Mmm. Donuts!Fresh, fast...
And, made by a 12 year old.
Don't believe me?
Read on... ;)
Safety first:Do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen?
Step 1. Call over the nearest Middle Schooler. Grab Pillsbury biscuits from the fridge. (Any kind is fine. Okay, maybe garlic would be a bit gross.) Make holes in the center of them. If you want donut holes you could punch them out with a
Step 2. Admire your work. Wait, that's not it.I sorta forgot...
Step 0.5 - Take your Cast Iron Camp Stove (dutch oven or other heavy pot) and fill it with a few inches of oil - being sure to stop a few inches from the top edge. (We always want to leave room so oil doesn't overflow, right?) Take your handy probe thermometer...
Me? I like this style but I only paid $20 at Bed Bad and Beyond for it. (I love it because you can set it for 350 and it the alarm will go off when the oil is ready. So, you can step back get the donuts ready. Just be sure that you lift the probe off the bottom for a few seconds to be sure you are getting an oil reading and not the bottom of the metal pot.)
There's Dad...Step 3...showing us how to lay the donuts in. You can use a spider like the one shown. Or, you can use your fingers, carefully, laying the front of the donut in the oil and laying the back down away from you.If there are any platters - which there won't be if you are gentle and lay the donut down away from you - they will splatter away from you.
Step C. Don't over crowd the pot. 2 is our max here. And, actually, I think we did the rest 1 at a time. (Over crowding can cause sticking, it drops the temp of the oil so the donuts can become greasy, and overcrowding makes it difficult to remove them without splattering.)
Step 42.What a pretty little baby donut.
This puppy is almost ready to flip.
Flip.
We tried using the spider to flip.It wasn't bad if there was only one donut.
But, with two, there just wasn't enough room.
(Later we switched to a large serving fork to gently pierce and flip 'em.)
The spider was perfect for lifting them out.
Pretty donut.
Not too much oil coming off it.
Time to roll it in cinnamon sugar.(Our chef couldn't help drawing in it.
When we volunteer at church making pizzas,
he leaves us notes drawn in the flour, too.)
Aren't they pretty?
Talk about full service.
These really were very, very good.They were simple to make - and it was fun having all of us involved in the process.
(Did you notice that you can indeed use a glass top electric oven to heat a cast iron camp stove?)
Next time we might try making all donut holes.
Or, taking a pastry tip and filling them with homemade jam.
Or, maybe melting some chocolate bars...with a teaspoon of shortening in the microwave and dipping the donuts.
Or, dipping them in colored sprinkles for Christmas.
Or, or....
What would YOU do?
If you decide to try these, I'd LOVE to hear from you!
