Donuts!

Today is National Doughnut Day. When I was a kid I hated doughnuts. I have no explanation for this. I absolutely hated the smell inside a Dunkin Donuts. A few (ha!) years later that is no longer the case. I especially love Krispy Kreme but these Donuts made from the lowly refrigerated biscuit dough that comes in the can (? is it a can? it's more of a cardboard tube) really are amazingly good. I love them, my husband loves them, my kids love them, everyone I've ever made some for have loved them. So...in honor of National Doughnut Day...

Donuts

refrigerated biscuit dough (each can has 10 biscuits - one is never enough)

oil for frying

*powdered sugar

*a bit of milk

*cinnamon sugar

*chocolate

(*whichever you desire, one or all)

Separate biscuits. Using your thumbs, gently press a hole in the center of each biscuit. Do this slowly and gently, stretching the dough into a doughnut shape. Be careful not to tear the dough or you'll just have two halves of a biscuit! Some use a tiny round cutter to cut the center from the biscuit. There is no reason you should or shouldn't do this. If you do, you'll have donut holes to eat. If you don't, you won't. =) Make hoes in all the biscuits before you start since they turn golden very rapidly. If you make holes in between batches frying, your oil can get way too hot. Be careful!

Make powdered sugar icing (or cinnamon sugar or chocolate icing) before you start frying the donuts. The cinnamon sugar won't adhere to cold donuts. Plus, everyone wants to eat warm donuts!! Prepare everything first, fry the donuts, dip them in icing or in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, eat!

To make powdered sugar icing, pour a cup or 2 of powdered sugar in a large bowl. (The amount will depend on how many donuts you are making.) Add milk ONE TABLESPOON AT A TIME and stir after each addition. Keep adding milk until you get a thick white pasty icing. Add melted chocolate chips or cocoa powder to the icing to make it chocolate. To make cinnamon sugar, add about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to about 1 cup sugar. 

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees, or in a shallow pan, heat about 2 inches of oil until it lightly sizzles when you touch the edge of biscuit to the oil. Place a few biscuits in the hot oil, leaving plenty of room for them to float around. Don't leave them, and watch them carefully. As soon as they turn golden on the bottom, use a meat fork to turn them over. Let the other side turn golden and remove them from the oil and let them drain on paper towels. If the oil gets too hot the dough will brown too quickly and they don't puff up and cook all the way through.

As soon as all the biscuits have been magically transformed into hot donuts, dip each one in a bowl of powdered sugar icing or in powdered sugar or in cinnamon sugar. We normally dip one side of each in powdered sugar icing. It is our favorite. When I dip them in cinnamon sugar, I coat the entire donut!

Spectacular! Make these for your family. You will be the hero!