I’m not a big fan of store-bought doughnuts. They just don’t taste right. Not if you’ve had good home-made ones. My grandma was an expert at maple bars, and I was excited to see this cookbook with a good looking maple bar recipe, along with some others (especially the blueberry cake doughnuts) my hubby was drooling over. : )
I let him pick the first recipe in the book for me to try, and these made it to the top of the list.
I adjusted the recipe some, like doubling it for starters. I’m just not going to go to the trouble of making homemade doughnuts and only make one dozen. My hubby’s co-workers were more than happy to dispose of them anyways.
And I found it too tricky to have both the doughnuts and glaze hot while glazing, as the book instructs.
I found it worked much better to have the doughnuts cooled and just make the glaze hot and glaze them all at once.
I promise they really are very easy to make and once you try them you won’t look at the doughnut chain the same. : )
SOUR CREAM OLD FASHIONED DOUGHNUTS
Makes 2 dozen
4 1/2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
2 tsp iodized salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
4 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sour cream
canola oil, for frying
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl, set aside.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and shortening on low for about 1 minute. Add egg yolks, mix another minute on medium. Mixture should be light in color.
Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream.
Mix on low, just until combined. Dough with be thick like a cookie dough.
Give a quick knead if needed to smooth out.
Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes up to 24 hours.
Heat oil about 2 inches deep in a high sided pan or pot, and using a candy or fry thermometer (good idea to keep it in the pot the whole time to monitor the temperature.) heat oil to 325 degrees.
Roll half of the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured counter.
Cut doughnuts, dipping cutter in flour often.
Shake excess flour off doughnuts and place on a tray. Re-roll dough and cut until done.
Place a couple in the hot oil, without crowding pan.
Fry for 15 seconds, then gently flip.
After 75 to 90 seconds (Mine took 90), flip a second time. They should be golden and cracked.
After 60 to 75 seconds, remove from oil.
Transfer to a rack placed over a baking sheet.
Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
SIMPLE VANILLA GLAZE
4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp iodized salt
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup hot water
Mix everything together in a large bowl with a hand mixer or whisk.
Mix until smooth, add more hot water if needed, a teaspoon at a time, to make glazing consistency.
While hot, dip tops of doughnuts into glaze, then set back on the rack and let dry 10-15 minutes.
Reheat glaze in the microwave or on the stove if hardens up.
Recipe source: slightly adapted from TOP POT Hand-Forged Doughnuts Cookbook
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 T baking powder
- 2 tsp iodized salt
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
- canola oil, for frying
SIMPLE VANILLA GLAZE
- 4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tsp light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp iodized salt
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup hot water
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl, set aside.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and shortening on low for about 1 minute. Add egg yolks, mix another minute on medium. Mixture should be light in color.
- Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream.
- Mix on low, just until combined. Dough with be thick like a cookie dough.
- Give a quick knead if needed to smooth out.
- Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes up to 24 hours.
- Heat oil about 2 inches deep in a high sided pan or pot, and using a candy or fry thermometer (good idea to keep it in the pot the whole time to monitor the temperature.) heat oil to 325 degrees.
- Roll half of the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured counter.
- Cut doughnuts, dipping cutter in flour often.
- Shake excess flour off doughnuts and place on a tray. Re-roll dough and cut until done.
- Place a couple in the hot oil, without crowding pan.
- Fry for 15 seconds, then gently flip.
- After 75 to 90 seconds (Mine took 90), flip a second time. They should be golden and cracked.
- After 60 to 75 seconds, remove from oil.
- Transfer to a rack placed over a baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
SIMPLE VANILLA GLAZE
- Mix everything together in a large bowl with a hand mixer or whisk.
- Mix until smooth, add more hot water if needed, a teaspoon at a time, to make glazing consistency.
- While hot, dip tops of doughnuts into glaze, then set back on the rack and let dry 10-15 minutes.
- Reheat glaze in the microwave or on the stove if hardens up.
