grab some of these plump sweet treats to celebrate the festival of light in the Twin Cities.
Valley Pastries’ sufganiyot are dusted with powdered sugar and stuffed with strawberry, apple, or lemon filling. The bakery also sells DIY Hanukkah cookie decorating kits, which will be available online December 7.
This Minnetonka Jewish deli and bakery has a variety of jelly filled sufganiyot on offer for Hanukkah. While you’re there, grab some matzo ball soup to go — or order one of the latke packages, which come with cran apple sauce and sour cream.
Filled with house-made strawberry-raspberry jam and coated in a thick layer of powdered sugar, Bogart’s Kosher brioche sufganiyot reliably sell out every Hanukkah, so order ahead if you can. They’ll be available in-store December 18 through December 26 only.
If you’re hoping for a little holiday reprieve this year, The Block in St. Louis Park is offering entire Hanukkah meals. Each three-course meal serves two and includes matzo ball soup, latkes with sour cream and applesauce, smoked brisket, brown butter carrots, a salad, and of course, sufganiyot. Gelt and a dreidel come with the meal, too.
Known for impeccably styled, over-the-top doughnuts, Glam Doll keeps it simple for Hanukkah with strawberry-filled sufganiyot tossed in sugar. They’ll be available through the entire month of December.
One of YoYo’s year-round favorites is the raspberry bomb, which is filled with jam and topped with a thick glaze. For Hanukkah, though, the bakery offers these same doughnuts sprinkled with powdered sugar, in traditional sufganiyah style.
