When I was little, we spent every New Year’s Eve at my grandmother’s house. The kitchen smelled like Cinnamon. There was a big silver pot of hot chocolate on the stove and beside it, stacks of buñuelos, perfectly round, bubbled, golden, and dusted in cinnamon sugar.

As I grew older and started traveling through Mexico, I realized that the buñuelos my family made were just one of many different styles that exist all over Mexico. You can find big, 16-inch buñuelos topped with a spiced, piloncillo syrup or lechera. Lacy ones made with iron molds and even small fried balls made with yucca and covered in a honey syrup. This week, I’m sharing a recipe for the version I grew up with, plus a spicy hot chocolate to go with it.