Total time: Anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 hours
Yield: About 3 dozen donuts + holes
These donuts don't quite mimic the brand their name plays on, but they were very, very yummy! We'll make them again for sure . . . sometime. Donuts aren't an all-the-time thing, you know.
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 F)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
Glaze
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbs. (or as needed) hot water
Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it and the indentation remains.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured donut cutter. Let donuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in hot water one Tbs. at a time until the glaze is somewhat thin but not watery. Set aside.
Heat oil in a deep fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 F (175 C). Slide donuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn donuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry donuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil to drain on wire rack. Dip donuts into the glaze while still hot and set onto wire racks to drain off excess.
Other Topping/Filling Ideas:
- Powdered sugar
- Cinnamon/sugar mix
- Alton Brown's chocolate glaze (we wanted to try this but forgot to make it)
- Melted chocolate (that's what lazy me did)
- Maple glaze (didn't have time, but I'm thinking of trying the recipe HERE next time--there's also an orange glaze)
- Sprinkles
- Vanilla pudding (I left a few donuts intact so I can fill them)
- Jam or fruit purees (but you could have pudding!)
- Anything else you can think of!
Notes:
- We used canola oil instead of vegetable oil. Just make sure what you use is safe for deep-frying and doesn't have a low flash point; you don't want to have an oil fire.
- My dough always stuck to the side of the bowl, but it was really easy to scrape out. I admit I lost count of how much flour I put in (oops!). I got to what I thought was 5 cups, but the dough was still really sticky looking. After trying to count back on how much flour I had added, I decided to go ahead and add another cup. So I'm not sure if I added 5 or 6 cups.
- I love my mixer. I used the paddle to mix things in and then switched to the dough hook for the kneading. Yeah right I'm going to knead by hand for 5 minutes! Ha!
- The indentation in my dough remained even before it doubled in size, so . . . I let it keep rising.
- Donut cutter? Really? I used a 3" biscuit cutter and then used the mouth of a small glass bottle to cut out the centers. I think the mouth of a plastic water or soda bottle would work, too.
- One reviewer said that she let her donuts rise on wax paper sprayed with Pam, so I did, too. Matt thought it made it harder to pick them up--do what you want.
- We were so involved in the donuts that I forgot about the glaze until the last minute, so I cheated. I melted the butter in the microwave and slowly added the powdered sugar. I'm sure it would be easier to do it on the stove, but it worked in a pinch.
- We don't have a thermometer that measures up to 350 F, so I looked up some ways to test the oil without one. Check HERE and HERE for some methods you can use.
- If you're using a deep fryer, you'll want to check your directions before using it (duh). Ours says donuts take 2-4 minutes, but I'm not sure they even took that long. Just make sure you test the insides every now and then to make sure they're cooked through.
- Donut holes are harder to fry since they don't want to flip over once the first side is cooked. We wasted 8 or 9 before we figured that out. Matt decided to fry them one at a time and just hold them under the oil with the spider--presto! He's a genius.
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