Hey, y’all! I think I saw G-d last weekend when I made some yeast-raised, raspberry-pomegranate filled, vanilla-glazed 100% white flour doughnuts. My eyes rolled back in my head and (almost) every pleasure circuit in my brain lit up. If that’s what crack feels like, it’s a good thing I don’t like to smoke. Whoo hoo!!

In order to be a responsible carb-head, I tried today making both white flour and whole-wheat flour doughnuts, thinking that the whole-wheat ones might light up enough pleasure circuits to be really good, but not addictive. I think that experiment was a success, but if you want the full-blown, Nirvana-inducing, mind-altering experience, I recommend 100% white bread flour in these. Just don’t blame me if you can’t stop.

Make these with a friend, your spouse, or your kid(s). It’s much easier to get a groove going if you can make the whole frying, filling, glazing process a sort of assembly line.

(To read my whole article on doughnuts, with additional info on frying, and with 2 cake doughnut recipes, click here.)

From my upcoming book – “Vegan Doughnuts Increase Your Pants Size”:

Yeast-Raised Doughnuts

Recipe By: Lisa T. Bennett (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

Serving Size: 24

Preparation Time: 1 hr to prepare, 3 hrs (or overnight) to rise

2 packages yeast (or 4 teaspoons bulk yeast)

1/2 cup warm water

3/4 cup soy milk

1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (like Spectrum), melted

1/3 cup unbleached sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour, or a mix of the two)

1. If using standard dry yeast, mix yeast with warm water (about 110 F – should feel barely warm to your wrist). If using instant or “Rapid Rise” yeast, mix yeast with the first cup of flour instead of mixing it with the warm water. Otherwise, follow recipe as shown, mixing water with soy milk (water doesn’t have to be warm).

2. Combine soymilk, melted shortening, sugar, and salt.

3. Add 1 cup of flour, beat well.

4. Add enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough. Mix well. (This can be done with a mixer or you can use a strong spoon and build some muscles. I used a stand mixer.)

5. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl; turn to oil top. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or as long as overnight. (Putting dough into a ziplock back also works.)

6. 1 hour before serving: Remove dough from refrigerator. Punch dough down.

7. On lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/3 inch thick.

8. Cut with floured doughnut cutter (see notes). Place on baking sheet and let rise until very light (30-40 minutes).

9. Heat oil to 370 F in saucepan (use candy/deep-frying thermometer) or in electric deep-fryer with thermostat. **Be careful not to overheat oil or it will smoke and can catch fire. Never leave hot oil unattended!!**

10. Fry for 2 minutes or ’til browned, turning once. **Do not fry more than 3 full-sized doughnuts at a time or the oil will cool down and the doughnuts will be oily.**

11. Drain doughnuts on paper towels and while warm, roll in granulated sugar or cinnamon-sugar mix, powdered sugar, or dip the doughnuts into one of the glazes listed below. Drain the dipped doughnuts on a cooking rack set over a cookie sheet to catch the excess glaze. Allow them to cool for a few minutes to allow the glaze to set before moving or serving them.

Notes: for regular glazed doughnuts with holes, cut with a doughnut cutter or use a round (or whatever shape you like) cutter for the outside, and a much smaller cutter for the hole.

For Jelly-filled Doughnuts: You’ll need about 7 or 8 ounces of your favorite jam or jelly. Stir it up to loosen it (or warm it slightly if it’s really stiff). Fill a pastry bag (or a sturdy ziplock bag with a corner snipped off) with the jam/jelly.

Cut the doughnuts with no hole in the center (I made mine heart-shaped, but round is easier). Follow all the directions above for raising & frying. Allow the doughnuts to cool just until they won’t burn your fingers. Take a chopstick or something similar and poke a hole into the side of the doughnut and sweep the chopstick in an arc to make a pocket for the jelly/jam. Fill a pastry bag with your favorite runny jam or jelly. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the hole of each doughnut and fill. Glaze with they’re still warm.

Doughnut Glazes

Recipe By: Lisa T. Bennett

Serving Size: 24

Preparation Time: 0:10

2 cups unbleached confectioners or powdered sugar.

3 tablespoons liquid (or more)

1 teaspoon additional flavoring

Use 3 tablespoons of liquid if you want to drizzle glaze on doughnuts, and up to 6 or maybe even 7 tablespoons if you want to dip doughnuts in a very thin glaze (this is my preferred method!!).

Vanilla Glaze: use water for liquid and vanilla extract for flavor.

Lemon Glaze: Use lemon juice for water and grated lemon zest (organic) or lemon extract for flavor.

Orange Glaze: Use orange juice for liquid and grated orange zest (organic) or orange extract for flavor.

Coffee Glaze (good on Chocolate Doughnuts): use strong coffee for liquid and coffee extract for flavor.

Peppermint Glaze (for Chocolate Doughnuts): Use water for liquid and peppermint extract for flavor. Add a pinch of beet powder to color pink if desired.

Notes: If you’re making an entire batch of one flavor doughnuts, you can add flavoring agents to the dough as well. For example, one tablespoon of lemon zest will make lemon doughnuts even more lemony!