Buttermilk Donuts

Rewind a little bit to Easter Sunday. This is how it went down.

The husband had to work on Easter morning. As I was leaving church with our boy, I get a text. "I want donuts." It being Easter and all, the bakery was closed. I texted back. "Bakery closed."

You would think that was the end of the donut situation. But once we arrived back home, we concocted a plan: we would make our own donuts.

My mom and sister came for Easter, and all four of us worked butt-to-butt in our tiny kitchen to whip up the treat. Since we made buttermilk donuts, we didn't need to wait for them to rise. Instant gratification is important when you've got a donut craving. My sister and I patted out the dough. Mom was in charge of the glaze. And the husband? He was our fry guy.

If you've never made donuts before, I'd highly suggest you give it a whirl. It's a bit more effort than cruising through the Tim Horton's drive-thru, but good gosh are they delicious. Warm and golden brown, lightly scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, dripping with glaze...I think I need to heat up some oil right now.

Let's make breakfast. Or dessert. Or, for that matter, dinner.
--Erin

Buttermilk Donuts
Adapted from Shutterbean

For donuts:
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
Vegetable oil for frying
Vanilla glaze, powdered sugar, and/or cinnamon sugar for coating the donuts

For vanilla glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, sour cream, and butter.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and then gently fold everything together with a spatula. (Once combined, it will be like biscuit dough.)

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Turn dough onto work surface and pat it out until it's about 1/2" thick. Now it's time to cut out the donut shapes. You'll need two round cutters, about 3" and 1 1/2". (If you don't have round cutters (I don't.), just use something round in your kitchen: small bowls, drinking glasses, empty jars. I used a bowl and a baby bottle, and I'm not kidding. Get creative!) Dip the cutters in flour, then use the larger cutter to cut the donut shape. After that, use the smaller cutter to cut the hole out of the middle of the larger circle. Pat together the dough scraps and continue cutting out donuts until you've used up all the dough.

Meanwhile, add 1 1/2 inches of oil to a large, heavy pot. Heat the oil over medium-high until it reaches about 365 degrees. (Use a candy thermometer or an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature.) Once the oil is hot, gently add a few donuts to the oil. (Only fry a few donuts at a time. Like, maybe three. If you add too many donuts, the temperature of the oil will drop and the donuts will get soggy and oily. Gross.) Fry donuts about 2-3 minutes on each side, until they're golden brown. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer donuts to a paper towel-lined baking sheet once they're done. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once your donuts are fried, you can toss them in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar or glaze them. To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. You can dip the donut in the glaze or drizzle it on top. If you want to get really crazy (and, trust me on this one, you do!!) dip the donut in glaze, then roll it in cinnamon sugar. Wow. Pour yourself a tall glass of milk and eat these suckers warm.