Old Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts

What do you with your 3 year-old on a cold winter day?  Make doughnuts!  While the summer months are not a very desireable time to be slaving over a hot stove, winter month on the other hand provide a cozy setting. 

I don't know about you, but most doughnut selections these days come in the day-old variety: soggy, been on the shelf for a day or half a day.  Unless you are a very early birdy, you will not have fresh, HOT doughnuts as an option should the craving strike you.

I like to cook up the doughnut holes too. They make great bite-sized treats for kids or parties.

Doughnuts for me are a very, very occasional treat, probably because they pack such a punch in the calorie department that I'm just not willing to run the extra 2 miles for one doughnut.  But, when I do opt to add the extra workout, I want it to be worth it.  Know what I mean?  I want it to be good, as in, when I'm sweating my guts out during a workout I am thinking, "that doughnut was SO worth it." 

Here is the recipe that I stumbled upon.  It is from Cookin' with the Crazy lady by Trish Jenkin.  I actually spoke with Trish and she mentioned that her site is currently down, but you can contact her directly to get her cookbook: 435-851-1662.  Absolutely awesome recipe--it produced the exact texture and style of doughnut that I was looking for.  I topped it with a simple glaze and my 3 year-old added the sprinkles. 

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Doughnuts
(Print this recipe)
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 c. granulated sugar
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
pinch of salt
enough vegetable oil for frying 2" deep (will vary with size of pan)

Directions:
1.  In a large cast-iron pot or large sauce pan, heat 2 inches of oil over medium low heat.

2.  Combine buttermilk, egg, and melted butter in a small bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl combine the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, soda and salt.

3.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry until barely combined so as not to activate the gluten in the flour.  Overmixing will make the doughnuts tough.

4.  Lightly roll out on a floured surface and cut with a biscuit cutter. 

One of my secrets for this as well as biscuits is to push the sides in and make a plump pillow of dough.  Dough that is smooshed down with a rolling pin makes for flat biscuits and doughnuts.

So easy a 3 year old can do it! 

Dip in flour so it won't stick to the holes.

5.  Test the temperature of the oil by dropping in a tiny piece of left over dough.  If the dough sinks to the bottom with no bubbles, your oil is not hot enough.  If it massively bubbles and burns right away, allow your oil to cool off a little. 

The standard wooden spoon test (put the end of a wooden spoon in the oil and see if it bubbles) can work but in reverse: if there are bubbles around the wooden spoon, then the oil is too hot. 
The picture below shows no bubbles coming around the spoon.

What you want is for bubbles to start around the dough but to be gradual so the doughnuts will be able to cook all the way through an not burn. 
6.  When the oil is at the desired temperature, drop in the doughnuts, being careful to not overcrowd the pan.  This keeps the oil at the right temperature and keeps the doughnuts from sticking together.

Cook until golden brown on one side, about 4-5 minutes and then turn them over and cook another 3-4 minutes.  One of the ways I like to check for doneness is to look at the center of the hole--when it is also golden, I flip them.
If you find you need to add more oil to the pan (you don't want your doughnuts touching or sitting on the bottom of the pan) make sure to remove all doughnuts, add the oil, and wait for the temperature to come back up.  If you just add the oil before removing the doughnuts, you will drop the temperature of the oil and the cooler oil just coats the doughnuts instead of cooking them...yuck.
7.  When golden on both sides, remove doughnuts and place them on paper towels and allow to cool before glazing.

6.  For the glaze, mix 2 cups powdered sugar with 1-2 Tbs. milk or water, I prefer milk, in a bowl that is deep so that you can push the doughnuts down without hitting the bottom and so you can truly coat them.  The frosting should slightly ribbon off the whisk.

  

Dip and push down the tops of the cooled doughnuts and then sprinkle with sprinkles or leave plain.

My 3 year-old doing the sprinkles.

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Homemade Biscuits

Biscuits.  Light, fluffy, dense.  The last two may seem contradictory, but in fact it is possible to achieve a light and fluffy biscuit that is rather solid.  The key is to make them correctly with the best ingredients.  Now, if you are reading this saying "oh yeah, I've had biscuits!  My favorite kind come from a can," then we seriously need to have a talk.  It is true that some people just didn't grow up with homemade biscuits and don't really know where to start.  Others claim they don't have the time to make them.  Well folks, biscuits take a whole 10 minutes to make and 10-12 minutes to bake.  Period.  So, tell yourself you are worth the 20 minutes and just say no to all those nasty, chemically, preserved alternatives that you find in the refrigerated food section at the grocery store.

While there exists much debate among biscuit connoisseurs over whether buttemilk or cream reigns supreme as the liquid agent in stellar biscuits, I maintain there is room for both.  For years I regularly made the buttermilk variety, thinking that the only way to get a fluffy biscuit was to have that necessary ingredient and the reaction between the buttermilk and baking soda.  As of the past few years, I've really enjoyed biscuits made with half-and-half or cream.  What you get is a creamy biscuit without the tang that is present in the buttermilk variety.  Again, make no mistake, I'm a big fan of the buttermilk biscuit.  I just prefer a change once in a while, especially depending on what I'm making to serve along side them.  Love, love, love this recipe, and my favorite thing to serve it with is a chicken soup or the like.

Homemade Biscuits
(from Ina Garten's Family Style Cookbook--a must have in your cookbook library!)
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 egg mixed with 1 Tbs. water for egg wash (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients and butter in a bowl and use a pastry blender (or a fork if you don't have one; just may not want to use your hands because they will bring up the temperature of the butter and you don't want that) until mixture resembles coarse meal. 

Next, gradually add the half-and-half and stir together using a fork.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead it until it comes together, only a couple minutes.  Press or roll out dough to desired thickness--I prefer about 1 1/2 to 2 inches.  This creates a really puffy biscuit.  **A little trick I do once I've rolled out the dough is to gently pat/push in the sides of the dough toward the center.  This gives the dough a little slack and allows the dough to not be so pressed down and thin when I cut/punch out the biscuits.

Finally, punch out or cut into biscuits.  I'm a tad traditional and like the rounded shapes, but if you don't have one, just use a sharp knife, make sure to dip it in flour repeatedly, and cut into desire shapes of equal sizes to allow for equal cooking time.

Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and coat in egg wash if desired. I find the biscuits can sometimes have a bit of flour on the tops of them, so the egg wash is a nice, quick little step to make ‘em golden brown.  Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

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One of My Favorite Thanksgiving Holiday Recipes: Pumpkin Bread

Oprah just completed her final "Favorite Things" episode, so I figured I'd get into the spirit and share one of my favorite Thanksgiving holiday recipes:  Pumpkin Bread!  Be forewarned:  if you don't like pumpkin, or bread, or the combo of both, you still are very much at risk of getting addicted to this fantastic-of-all holiday breads.  My husband, who hates all things pumpkin (including pumpkin pie), will make a good go of eating one loaf all by himself if left to his own devices (and so will I for that matter!). 

One thing I really like about this recipe is that provided you have a can of pumpkin hanging out in your pantry, you don't have to run to the store for special ingredients.  I have made this for friends, family, and for group parties--it is always a HUGE hit.  Need some extra pats on the back this holiday season?  Well, make this and you will have people bombarding you with recipe requests and public accolades.  If you don't need any of that, make it anyway--you won't have any regrets in the morning.  This recipe comes from my Aunt Jane, who is an amazing cook. 

PUMPKIN BREAD
(Print this Recipe)

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
2/3 cup water

Directions:

1.  Cream sugar and oil together, add eggs and pumpkin; mix well. 
2.  Sift together dry ingredients, add to dry ingredients alternately with water.
3.  Pour into two well greased and floured loaf pans.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until ready.
5.  Remove and allow to cool in pan on wire racks; removed from pan when cool.

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