Homemade Doughnuts

The oldest prince has be begging me to make doughnuts for quite some time, so on Sunday we didn't have anything to rush off to so I decided today was the day. They were amazing. Prince Charming said they can give Krispie Kreme a run for their money!!! They were amazing and I am not ashamed to say we ate 1.5 dozen doughnuts in a day. Ok well maybe a little. They were so warm and melted in your mouth. The oldest prince ate 5 in one sitting! Don't worry I made him eat carrots later. If you have never made doughnut you really should give these a try. They are not very difficult but they do take several hours from start to finish.



I found this fantastic recipe on allrecipes. The only change I made was the fact that I used my kitchen aid to mix and knead the dough. I am lazy! I just dumped the ingredients in and let it do the work for me! I also did not cook the glaze on the stove, I used my microwave. If you want to make chocolate glaze just add baking cocoa to the original glaze recipe.




RECIPE


Ingredients
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed



Directions:

Sprinkle the yeast over the 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 of the 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 indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Let them rise about an hour until it is doubled in volume.

The kids getting in on the action!

Gently roll the dough out to be about 1/2 thick and cut them. Don't have a doughnut cutter? No worries cookie cutters work great and are a lot more fun!



















After you have cut them all out cover them with a damp towel and let them rise again until doubled in size.

*****Warning if you are concerned about your health look away now!!!***** Fry them until golden brown which only takes about 30-45 seconds. I glazed mine with chocolate and vanilla glaze. Yummmy. I don't make them often, but they are such a special treat!