It’s no secret that I have a lil’ thing for doughnuts. And by “lil’ thing,” I mean “extreme obsession.” There were the Glazed Sour Cream Doughnuts, the Baked Mini Buttermilk Doughnuts, and, oh yes, who could forget the Just a Taste Doughnuthon? (One day. Five Miles. Nine doughnuts.)
Ingredients:
For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the doughnut holes:
5 cups vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Equipment: Deep-fry thermometer; Small ice cream scoop
Directions:
Yield: About 2 dozen
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 5 min
Make the glaze:
Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. If the glaze isn’t thin enough, stir in 1 additional tablespoon of milk. Cover the glaze with plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the doughnut holes.
Make the doughnut holes:
Add the vegetable oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. (There should be at least 2 inches of oil in the pot and at least 2 inches between the top of the oil and the top of the pot.) Attach the deep-fry thermometer to the pot and begin heating the oil over medium heat to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir the milk-egg mixture into the dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter, mixing until a soft dough forms.
Once the oil has reached 350ºF, use a small ice cream scoop to drop about 1 tablespoon scoops of dough into the oil, careful not to overcrowd the pan. (See Kelly’s Notes.) Fry the doughnut holes, flipping them in the oil, for about 2 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnut holes to the paper towel-lined baking sheet.
Allow the doughnut holes to cool slightly. Place a cooling rack atop a baking sheet, then one by one, dip the doughnut holes into the glaze and transfer them to the rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. Serve immediately.
Notes:
The dough expands when fried, so 1 tablespoon of batter will yield about a 2-inch doughnut hole. If you prefer smaller doughnut holes, drop about 1 teaspoon of batter into the oil. This recipe yields about 2 dozen of the larger doughnut holes or 4 dozen of the smaller variety.
The roundness of the doughnut holes depends on how clean of a scoop of batter you drop into the hot oil. If you don’t have a small ice cream scoop, you can use two small spoons to form the batter into mounds, however your doughnut holes will not be as uniformly round in shape.
Source: Justataste.com
