Homemade Donuts

I used the recipe below that I got from a friend in my old ward to make homemade donuts last night. I made a couple of different glazes to put on top of them, and they turned out delicous. My favorite was chocolate with sprinkles using this chocolate glaze.




Conference Potato Donuts
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast (2 pkgs)
1 cup shortening
6 eggs, beaten
4 tsp. salt
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups mashed potatoes (salt before cooking) -- can also substitute 2 cups of instant potatoes
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
12-13 cups of flour

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Set aside.
2. Combine milk, shortening, salt, sugar, mashed potatoes in a pot and heat to lukewarm.
3. Transfer potato mixture to mixing bowl and add beaten eggs and water/yeast mixture.
4. Add 6 cups flour and beat until well blended and smooth.
5. Add the lemon juice, rind, and nutmeg and mix.
6. Add remaining flour to make a soft, but firm, dough. (Firm enough to roll out).
7. Knead dough until smooth then cover and let rise until double in bulk.
8. Once doubled, punch down and divide dough in half. Roll out 1/2 inch thick then out donuts with donut cutter or I used glasses and a water bottle top for the donut hole.
9. Allow donuts to rise until double, covered, for 30-40 minutes.
10. Fry in vegetable oil, 375 degrees until golden on each side.
11. Drain on absorbent paper (aka paper towels), then glaze/top however you would like. Makes about 100 doughnuts.
    

Original Glaze- mix all ingredients together well.

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup warm water (1 tbsp at a time)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp corn syrup

Orange Glaze: mix all ingredients together well.

Same ingredients as above just substitute orange juice for the warm water and add orange zest.

Our Version of Texas Biscuits and Gravy

We love this around our house. Not all of my children like the gravy so I make extra biscuits to eat with jam and butter. You can use your favorite biscuit recipe if you'd like. Here's the one I used.

Here's how we make our gravy:

2 Tbls. butter
2 or 3 beef bullion cubes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 lb. sausage, ground

Combine ingredients over low heat. Continue until sausage is well done over low-medium heat.

Add to above mixture changing to low heat:

1 8 oz. container of sour cream

Mix below ingredients together for a thickening agent and add a little at a time to get the gravy thickness or thinness you like (you can skip this step if you like the way the gravy already is):

1/4 stick butter to 1/4 cup flour

Slowly add until it's how you like it.

Pour gravy over warm biscuits and enjoy!