Driven to Doughnuts

For some reason lately Mondays just aren't something I have been enjoying.  This week was no exception.  Like I was telling my friend, I wasn't stirring the pot.  I fell into a pot I didn't know was there and then she tried to save me with the spoon and it could have appeared that we were stirring a pot.

But whatever.  Our friendship is still intact, it's all simmering down now, nobody was hurt, and I was simply driven to doughnuts.  Calla requested them and they sounded pretty good.  So I found a recipe for raised doughnuts.

Now, when I use a recipe, I don't necessarily follow the recipe. My sister-in-law pointed this out to me recently.  A recipe to me is many times merely a guide.  Sometimes the results are good.  Sometimes the results aren't so good.  And sometimes they are somewhere in between.  But 99% of the time, they are certainly edible.

The recipe I found seemed to be a good one.  But I have no yeast.  I have sourdough starter.  And I didn't have enough milk.  But I had some "real" hot cocoa I had made last week.  Good enough for me.

Since I have never made raised doughnuts before, I had no idea what texture the dough should be.  I think mine was not quite firm enough.  And I don't think I let it rise long enough on either rise. 

I also didn't have a doughnut cutter.  So I used a glass and I poked my finger through the middle.

But, even with all that, my results were pleasing.  I called my fellow accidental pot-stirring friend and told her that I loved her enough to make her doughnuts, but not enough to actually take them to her.  She said she'd be by shortly. 

Calla requested chocolate with sprinkles.  That's exactly what she got!

They were different.  Good different.  Kind of bagel-y dense and sourdough chewy, moist, and they had a sourdough crunch to them.  I think I might be on to something here. 

You can be the judge as to whether the kids liked them.  (Or at least whether they liked the chocolate or not.)

My pot-stirring friend called me later to tell me they were the best doughnuts on the planet. And her husband agreed. 

I should try them again sometime.  But next time I should actually take the time to convert it right.  But however it goes, I don't know how anyone could go wrong with deep fried dough rolled in sugar or topped with chocolate and sprinkles.  It somehow has the power to make a Monday gone bad worth powering through.