I live out in the boonies. I couldn’t even tell you where the nearest donut shop is. Lets just say its NOWHERE near our house. We got a hankering for fresh donuts this morning, specifically the hubs, and I said sure! I happen to have all the ingredients just sitting around, why not! I can do that. FOUR HOURS LATER we have fresh donuts. lol. It was a long process, but now that I’ve done it once, I’m convinced it will go much faster from now on. Plus I don’t plan on photographing every single step every time I make donuts, *snicker* because there are a LOT of steps in donuts! I’m starting to see why donut bakers go to work at 3 am! lol. I must say though, that these donuts ROCKED. The Actual dough is not too sweet, so that leaves plenty of room for the dreamy glaze to fill the task of sweet sugary goodness. I know I know, you can’t wait a min longer…..So lets make donuts!
(fair warning this post is going to be pic heavy)
The Cast and Crew:
- 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast ( or 4 1/2 tsp of yeast if you use the jar of yeast like I do)
- 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
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- 1/3 cup butter
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 tablespoons hot water or as needed
Lets get started
Start with nice sleepy dry yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the 1/4 cup warm water, and let stand for about 10 minutes, or until foamy. (water MUST be warm to make the yeast nice and happy!)
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Ahhh there we go, a nice yeast party has commenced. Pour happy fluffy yeast into a mixing bowl
Add milk, sugar, salt, and eggs (my lovely daughter will be today’s model)
Then add shortening and the first two cups of 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. ( I ended up having to add just a tad bit more flour to stop it from sticking)
Now the fun part, 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. I ended up cutting the dough in half and rolling one half at a time to make it easier
Since this project was such last miniute, I did not have a donut cutter. So we improvised by digging through our cookie cutter collection until we found a round cutter, and improvied even further by using a clean coke bottle cap to cut out the holes.
Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until doubled. Cover loosely with a cloth (first pic is the just cut dough, second shows the risen dough)
Start Heating up your pan of Oil to 350 degrees F
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in Vanilla
Add confectioners sugar and stir until mixed completely
Remove from heat and add hot water 1 TBSP at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. set aside
Slide doughnuts into the hot oil. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. (They will brown FAST in a matter of seconds)
Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot
(Technically you would only dip one side into the glaze, but the donut in this pic wanted a hot bath and decided to drop in for a dip)
and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up. (no laughing at our defunct looking donuts, its a learning experience! not bad without a proper cutter) 
Add sprinkles while glaze is still warm if desired
And thats all there is to it! ha ha, like that wasn’t enough. We liked them so much that I am going to spring for a proper donut cutter, but I will be sure to have plenty of time on my hands to battle the next go round.
HAPPY BAKING!
Recipe:
Crispy Creamy Donuts
- 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
- 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.
