IT'S TIME TO MAKE THE DOUGHNUTS !



Happy FAll! it is officially fall, that means an array of colors, cool crisp weather,(even here in the South, soon I hope) and Delicious smells coming from the kitchen. To kick off this amazing season we made some fall yeast doughnuts. I don't know why people are afraid to make homemade doe, I can assure you that it is very simple. The recipe we use every year is from a very old cook book and it's the best recipe I have found. It's actually 73 years old ,the book once belonged to my grandma bless her sole.



                                                                                                                                                                                                     There is one super important trick to making a good yeast doe and that's the kneading, once your doe ingredients mixed well you will begin to do the kneading process which means you will plop the doe on a floured surface with some floured hands you will begin to "turn" the doe by plopping it down and turning again and again until you feel the doe become smooth . It takes a little while but once you get the hang of it it becomes a breeze. I work with doe at least once a week  it's rather relaxing. If you need to add flour to prevent a too sticky doe do it in little bits. Too much flour makes a tough doe.The recipe is as follows:
 2/3 cup milk or 1/2 and 1/2  and 1/4 cup of butter or margarine melted together, then set aside to cool 
In the meantime put 2/3 cup of very warm water in a large bowl with 2 packets of yeast, dissolve well.
In the meantime take 2 eggs crack in a bowl and whisk lightly. Now it's time to start the magic. Add eggs and cooled off mixture to the yeast bowl. Mix lightly, now add 3/4 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of Cardamon, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix lightly, slowly add 5 or so cups of flour mix until all ingredients are sticking together now flour your hands well ,it's a good idea to have some flour near by so you can add as needed. Now you will knead as I spoke about in the beginning. Once you get the doe to the desired consistency it is now time to let it rise. leave it in the large bowl ,cover with a large cloth and the doe will rise about 2x's  the original size. It usually takes about an hour and a half.OK got ya through that part! It wasn't so bad was it? lol It would be good to get your frying pan ready, This is when  the man in the house comes in. Oh and he is more than willing to help out considering what the end result will be. You can use a deep fryer or an electric frying pan or even a regular fry pan any will be OK. A deep fryer of some kind would be best because when the doughnut is done it will rise to the top, so there will be no guessing if they are done. So you will begin to roll the doe out on a floured surface. You can use a round cookie cutter and a smaller round cookie cutter for the middle. You may have to get creative and use some other things around the kitchen or just shape the doughnuts free hand if you like .So you cut the doughnuts while someone else is doing the frying. The very best coating for these fall doughnuts is a good roll in some sugar and cinnamon. You must do this while they are hot out of the fryer just gently toss in the mixture. Now you will see everyone rushing into the kitchen like you were passing out gold. I'm something like a security guard at that time. The autumn scent of the cinnamon coated delicacies is a treasured moment. So when will you make your doughnuts? If I can answer any questions about this recipe or any doe issues please leave me a comment and I will reply. If cinnamon and sugar isn't your preference you can use a light confectioners frosting : a couple tablespoons of melted butter with about 3/4 cup of confectioners sugar and a splash of vanilla and whisk together until smooth if you want that chocolate bliss add some unsweetened cocoa powder to the icing. Hope you enjoy !







This is fancy smancy doughnut cutter!