It's Doughnut Time!

This past weekend was General Conference, which has always been a special time for our family. It is a time where we get to hear from our prophets and leaders all at once. In my family growing up, October Conference also meant one more thing- making doughnuts. What correlation is there between a very special, spiritual weekend and doughnuts? None really, but we always looked forward to it as children. When I told Eric about this tradition, he was quite willing to help me with it. Who can say no to doughnuts- especially home-made doughnuts? When I found out that he had actually never tasted home-made doughnuts before, it was decided--we had to make them.

Here is the recipe that my family usually uses. They are really good! Especially hot out of the oil with a big mug of apple cider!
Donuts:
2 Tbsp yeast
2 cups milk scalded, then cooled down
5-6 cups flour
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
oil for frying

Dissolve yeast in cooled milk. Add 2 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and beat. Let stand 1/2 hour. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a separate bowl. Add oil and egg mixture to the yeast mixture. Add 3-4 cups flour. Beat well. Cover and let rise 1/2 to one hour. Place dough on a well floured board and roll out to 1/2 thick. Using a round cookie cutter or the mouth of a cup, cut out circle shapes. Cut out smaller circles in the middle of each larger circle for the donut holes. (We used the mouth of a clean water bottle for this part and it worked great). Place donuts and donut holes so they don't touch and let rise- about 15 minutes. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Flip donut halfway through frying to fry evenly on both sides. Place on plate covered with paper towels after frying to absorb some of the oil. Roll in sugar and enjoy!

**This recipe makes a ton of donuts so you may want to half or third the recipe depending on your family size. Eric and I only made 1/3 of the recipe and we still had plenty!

This tradition of eating doughnuts always seemed to mark the beginning of Fall. So, Happy Fall to everyone! I am so excited for the leaves to change and for all the pumpkin recipes we will be able to make!