Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Did You Miss Me?

It has been a LONG time since I have felt the urge to blog but with Fall right around the corner I am feeling a bit nostalgic. One of my favorite things about Fall is the cooler weather and the changing of the leaves. In our family we also have a tradition of going to the pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins, sampling the fresh apple cider and our favorite "treat yourself",apple cider donuts. This recipe is courtesy of All You magazine....guess what I'm doing next weekend?

Apple Cider Donuts
2 cups sugar
1 TB plus 2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups apple cider
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 TB unsalted butter
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
6 cups vegetable oil for frying

Line baking sheet with parchment. Line a large plate with paper towels. In a paper bag, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 TB cinnamon, shake to mix well. Set aside.

Bring cider to a boil over medium heat. Cook stirring occasionally, until cider reduces to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes) Let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl whisk baking powder,salt,1 cup flour and remaining sugar and cinnamon until well combined. In a small bowl whisk butter,eggs yolk and cooled cider until well combined. Add cider mixture to flour mixture; whisk until smooth. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups flour and mix until just combined. Dough will be slightly sticky. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

Pour oil into a large pot and attach a candy thermometer to side (thermometer should not touch bottom of pot) Heat oil over medium high heat until it reaches 375, watching and adjusting as needed to keep oil from overheating.

Turn dough out onto a well floured counter top and coat fingertips with flour. Pat dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a doughnut cutter or two round cookie cutters (one large and one small) cut out doughnuts and holes. Transfer both to lined baking sheet. Gather scraps and re-pat dough cutting as many doughnuts as possible.

Working in batches carefully slide doughnuts into hot oil. After about 1 minutes doughnuts will rise to surface and begin to brown. At that point turn over and fry 1 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer to lined plate to drain. Bring oil back to 375 before frying another batch. When doughnuts have cooled for a minute add to bag with cinnamon and sugar and toss to coat. Remove to clean plate and serve.