Today is the second day of Hanukkah – which means you have five more days to make your own homemade doughnuts! Deep frying can be a little intimidating to start with, so these are some quick and easy drop doughnuts – no yeast, rising time or rolling and cutting required. Fry these up, dunk them in a sweet glaze, and serve them up at your holiday party tonight.
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Frying is not a very kid-friendly activity, because the hot oil can be pretty dangerous, so try this one when your kids are in another room. Make sure you use a pot that is deep enough to give a couple inches of space at the top, in case of any splashes. It’s also important to use a thermometer when deep frying, because you can really never tell how hot the oil is just from looking at it. The temperature of the oil will drop when you start frying, so make sure to let it come back up again before the next batch. 
I gave you two recipes below for glazes to use with your doughnuts – a sweet sugary glaze and a rich chocolate glaze. You can also roll your doughnuts in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or a variety of other toppings. You can even top them with frosting and sprinkles. Doughnuts are best the day they are made, so make sure you have some hungry mouths around to feed!
Quick Drop Doughnuts
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsps oil
6 to 8 cups canola, peanut or grapeseed oil
Optional:
powdered sugar
cinnamon sugar
glaze (see below)
chocolate glaze (see below)
Instructions:
Fill
a large pot with oil, leaving at least a two inch head-space at the top.
Oils that are good for deep-frying include canola, sunflower, peanut
and safflower. Heat over a medium flame.
Stir together the flour,
sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and
add in the egg, milk and oil, mixing until smooth.
Before beginning
frying, the oil should reach about 365 F. If it is too cold, the
doughnuts will absorb a lot of the oil, and if it is too hot, they will
burn on the outside while still being raw on the inside.
Carefully
lower by teaspoonful the batter into the oil. You can do several at a
time as long as they are not crowded. Leave them to brown on each side,
turning if necessary. (They may bob around by themselves). When golden
brown all around, remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain.
If rolling in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, do it when hot.
If coating in a glaze, then wait til cool, and cover.%uFFFD
Glaze:
1%uFFFD cups confectioners’ sugar
%uFFFD cup milk or soy milk
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
Mix together the sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Dunk the doughnut holes in the glaze and place them on a wire rack with something underneath to catch the drips.
Chocolate Glaze:
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
vanilla in a saucepan, and place over medium heat until the butter is
melted. Over low heat, add the chocolate and whisk to combine. Add in
the sugar and whisk until smooth. Dip the doughnuts in the
glaze, and let dry. Enjoy!
