Doughnuts

Makes 2 dozen

These doughnuts are sweet bread dough that is rolled and cut with a doughnut cutter. After the doughnuts rise, they are cooked in hot oil; dipped in honey sauce and rolled in coconut, optional.

Charlotte

 Cinnamon dipped and honey glazed with coconut doughnuts

Ingredients
2 pkgs. or 2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp. sugar

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
6 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten

Instructions
Sprinkle yeast into lukewarm water; add 2-tsp. sugar.  Let yeast stand for 10 minutes, then stir.
Scald milk; add butter, sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm and add softened yeast; mix together.
Add half the flour to make a thick batter; beat well. Add eggs; beat well. Stir in remaining flour, using only enough to make soft dough that does not stick to hands or bowl. Turn out on a lightly floured bowl; turn dough over to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down and knead lightly.

To make doughnuts:
Roll out a portion of the dough on a lightly floured board, dough should be around 1/2 thick. Cut with a doughnut cutter. Let the doughnuts rise for 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook in hot oil in a cast iron frying pan on top of the stove, or cook in a deep fryer. Cook the doughnuts about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Drain on absorbent paper or rack. When cool coat with honey sauce and roll in coconut.

Honey Syrup

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup water
1 tsp. lemon juice, add after the syrup is made.

Instructions
In a saucepan mix sugar, honey and water, bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Watch while boiling to make sure it does not boil over. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Use this syrup to dip your cooked doughnuts and then roll the doughnuts in coconut.

Doughnuts ingredients 

Adding yeast to scalded milk

Adding half the flour to yeast

Stir with wooden spoon

Add flour until dough no longer sticks to sides

Add dough to clean, oiled bowl. Turn dough to oiled top of dough. Cover.

Dough is about double the size

Move dough to floured area.

Roll and cut using 3" and 1.3" cookie cutters

Let rise again before cooking

Honey Syrup ingredients in pot

Honey Syrup after 5 minutes of boiling 

Flaked coconut,  honey syrup and cinnamon toppings

Baked Doughnuts out of oven

Note from Agnes for Baked Doughnuts

The taste is not tbe same as deep fried doughnuts. The extra butter adds taste.

Extra ingredients for rubbing doughnut dough for baked doughnuts 

1/2 cup melted butter or 1/4 cup each canola oil and melted butter

Cinnamon Topping ingredients 

Additional 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Baked Doughnuts Extra Instructions 

Let dough rise in bowl, then cut out as per recipe. Rub oil or melted butter on all sides of cut out doughnuts and place dough on parchment lined cookie sheets. Place 6 doughnuts per cookie sheet, lots of space between doughnuts. Let rise until double the bulk, approximately 30 minutes in a cold kitchen. 

Meanwhile prepare the toppings, Honey Syrup and cinnamon.

For cinnamon topping: Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon in small bowl.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Immediately before baking, if doughnuts look dry, brush each doughnuts with a light coating of butter or canola oil, only on tops.

Bake on middle rack of oven, 6 at a time for 15 minutes in preheated 350 F oven. The donuts are cooked when a toothpick comes out clean or when lightly pressed down they bounce back.

Once baked, brushed immediately with melted butter. Place on cooling rack.

For cinnamon doughnuts dip hot doughnuts in cinnamon sugar and set on cooling rack. 

For honey glaze doughnuts dip almost cooled doughnuts in honey, then in coconut.

Eat the same day. Freeze leftover doughnuts and thaw and eat as soon as possible.