Happy Halloween! Trick or Treating with Apple Cider Doughnuts in our bellies!

Halloween is so much fun with all the treats :) I'm not so big on the tricking but I do have a two year old so...I've been wanting to make doughnuts for a while and thought Apple Cider Doughnuts sound delicious. I also fried them! Which doesn't happen often. We don't have a dedicated deep fryer so it's just oil in a pan with a thermometer. When we fry something in this house then we see what other delicious things we can fry also. We don't want to waste the oil :). So, it's like the Texas state fair up in this house when we have oil in a pan with a thermometer. I'm walking around frying up mozzarella sticks, pickled jalapenos, actual pickles, frozen ice cream might be fun, or a hunk of rice krispie treat. We can't have an actual deep fryer around here because then I would eat so much fried food my stomach would hurt and it would just not be good for anyone. But, every once in a while my husband and I feel like fried deliciousness. So, this time it was doughnuts. We haven't managed to fry anything else yet but deep fried portobellos are on my list. I didn't make the frosting in this recipe. I simply rolled them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture which was really good also :)

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
1/4 cup apple cider, at room temperature
1/4 cup warm apple cider (about 110 degrees)
3 1/4 cups flour
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt

apple cider frosting
3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup apple cider

canola oil for frying

Directions:

for the frosting:
Beat all ingredients together until a spreadable icing forms.

For the doughnuts:
In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm cider in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, remaining cider, milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until you have a soft, elastic dough that comes together easily into a ball.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Flour a clean work surface. Place the dough on the surface and roll it out. Roll until it is about 1/2 thick. Cut out doughnut shapes. Do not reroll to dough.

Place them on a parchment or silipat lined cookie sheet, cover again with the tea towel and let them rise 15-30 minutes. They should look puffy but don't need to have doubled.

Meanwhile, heat (to 350) about 3 inchs of oil in a heavy pot. Fry the doughnuts (2 or 3 at a time works well) flipping at least once to insure that they are golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes.

Drain on paper towel lined plates or baking pans. Repeat for remaining doughnuts. Frost cooled doughnuts if desired. Eat the same day they are made.


Yield: about 12 doughnuts

Recipe from Coconut & Lime