"Um...we are ridiculously amazing."
"Our parents would be so proud of us right now."
"I feel like a such a grown up!"
"I could drink that maple glaze."
"Everyone in the world wishes they were in this kitchen right now."
"Forget you, Dunkin Donuts!"
"How many do you think we can have? Oh. Wait. We're ADULTS. We can have as many as we want!!"
It was a culinary achievement that started with an amazing roasted chicken, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes, and maple glazed carrots for dinner (recipes for them tomorrow). To say that the bestie (Tatiana) and I were a little complimentary to ourselves would be an understatement. And really, if you decide to go through the trouble of making these pumpkin donuts, you will be saying similar things too. They were, in a word, amazing. There is something truly gratifying about making a donut at home and being completely uninhibited and concerned about dropping dough in hot oil, frying it, rolling it around in sugar, and eating it. There must be freedom from concern about calories and fat. Trust me...Tatiana and I felt complete freedom.
A note about this recipe: this recipe makes a truly delicious cake donut. My dough chilled for 8 hours, so you could definitely make this the night before and cook them in the morning. The dough is very sticky - so sticky that you will wonder if you did something wrong. The temptation is to knead more flour into it, but resist the urge because this doesn't make a bread dough. Use enough flour to dust your work surface so that you can pat the dough out without it sticking. I didn't have a donut cutter, so I used an old Pampered Chef "Cut 'N Seal" and pastry tip to cut the hole. Make sure to keep the oil between 365-370 degrees and keep checking it. It makes the world of difference. Our oil got too hot, so the outsides of a few donuts were cooked before the insides got done. Boo. We got a little crazy and made the traditional donut shaped, donut holes, and donut dunking sticks.
For the spiced maple glaze: combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 2 tbls real maple syrup, 1 Tbls hot water (or more to get to a glaze consistency).
The donut recipe was found via Annie's Eats (whose pictures of the donuts made me want to make this recipe and are infinitely better than mine). Rather than reprint it here, go visit her blog - she even has a printer ready version of the recipe. Also, be sure to check out Pinch of Salt (from whom Annie's Eats adapted the recipe). She has some great "cooking process" photos and tips.
Happy donut making!
Fresh out of the oil donuts are delightful. That's what I loved best about The Fractured Prune when they had a shop down on The Boulevard.
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