Time for another Thanksgivukkah recipe! Seriously, isn’t this the best time of the year?!? It’s a time for me to turn traditional recipes in to something new and unique. Growing up in Seattle, there was a tradition every year on Chanukah for many of the women in the community to volunteer and fry fresh bimuelos for the kids in my elementary school, Seattle Hebrew Academy. I like to consider bimuelos the ultimate doughnut but it’s basically just a fried ball of dough that is popular in places like Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Greece and it is a traditional snack for Sephardic Jews on Chanukah. The batter is simple to make using Fleischmann’s ActiveDry Yeast, fries in just 4-5 minutes and gets sprinkled with tons of powdered sugar. It’s a messy dessert and worth every darn calorie! Seriously, I ate two of these right out of the fryer and I’m eating gluten free. I just couldn’t help myself! To bring Thanksgiving flavors in to this traditional dessert, I added pureed pumpkin and the spices of Fall to the batter to create the ultimate fried goodness. I went one step further and made an easy caramel sauce using Karo light corn syrup to drizzle over the top. I mean, who could say no to one of these?!? Not me!
After 1 hour, the dough puffed up beautifully.
Important donut-frying note: Overcrowding the pan will lower the temperature of the oil and the bimuelos won’t cook properly.
I fried the dough for 2 minutes, until brown on one side. I flipped the dough using 2 forks and cooked for another 2 minutes to brown the other side. I removed the cooked bimuelos with the forks and placed them on the wire cooling rack.
Once all of the bimuelos were friend, I sprinkled them with sifted powdered sugar.
You can eat them just like that or you can add an easy and delicious caramel drizzle.
I drizzled the caramel over the bimuelos and devoured! You should eat these within 30 minutes of frying them since they are definitely best fresh. I don’t suggest reheating bimuelos.
These bimuelos with caramel drizzle are a show stopper!
Pumpkin Bimuelos with Caramel Drizzle
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bimuelos
- 1 package Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast ((Active Dry Yeast reacts at 100–110 °F)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 egg
- ¼ pumpkin puree
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
Caramel Drizzle
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Karo light corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons water
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions
Pumpkin Bimuelos
- Pour the yeast over the hot water and whisk to combine. Set the active yeast aside for 5 minutes to rise.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the egg, pumpkin puree, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add the risen yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the flour and stir to combine again. The dough should be very sticky. Cover the bowl and set the dough aside for 1 hour in a warm place to rise.
- When the dough has puffed up, pour the vegetable oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium-high heat to 350 °F. Place a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet and set it next to the pan.
- Dip your hands in oil or spray with cooking spray and pull around 2 tablespoons of dough from the bowl. Stretch the dough with your fingers then make a hole with your thumb and drop the dough in the hot oil. The dough will puff up immediately. Cook 2-3 bimuelos at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding the pan will lower the temperature of the oil and the bimuelos won’t cook properly.
- Cook the dough for 2 minutes, until brown on one side. Flip the dough using 2 forks and cook for another 2 minutes to brown on the other side. Remove the cooked bimuelos with the forks and place them on the wire cooling rack.
- Once all of the bimuelos are fried, sprinkle them with sifted powdered sugar. You can eat them just like that or you can add an easy and delicious caramel drizzle.
Caramel Drizzle
- Combine the brown sugar, Karo light corn syrup and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Place the pan over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, stop stirring and cook the mixture for 5 minutes, until the temperature reaches 250 °F. then remove the pan from the stove.
- Add the coconut milk and butter to the pan and mix with the wooden spoon. Place the pan back on the stove, bring the mixture back to a boil over high heat then leave the caramel to cook until 248 °F, which is the soft ball stage on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from the stove and set the caramel aside to cool slightly. Drizzle over the bimuelos and devour.
