Rosquitas (Spanish donuts)

This is the recipe I wanted to make for years now. My grandmother’s Rosquitas Fritas (“Small fried circles” in Spanish) are one of the food memories that i cherish the most.

After every fast, for Purim or Channuka, my grandmother used to have us all over to her house (and we are one BIG family BH) and filled her table with delicious moroccan pastries. Most of which, I have no idea how she had the time/energy to make.

As a child, you only remember a few key elements of your childhood. One of those things would definitely be these moroccan/spanish mini donuts. They dont taste like the typical donut. But there was something so warming and homey when, as a kid, I used to dip Rosquitas in hot chocolate milk.

Of course, no one will ever come close to my grandmother’s Rosquitas, but these definitely brought back a lot of memories.

A big thank you to my aunt Debbie for guiding me through this.

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup oil

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup orange blossom water

• Pinch of Salt

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 lemon, zested

• 3 3/4 cups flour

Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1 lemon, juiced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs. Using the flat beater, turn on the mixer on the lowest speed.

2. Add sugar. Then add oil, water, orange blossom, salt, vanilla.

3. Turn off mixer. Add zest and baking powder. Mix until everything is incorporated.

4. Add flour, 1 cup at a time while mixer is on. Mix for 2 minutes. Your dough should be sticky but firm.

5. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead using a few sprinkles of flour to help create a slightly sticky dough that is relatively easy to work with. (Refer to highlights for texture)

6. Divide dough in 4. Form logs then divide again in about 8-9 pieces. Roll out each piece to form circles and set aside.

7. Heat a pot of about 2.5-3 inches of oil to 350F. Fry each donut for about 2-3 minutes on one side and another 1-2 min on the other. Cool on a cooling rack. They should be slightly golden.

8. Place all syrup ingredients in saucepan. Bring to a simmer and let it boil for 20-25 minutes. While still on the flame, soak each donut in syrup for about 2-3 minutes to make sure they get soaked correctly. Transfer straight to toss in flaked coconut, powdered sugar or regular sugar.

Enjoy,

Guila