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A plate of Greek donuts topped with honey syrup and
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4.82 from 11 votes

Loukoumades (Greek Donuts with Honey Syrup)

Loukoumades (Greek donuts with honey) are a delightful dessert made with a simple dough and a delicious honey syrup. This recipe makes 60 small donuts, so it's great for sharing during special occasions and holidays. You can cut the dough ingredients in half if you want to make a smaller batch.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Dough Rising Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 60 small donuts
Author: Suzy Karadsheh

Ingredients

For the Loukoumades

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • oil for frying (I used grapeseed oil)
  • 1/3 cup crushed nuts, such as walnuts, cashews or pistachios) (I used a combination of walnuts and cashews)
  • ground cinnamon (to serve)
  • powdered sugar (to serve)

For the syrup

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 cup sugar

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix together the water, sugar, and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes until the yeast begins to bubble and the mixture gets foamy.
  • Add the flour, corn starch, milk, and olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon to combine, then knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  • Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside in warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
  • While the dough is rising, prepare the the honey syrup. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water with the sugar and honey. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
  • When the dough is ready, punch it down to deflate. Lightly oil your hands (this helps so that the dough does not stick). Using your hands, form the dough into small golf-size balls and arrange them on a large tray or sheetpan (this will make anywhere from 40 to 60 small donuts).
  • Fill a small saucepan about ½ up with grapeseed oil (or frying oil of your choice). Heat the oil over medium heat until bubbling (if you have a thermometer, the oil should measure at around 325 degrees F). Prepare a large tray lined with paper towel and set it nearby (you’ll use this to drain the donuts as they come out of the frying pan).
  • Take a lightly oiled spoon and carefully add the donut balls to the heated oil (do not crowd the saucepan). Fry the loukoumades for about 2 to 3 minutes, turning them around with a spoon, until they are golden brown on all sides.
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried loukoumades to the paper-towel lined tray and drain briefly, then dunk the loukoumades in the prepared syrup (they should still be hot while the syrup is cool). Toss them around and then transfer to a serving plate. Continue until all the loukoumades have been fried and dunked in the syrup.
  • Once you have all the loukoumades on your serving platter, drizzle with more syrup (or save the syrup to the side in a small bowl to add as needed). Sprinkle with ground sugar and cinnamon to serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 65.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.5g | Protein: 0.7g | Fat: 0.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 4.2mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 9.4g | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 2.2mg | Iron: 0.3mg

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