Hot from the sizzling oil, dripping with warm, lemon scented, honey syrup the bumuelo is a Sephardic tradition.  That first bite of sweet crispy goodness is worth the calorie conscious guilt I will feel after eating this traditional goodie.

Bumuelos also known as birmuelos, as burmuelos, depending on where Sephardic families are from, are the Jewish version of a doughnut or beignet.  Since bumuelos originated in Spain, they traveled with Ladino (Judeo Spanish) speaking Jews in the 15th century to the Ottoman Empire as part of their traditional cuisine.  Bumuelos have their counterparts in many other countries.  This honey puff is known in Greece as loukoumades, and in Syria, as zalabieh.

Where I grew up in Seattle, Washington, we called them bumuelos and my Turkish decent mother made great ones.