Fry It, You'll Like It

For many years during my youth, I remember my dad getting up early on Sunday mornings before anyone else was awake. He would go out and pick up a box of doughnuts and a newspaper. By the time he returned home with the goodies, my brothers and I were usually awake and anxiously waiting for dad's return. Mom would start the coffee and the house would instantly smell like a Sunday (if that's even possible). We would spend the next hour or two reading the paper and savoring our weekly doughnuts. In reality, us kids would fight over who could read the comics first and scarf down as many doughnuts as mom and dad would allow. While such a simple memory, it is one I will never forget. Because for those few moments on a quiet Sunday morning, we not only savored our pastries, but we also spent time together as a family.



Now that I'm an adult, doughnuts aren't really working with the metabolism, if you know what I mean. Consequently, they rarely make it into the meal rotation. However, when the lovelyPeabody and Tartelette recently announced that they were hosting a Time to Make the Doughnuts event, I was hooked. All the memories of the simpler days of my childhood came rushing back. As I have changed over the years, so has my taste. Whereas in my youth I would have chosen a creme-filled chocolate bar, I opted to now make doughnuts that one might consider requiring a more discriminating palate. Spiced Potato Doughnuts. Don't let the name fool you. These are plenty sweet, but also offer plenty of spice as its name implies.

Spiced Potato Doughnuts
from Gourmet

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed cooked baking potatoes, like russets, (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest, if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the coating:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or, to taste

1. Into a bowl sift the flour, the baking powder, the salt, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, the butter, the sugar, the potatoes, the milk, the zest, and the vanilla until the mixture is combined well, add the potato mixture to the flour mixture, and stir the dough until it is just combined.


2. Chill the dough, covered, for 1 hour, or until it is cold and can be handled easily. Roll out half the dough 1/2-inch thick on a well-floured surface and with a 3 to 3 1/2-inch doughnut cutter cut out doughnuts, reserving the center pieces. With the other half of the dough either cut out round doughnuts in the same manner or shape the dough into crullers.


3. For the crullers, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle about 14 by 5-inches and cut into 5 by 1/2-inch strips. To form each cruller, twist 2 strips of dough together, and pinch the ends to secure them. Fry the round doughnuts, the reserved doughnut centers, and the crullers in batches in 2 inches of 375 degrees F. oil, or until they are golden, transferring them as they are fried to paper towels to drain.


4. Make the coating: In a shallow bowl stir together the sugar and the cinnamon.


5. While the doughnuts are still warm, roll them, 1 at a time, in the sugar mixture, coating them well. The doughnuts keep, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 day.