As someone who grew up in a household that wasn’t Jewish or Christian, I was surprised to discover how lonely I felt and how much I longed to celebrate something at this time of year. Now that I am part of the Jewish fold, I can’t get enough of the holiday celebrations–especially the food. To symbolize the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days instead of one, Hanukkah foods are fried in oil. Fried foods can often taste really heavy, so I like to swap out all purpose flour with mochi flour (Japanese glutenous rice flour). I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, so I never really cared for doughnuts of any kind. However, when I lived in Japan, I discovered a doughnut I couldn’t stop eating: Mr. Donut Pon de Ring. Instead of the classic pon de ring shape, I’ve left them deconstructed as doughnut holes and served them alongside various jams for dipping. This recipe is my dairy-free, gluten-free, Jewish interpretation of this mochi doughnut recipe.

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