[Home]  [GFCF Recipe Index]  [Frugal Food Storage]  [Biblical Womanhood]  [Archived Recipe Index]  [Links] [New Blog]  [Old Fashioned Education]  [Prairie Homemaker]  [My Mother's Blog] Chocolate Donuts 3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening 2/3 cups sugar 1 tablespoon powdered egg white or 2 tablespoons dried whole egg 1/4 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or 1-teaspoon vanilla or both 1 cup fresh water Cream together the shortening and sugar, just like you'd do for a cake. When the mixture is smooth and fluffy add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a big spoon and when the dough is too thick to manage with a spoon, continue mixing with your hands. You are trying to form a soft dough. It will be sticky. Coating your hands with oil or nonstick spray will help. Don't add more flour if you can help it. Stiff donut dough makes dry donuts. Sticky, soft donut dough makes yummy, moist donuts. When the dough is well mixed and in a ball, dust it with flour. Roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a donut cutter if you have one. If you don't then use a biscuit cutter or wide mouthed cup or glass. Then cut out the center hole with a small bottle lid or medicine measuring cup. Heat 2 to 3-inches of hot oil to 365°. Drop in the donuts and holes a few at a time. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes, turning once during frying. Be careful not to get the oil too hot and don't try to fry too many donuts at once. If the oil is too hot then the donuts will burn on the outside and still be raw in the center. You don't want that. Since the donuts are chocolate it's hard to tell when they are brown and when they aren't. Usually when the donuts rise to the surface of the oil, it's time to turn them. Drain the donuts on a newspaper or towel-lined baking sheet. Allow them to cool briefly and then dredge in powdered sugar if desired. Makes about 2-dozen donuts and 2-dozen holes.  Donut Fingers I find regular shaped donuts hard to cook and hard to cut. In desperation I tried making "fingers" instead of donuts. They turned out great! After patting out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness I use a pizza cutter to make "finger" shapes about 3-inches long by 1/2-inch wide. They get a bit larger when frying but are still a handy shape for holding and eating. Donut Fingers aren't as glamorous as traditionally shaped donuts but they are much easier on the cook. Any donut recipe can be cut into fingers instead of the traditional shape.   [Home]  [GFCF Recipe Index]  [Frugal Food Storage]  [Biblical Womanhood]  [Archived Recipe Index]  [Links] [New Blog]  [Old Fashioned Education]  [Prairie Homemaker]  [My Mother's Blog] GFCF = Gluten Free & Casein Free The Christian Counter © FrugalAbundance 2007-2008  :-)  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.  Use hospitality one to another without grudging.  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.--1 Peter 4:8-10