Doughnuts

If you think homemade doughnuts are difficult, you are wrong. I thought the same thing till I tried them on my own. Read through this post and nothing is stopping you from serving delicious doughnuts for brunch this weekend. They just take a little planning... like any bread. Start them the night before or early the morning you plan to enjoy them. I like my doughnuts simple but I know a lot of people enjoy them glazed and sprinkled and frosted to the gills. Doll them up however you wish, stack them on a platter placed in the center of your dining table and spend some time eating with the people you love.

Homemade Donuts

2 1/4 t active dry yeast
2 T warm water
3 1/4 C flour (plus a little extra)
1 C room temp. milk
1/2 stick butter, softened
3 egg yolks
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 nutmeg

6-8 C oil for frying

Combine yeast and warm water in a bowl, stir to combine and allow yeast to foam 5 minutes. Combine flour, milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in your mixer and add yeast mixture. Mix for 5 minutes. Scrape the dough down and sprinkle lightly with flour (this prevents a crust from forming on your dough). Cover with a warm, damp towel and allow to rise for 2 hours or place in the refrigerator overnight.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface until it is about 12" in diameter. Cut out one dozen donuts with a doughnut cutter and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and allow to rise 45 minutes. Fill a deep pot 1/2 way with oil and heat to 350. Place 2-3 doughnuts at a time in the pan and fry 2 minutes on each side (until lightly browned) and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. From this point, I like to place them in a paper sack with sugar and shake them till they are covered in a nice sugar coating to make sugar doughnuts but my family also enjoys the following 2 glazes:

Espresso Glaze

1/4 C water
1/2 C maple syrup
3 T sugar
3T espresso powder
3 T powdered sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil until completely dissolved and spoon over warm doughnuts. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Lemon Glaze

1/4 C water
2 T butter
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C powdered sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil until completely dissolved and spoon over warm doughnuts. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve.

*Make sure to fry up the doughnut holes too! Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar... such a childhood memory!