Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups white flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4-5 cups fat or shortening for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix together the butter and sugar until creamed.
- Beat in one egg at a time.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix gently.
- Knead dough until smooth and make into one-inch balls.
- In a large pot, such as a cast iron Dutch oven or a soup pot, heat the fat to 375 degrees and carefully drop in dough balls one at a time.
- Let cook until golden brown.
- Let dry on brown paper.
Hole-y Donuts!
This recipe as written doesn't make traditional donuts with holes in them, but you can certainly create them using the dough here. To do so, follow these steps.
- Flour a surface and roll the dough out into about 3/4 inch thickness.
- Use a donut cutter (a round cutter with a hole in the center) to cut the donuts, or use the tip of a sharp knife to freeform cut donuts with holes.
- Fry until the donuts turn golden brown and float, two to three minutes.
You may need to cook them in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan, and allow the oil to come up to temperature between batches.
Making Filled Donuts
You can fill the donuts with anything that sounds appealing to you, from jam to crème pâtissière. Fill a pastry bag with a wide piping tip with your favorite filling. Use a dowel to make a hole in the side of the donut, and pipe in delicious fillings.
- Fill the donuts with delicious strawberry jam and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Bacon jam may seem unconventional, but its salty sweetness is perfect with a donut. Top it with a maple glaze made by mixing ¾ cup of pure maple syrup with ¾ cup of powdered sugar.
- Rhubarb jam adds a delicious tartness to these donuts. Finish with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
- Make a grown up donut by filling it with coffee jelly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or desiccated coconut.
- Cream puddings also make a great add in. Pipe them in alongside jam or jelly, or by themselves. Glaze with chocolate ganache.
- If you love caramel, then fill the donut with tasty caramel pudding. With the richness of the filling, no glaze is necessary.
- Sweetly bitter marmalade is a perfect filling for a donut. This goes well with cinnamon sugar coating.
- Pipe in cannoli filling and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Egg custard is a great add in. Top with a chocolate or peanut butter ganache.
- Applesauce or apple butter are also delicious. Finish with a light sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.
Homemade Goodness
Whether you enjoy your donuts plain or like them sprinkled with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or glaze, homemade donuts are a wonderful treat for your whole family. They are as fun to eat as they are to make.
