Freshly fried donuts don’t have to be a thing reserved only for trips to the donut shop. You can make them at home! They taste amazing, and you know all the ingredients in them- so no preservatives here!
One of my husband’s family’s traditions is making donuts for Halloween. And not just any old donuts, THESE donuts. I tried to suggest making old-fashioned donuts one year and was completely shot down. You just can’t mess with tradition! LOL
So, I am accommodating, and we stick with the traditional Bushman recipe.
If you can make bread, you can make these donuts. I mix up the dough in my Bosch mixer, let it rise, roll it out, cut out the donuts, let them rise, and then fry them in hot oil. The whole process does take a few hours, with all the rise time, but it’s a fun time for our family, and who’s going to complain about fresh, hot donuts!?
The kids love to add sprinkles on top, but it’s not necessary. They are also great helpers at coating the donuts with glaze. I find it very difficult to not eat all the donut holes while making these. They are just great one-bite delights to pop in your mouth while frying more donuts.
Check out the video below to see the process. I promise it’s not that difficult!
Ingredients
- Dough: 1 1/2 cups scalded milk, then cooled to warm
- 1 Tbs yeast
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 4-5 cups flour
- Glaze: 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 9 Tbs hot water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer add the warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, and oil. Give it a quick mix to combine then let it sit for a few minutes so the yeast can activate.
- Add the flour, slowly and 1 cup at a time, while mixing. Add enough to make a soft, smooth dough that isn't sticky.
- Move the dough to a greased bowl and let it rise, covered, until double in size. (About an hour)
- Roll the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Using whatever round cutters you have, cut donuts out and cut a hole in the middle. Let them rise on a parchment lined pan for about 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a heavy pot or a Fry Daddy until it reaches 375 degrees F. While the oil is heating, whisk together the glaze ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- Fry the donuts on each side until golden brown. You may need to adjust your heat to keep your temperature of the oil up. Keep a close eye on the donuts, they can burn quickly if the oil is too hot. Fry the donut holes as well.
- As soon as the donuts come out of the fryer, dunk them in them in the glaze, turning over to coat both sides. Add sprinkles immediately, if desired. Let cool just long enough to not burn your tongue then eat while still warm.
- Store extras in an airtight container. You can warm leftovers in the microwave for a few seconds before eating again.
- Makes about 3 dozen, depending on the size of donuts you make.
For Halloween, we love to give these to our friends who bring their kids over to trick-or-treat. The kids get candy and the parents get a hot donut and some hot chocolate, which is perfect because in Montana we usually have pretty cold weather by the end of October.
