recipe
Loukoumades (Greek Honey Donuts)
By: Eleni Saltas
Mary Saltas Mannos was just 76 years old when I was born. She’s my Papou Pete Saltas’ older sister, making her my great aunt. My papou had seven siblings and Aunt Mary was the first Saltas born in the United States, in 1915. Whenever I visited Aunt Mary, she would welcome me on her front porch with her arms extended and a beaming smile, shouting a high pitched “ELENI!!” pulling me in for a pinch of the cheeks and a bear hug amazingly strong for someone of her small stature. I clung to her because she reminded me so much of my Papou Saltas, who passed away in 2005. Both were strong, stubborn Saltas.’ And, oh, could Aunt Mary cook!
Mary turned 103 on February 24, 2018. Until her 100th birthday she remained as healthy as she was 80 years ago, and lived pretty much independently in her home with her son, Father Makarios, a Greek Orthodox monk (who now serves at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai, Egypt—but that’s another story). At her house on her 100th birthday, she was the one serving people coffee and treats for her centenarian celebration. She was the one making sure everyone else had a seat. It’s no wonder I have always wanted to be so much like her. And emulation has its blessings.
About nine years ago, when Aunt Mary was only 95, I asked her to teach me how to make LOUKOUMADES. These amazing, challenging, devastatingly delicious donuts launched me into this past decade of food discovery. And blogging. And cooking every chance I get. And meeting all of you.
Loukoumades (loo-koo-MAH-thes) are the stickiest of all the Greek desserts. Soaked in honey, they’re golden and crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and can be topped with cinnamon, chopped walnuts, sesame seeds, or drizzled with even more honey or melted chocolate. Eating loukoumades demands sticky hands. Making them can be tricky—they require time and a really good teacher.
Aunt Mary was special. Every New Year’s Eve, she invited the family to her house for loukoumades. All of my dad’s cousins talk about their huge Saltas family gatherings at her home, centered on making and eating loukoumades. In the Saltas home village of Megara, they are also called katsoubles. Her holiday treats became a wonderful tradition, bringing in the new year smelling like fried dough, surrounded by family.
You may notice at Greek festivals and functions that a large machine pumps out mass amounts of dough balls into an even larger pot of oil. I was taught to make loukoumades the Aunt Mary method, by the use of my two hands. On the day of our cooking lesson, Aunt Mary showed me to place my hand into the batter, grab ahold of some of the sticky mixture in my palm and squeeze tightly. Out came a ball of dough between my thumb and index finger. Then, holding a teaspoon in my clean hand, I scooped the dough into the spoon and immediately dropped it into the hot oil. I’ve seen other cooks round the dough with two spoons or with an ice cream scooper, but I prefer this method. If I told you it’s easy, I’d be lying. But this method becomes easy once you get the hang of it. My Aunt Mary put me to shame—she could pump out dough balls five times faster than I. Emulation, that’s where it’s at. I know I’ll get there. I just need to throw more loukoumades parties. And throw them, I will.
Now I also serve loukoumades to my family and guests on New Year’s Eve. Having helpful hands to turn the frying dough balls while scooping the dough makes the process so much easier. Loukoumades are best made by two. Find yourself a cooking partner and join a fine Greek tradition.
Prep Time:
10min
Total Time:
2hrs
Servings:
~60 dough balls
Good For:
Dessert
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 package active yeast (or 1 1⁄2 for faster rising) 1 1⁄2 cup warm water
- 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Vegetable or canola oil for frying
For the honey mixture/topping - 2 cups of honey
- 1⁄2 cup of water (if you are using thick honey)
- Ground cinnamon for garnish
- Sesame seeds or chopped walnuts (optional)
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Dissolve yeast and salt in lukewarm water. Make sure the yeast becomes bubbly or creates foam. Place flour and sugar in large mixing bowl and pour in the yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of warm water and mix ingredients with wire whisk until smooth. Dough should be loose and sticky, not stiff or firm. If dough is too stiff, add a bit more water.
Step 2
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel and place the bowl in a warm place. Allow to rise and double in size (1-2 hours). Look for bubbles on the rising dough, this indicates that the dough is ready.
Step 3
Prepare: You need 1 large slotted metal serving spoon for removing cooked donuts from oil, a small drinking glass filled with vegetable oil, a tablespoon or small spoon, and a large flat dish covered with paper towels to absorb oil from fried dough. Fill medium-sized pot a quarter of the way with vegetable oil and heat to 360° F. Keep a thermometer in the pan and continually adjust the heat as you go, keeping it between 355-365° F.
Step 4
When the oil reaches proper temperature, reach into dough mixture, bring out a fistful of dough and squeeze. The dough will come through thumb and index finger. Dip the spoon in the glass containing the vegetable oil, scoop the dough from your hand, and drop into the hot oil. Do this until there are 8-10 balls frying in the hot oil. Be sure you don’t overcrowd them.
Step 5
Use a slotted spoon to turn and cook evenly. When balls are golden brown, remove them from hot oil with slotted spoon and place on dish with paper towels. Repeat this process until all dough is used up.
Step 6
To make the honey syrup, heat honey and water in a small saucepan. Heat and stir at low temperature until just warm. If your honey squeezes or pours easily, you needn’t do this step.
Step 7
To serve, put the dough balls on a platter, drizzle with honey or honey syrup and dust with cinnamon. You can also sprinkle with sesame seeds or walnuts if desired.
Wonderful!
Thank you Helen!
They were Lip-smacking good! Thanks for sharing.
Of course! I’m so glad you and your mom liked them. Thank you! xo
Eleni could you please tell me why my lookoumades soften after I fry them & they don’t keep their crispness,
Thank you
Hi Anastasia,
Are you controlling your oil temperature? Keeping It that high heat will be helpful, because if the heat is too low you’ll get a more soggy dough. Another option I’ve seen done that I want to experiment with myself is to do a second fry. So, you fry originally in the oil, let sit out on a towel for 5-10 minutes and then fry back in oil again.
Hope that helps 🙂
My heart is full of love for this article about our Aunt Mary. Thank you for sharing 😉
So happy I could share Aunt Mary’s story!
This brings back so many memories for our family to. Our Yia Yia Mannos always treated the family to these wonderful Loukoumades. Thank you for sharing a wonderful family tradition with Aunt Mary.
Of course, I’m so happy I could share her story through one of her best recipes. She is an amazing person 💕
Brings back so many wonderful family memories of Aunt Mary and Vig standing at the stove spooning the Loukoumades into the oil, they could do it by hand as fast as the fancy new machine they have now. Thank you for sharing your love of family.
Ah I so wish I could’ve seen Aunt Mary and Vig cook loukoumades together! I’m happy I could share her wonderful story with all her family and others ❤️
Hi. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Can you advise on the amount of flour?? It says 3-4 cups. Should I start with 3 and add more if needed?❤️
I’ve also seen them done by hand. Seems hard. God bless
Hi Barbara! Yes I would start with 3, and add more as needed. It really always varies. But, I typically always double this recipe to make a larger batch! Doing them by hand really isn’t too difficult what’s you get the hang of It, and it’s more fun 😀 let me know how It goes. Enjoy! Xo
We used to eat these when I worked on a Greek ship at coffee time in morning on sundays. They were amazing.
Ah what a great memory of a wonderful dessert!
Your recipe says to mix the salt with the yeast and put the sugar in with the flour. Does the salt kill the yeast? I usually make dough the other way around, adding the sugar to the yeast and mixing the salt in with the flour. I just want to make sure I’m doing this right before I start. Thanks so much for this wonderful story and recipe!
Hi there! I thought so too when I first saw the recipe from my aunt, but It has never been a problem on my end, I don’t think there is enough salt to kill the yeast. You could dissolve a bit of sugar with the yeast, like the package instructions will say and then add the salt to the flour. It’ll still be great 🙂 I hope you like the recipe!
Hello! What does a package of active yeast mean? Is it fresh or dry yeast? If any of these, how many grams? Thank you for the recipe I can t wait to try it!
Hi Maria, I will clarify that on my recipe that’s a great question!
1 package of yeast is about 2 teaspoons, or 7 grams. And I use dry active yeast!
Thank you and have a good day 🙂
You gong to hat my question, bu, can you ye almond flour? Will it rise? Be fluffy crunchy?
I love all questions! And I apologize for this delayed response.
You can absolutely use almond flour, I would just watch It closely, because I believe almond flour will burn quicker as compared to all-purpose flour. So you may need to toy with the oil temperature a bit.
I hope that helps!
Hi, is there any way to store the dough for another time? Also, once it’s cooked, how long do the Loukmades remain crispy?
Hi there! I have never stored the dough for another time, only cooking them the same day. These are best warm, but to keep them crispy I have put them in a warmer oven and that seems to work well! I hope that helps 🙂
Confused about the amount of water.Dissolve yeast in water.How much? Then add 1 cup water. So dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup then add 1?
Sorry if that was confusing and sorry for the late reply! So in the bowl or a separate bowl, you’ll dissolve the yeast in warm water, and then once you add flour, you’ll add water little by little until a loose and sticky dough forms!