Maple donuts

When I was pregnant with Sal, my husband and I would go on after dinner donut runs (usually Thursday nights before Jersey Shore came on) to the local donut shop. We'd order a buttermilk bar for NZ, a maple bar for me, and one random donut to share, plus a few freebie donut holes from the shop owner thrown in, and by the time we got home, we would be staring down at six donuts for two people.

Too many, right?

But somehow, gluttony won over reason and we would devour them all in one sitting.

I'd vow to never eat a donut again by the time we were done, but then the very next week, we would do it all again. 

With Carla, we didn't have access to donuts 24/7, so I'm pretty sure my post partum body is thankful to have a few lbs less to shed this time around. Don't get me wrong, if they WERE available, I would have scarfed down a dozen or two. The few times we have found them here, they haven't been worth finishing.

I decided to try my hand at donut making this week for our Friday night dessert. I don't own a donut pan, and I'm scared of frying things with kids in the house--so this recipe for baked donuts from   DJ's favorite recipes   was right up my alley.

I followed her recipe with a few adjustments. I halved the recipe and subbed a few ingredients to utilize what I had on hand.

Here's how I made my half batch: 

MAPLE BARS

3/4 c nonfat milk

1/6 c coconut oil (original recipe calls for butter flavor Crisco)

2 T granulated sugar

1 t salt

2 T lukewarm water

1/4 ounce (7 grams) yeast (usually 1 envelope= 1/4 ounce)

2 egg whites (original recipe calls for 1 whole egg)

2 1/2-3 c flour

1 t cinnamon

ICING

1/6 c butter

1/2 c brown sugar

2 T nonfat milk

3/4 c powdered sugar

1 T maple syrup 

Dash of salt

To make the dough:

In small saucepan, Scald milk. Add coconut oil and 1 T granulated sugar and salt. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl, add lukewarm water and yeast. Add 1 T sugar to the yeast and let sit until foamy. Once foamy, mix in egg whites.

Once scalded milk and sugar mixture has cooled to lukewarm, pour into yeast and egg white mixture. Add flour and cinnamon. If you have a kitchen aid stand mixer I highly recommend using it. Mix on medium speed for five minutes. I, on the other hand, tried to use my hanky hand mixer and had dough crawling up the beater blades from the get go, so I finished it off by hand by kneading for another 8 minutes. The dough will be sticky but not wet. If it still seems wet, add a Tablespoon more flour.

Once kneaded, oil a mixing bowl and place dough inside and cover with Saran Wrap. Let rise for one hour in a draft free place. 

After one hour, press dough into a rectangular 1" thick slab. Cut down the center and cut each strip into a 2.5-3" square. This recipe should make 8 donuts. 

Place donuts on a greased cookie sheet and let rise an additional 30 minutes. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes until tops start to turn golden brown. Watch closely!

To make glaze:

In small saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar, milk and salt. Bring to a low boil and then turn down heat to simmer and thicken for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add to powdered sugar and maple syrup. I used my hand mixer on high to get rid of lumps but this could be done by hand as well.

Glaze donuts while warm. I turned each bar upside down while warm and dunked them. 

Place on wire cooling rack to cool.

Happy Friday & Happy Birthday, 'Merica! We are thankful for our home country and can't wait to get back to the land of the free and home of the brave....and donuts, of course!