DOUGHNUTS !

We just finished making doughnuts...so, for the next several days, whenever we go out with our coats on, we'll smell like a doughnut shop. Could be worse! It's a Halloween tradition around here, preceded by my family's tradition, to make these. It's a weekend late, though, as last weekend was happily taken up by the Seattle Food and Wine Expo. Well, they taste just as delicious on All Souls Day as they do on Halloween, so here is the recipe. 

Making doughnuts is time-consuming, but easy. And the time involved is the fun part of the whole process. These doughnuts have a strong flavor of nutmeg and have a fluffy texture due to having mashed potatoes in the dough. Make the mashed potatoes as you normally would, with milk, butter and salt. Just don't make them too wet. If you are one who doesn't like nutmeg, you could decrease the amount or leave it out and increase the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. But, the nutmeg is what makes them unique and makes me feel the cozy autumn nights. 

The dough is very soft ~ more of a very thick batter. Don't be tempted to add flour. It is the softness of the dough that makes the doughnuts so tender. It needs to chill for at least three hours before rolling it out, so figure that into your timing. I usually make it the night before I want to fry the doughnuts. If you don't have a traditional cutter, you can cut them into triangles of about 1.5 inches per side. Any larger, and they won't get fully cooked inside. 

For icing and such, I make chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze, colored sugars, cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar ~ sometimes "sprinkles" for holidays. Choose your favorites and decorate to your heart's delight! But most of all....have FUN!

FLUFFY POTATO DOUGHNUTS

3 lg. eggs

1 and 1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. mashed potatoes, cooled (not too wet - they should have body)

2 T. vegetable oil

4 c. flour

6 t. baking powder

2 t. freshly ground nutmeg

1 t. salt

1/2 c. milk

Beat eggs with sugar and vanilla until light. Add potatoes and oil and beat briefly to combine. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to egg mixture, beating well. Chill dough at least 3 hours.

Heat a pot of frying oil to 375 degrees F., or use a deep fat fryer heated to 375. Roll out a third of the dough at a time, keeping the remainder in the fridge. Roll onto a well-floured surface to 3/8 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter or cut into small triangles. 

Transfer immediately hot frying oil. Fry approximately 3 minutes, turning over halfway. Drain on paper towels and frost and decorate as desired. 

Makes 25-30 doughnuts plus 40 doughnut holes