A Hole in One

I first made these doughnuts many years ago when my Taste of Home magazine arrived in the mail. Having never made doughnuts before I had no idea how many doughnuts the recipe made, or how difficult it is to cut, fry, and glaze doughnuts all by yourself. What started as my idea of fun quickly turned into a full family affair, everyone with their own job. The doughnuts kept coming, like a Homer Price story come to life. Faced with a table overflowing with doughnuts, we called in reinforcements. My teenaged son's friend from down the block came to help us eat them. Nothing's better for tackling a mountain of doughnuts than teenaged boy appetites!

That experience put me off doughnut making for quite a while, but when Peabody and Helen announced their Time to Make Doughnuts event, I pulled out my trusty Spudnut recipe and went to work. This time I halved the recipe for a much more manageable amount and my husband was on cut and glaze duty while I fried.

I've had a fear of frying in the past because of trouble controlling the temperature. This time I used an electric skillet my mother-in-law gave me and it worked beautifully. Each of the doughnuts turned out light, fluffy, and moist. They were so good it was hard not to snork the whole batch!

Spudnuts
adapted from Taste of Home

1/2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk (110 to 115 deg. F)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Oil for deep-fat frying
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid; cool to 110 - 115 deg. F. Discard remaining cooking liquid (or save it to make bread). Mash potatoes without milk or butter.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in reserved cooking liquid. Add mashed potatoes, milk, oil, sugar, eggs, and salt. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; let rise again until doubled, about 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 3-inch doughnut cutter.

In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 deg. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden brown. For glaze, combine confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla in a bowl. Dip warm doughnuts in glaze. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: 2 dozen, but feel free to double the recipe to feed a crowd