Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Drops

Deep-fried donuts! Anything better? Not much. I love donuts. In fact I can safely say it is 3rd on my list of addictions. Thankfully that list ends at #3. First off, my #1 addiction is coffee. If I don't have it to start off the day then let's just say my mug shot could be on the evening news. #2: SALT! Many moons ago when I was just a little girl, my dad bought me a pony. And that little pony was lovely. A furry and brown Morgan horse and by far, the most gentle pet I have ever owned in my life. Anyway, I digress. What I remember most is watching him go crazy with his salt block. He would lick that thing on and off day and night. I couldn't understand why he liked it so much. Fast forward to today - I totally understand. In fact I am considering buying myself one and keeping it under my desk. Thankfully my blood-pressure is low, always has been, so I am safe - for now. But #3 on my list is what brings me here today - DONUTS ! Any kind - fried, baked, yeast-based, old-fashioned, cake style, French crullers, fritters. I will eat them all.

On Lemon Drop I have 2 blog posts now related to donuts: A regular baked version topped with chocolate glaze and a gluten-free baked lemon donut. The fact is I went with baked for both because I am afraid of oil. First, second or third degree burns are simply not what I wish to experience now or in the future. I grew up with a fear (thanks, Mom) of splattering oil. I figured daring to deep-fry donuts would result in a trip to the nearest emergency room so for years I have avoided it. Until today. What changed today? Today I bought a new book called Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

A fantastic book! The photos are glorious. The recipes are divine.

Immediately I hit a snag. I didn't have any yeast handy and the majority of the recipes at the beginning of the book are yeast-based. But then I saw the recipe: Old-Fashioned Sour Cream !
No need for yeast and these guys are deep-fried ! So I decided to make them asap. Instead of going for the traditional donut shape I went with little circles instead. Pretty much "donut-holes". I prefer to call them Donut Drops.

Words of caution: be careful not to over-bake. Do not let them cook longer than 2 minutes MAX on one side before flipping. If your dough is 1/2" thick then I say turn them over at 1 minute. Also, keep the oil at 350F. This can be challenging but necessary. Too cool and the donuts will just be greasy sponges. Too hot and they will cook too fast on the outside with uncooked centers.

LET'S GET STARTED!

You will need an oil/candy thermometer and a deep pot. I used my dutch oven.


Have your biscuit cutter handy. The smallest out of the stack

I let these cool about 5 minutes before spooning 1 teaspoon of glaze over each one.
They would also be lovely topped with sifted powdered sugar.

RECIPE*:
* Recipe adapted from Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni.

This made 22 donut drops for me with a 1 1/2" small biscuit cutter

WHAT YOU NEED

DONUT DROPS

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ( I like nutmeg in donuts so added this to the recipe)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup full fat sour cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or veggie shortening. I used Crisco shortening
Vegetable oil for frying ( 2 inches deep with 2 inches above the rim of a suitable pot)

VANILLA GLAZE

1 cup icing sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

MAKE IT

IN MEDIUM BOWL, sift together first 5 ingredients
IN LARGE BOWL, combine sugar, sour cream, egg and shortening.
BLEND with a whisk until thoroughly combined
SLOWLY add flour mixture to egg mixture, folding in with a spatula, until thoroughly combined and dough is smooth and uniform in texture
COVER with cling film and put in refrigerator for 15 minutes
HEAT oil to 350F
ROLL out dough onto floured surface to 1/2" thickness
CUT out circles with small biscuit cutter
WORKING with 5 donut drops at a time, place cutouts into hot oil with a heat-proof spatula/skimmer
LET COOK 1 minute, turn over and let cook another minute
PLACE cooked donut drops onto paper towel to drain
MOVE to cooling rack which is placed over a cookie sheet lined with wax paper
CONTINUE cooking donut drops until all dough is used.

MAKE GLAZE:

WHISK together icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract
WITH A TEASPOON, pour glaze over donuts
LET sit 5 minutes until glaze sets

ENJOY !

P.S. Not one burn ! I am 100% burn-free :)

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