Drop Doughnuts - An Easy True Favorite
Grandma Betty Rust's Drop Doughnuts
This recipe for Drop Doughnuts is very much loved family staple. Just the mention of these crispy, sugary bites of sheer happiness brings everyone running to snatch them up. Once I get started cooking, it is hard to keep up as they get eaten. The fact I got a picture of the finished doughnuts at all is a small miracle. Luckily, the recipe makes quite a few so there's more than enough for 5 hungry kids and their parents.
This a relatively simple recipe, with ingredients you probably always have in your pantry and fridge. The only bitty downside is the care and time needed to cook them properly, and it takes a while. I didn't time the effort from beginning to end, so it will be a surprise, but maybe 45 mins, including help from a 6 year old and occasional help from the twins.
When you are ready to begin, start heating up the oil. I used an 8 inch round saucepan filled with vegetable oil about 2 1/2 inches deep, or slightly more. I don't have a fryer, but this works well. Heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or, if you don't have a thermometer for use in oil, set your burner to med-high, and test the oil with a small drop of the dough. If bubbles form around it and it floats, it's warm enough. You don't want the oil too cool or the dough will get oily and not cook. It should also not get too hot or the oil will smoke and the dough will burn and leave the insides of the doughnut holes uncooked. It just takes a bit of practice, and always watching your oil to keep it just right.
Now it's time to mix up the dough. You'll need:
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (cinnamon can be substituted)
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk (almond milk works, too)
4 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
Mix the dry ingredients together first in a mixer with a dough hook. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined and you have a smooth and sticky dough. If you don't have a mixer, you'll have to muscle through it with your blending tool of choice.
By now your oil should be hot so test it with a drop of dough. When the bubbles form around it, start carefully dropping in small teaspoons of dough. I was able to fit 9 drops in each batch, leaving a little room for them to turn.
Be sure not to make the dough drops too big, as the dough will puff up as it cooks. My cooked drops measured 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches round. You'll need to make sure the oil is deep enough so the dough can cook without resting on the bottom of the pan. As one side browns, use a fork and turn them to brown the other side. Most of mine turned themselves over when they were brown, so that made it easy. Be sure to let them cook long enough to get them cooked through. Biting into a doughy one will ruin your fun.
When they're done, I drain mine on paper towels stacked on a plate. Let them cool enough to handle, and roll them in white sugar.
Also, this dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for several days before cooking. And while white sugar is the traditional way to coat the doughnut holes, adding things like cinnamon to the sugar or using powdered sugar would give them a variety twist. Comment below about how making these went, and if you tried a different coating, what was it like? We'd love to hear from you.
Stay warm everyone, and enjoy this very Rust family food!
Mamma Rust
This recipe for Drop Doughnuts is very much loved family staple. Just the mention of these crispy, sugary bites of sheer happiness brings everyone running to snatch them up. Once I get started cooking, it is hard to keep up as they get eaten. The fact I got a picture of the finished doughnuts at all is a small miracle. Luckily, the recipe makes quite a few so there's more than enough for 5 hungry kids and their parents.
This a relatively simple recipe, with ingredients you probably always have in your pantry and fridge. The only bitty downside is the care and time needed to cook them properly, and it takes a while. I didn't time the effort from beginning to end, so it will be a surprise, but maybe 45 mins, including help from a 6 year old and occasional help from the twins.
When you are ready to begin, start heating up the oil. I used an 8 inch round saucepan filled with vegetable oil about 2 1/2 inches deep, or slightly more. I don't have a fryer, but this works well. Heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or, if you don't have a thermometer for use in oil, set your burner to med-high, and test the oil with a small drop of the dough. If bubbles form around it and it floats, it's warm enough. You don't want the oil too cool or the dough will get oily and not cook. It should also not get too hot or the oil will smoke and the dough will burn and leave the insides of the doughnut holes uncooked. It just takes a bit of practice, and always watching your oil to keep it just right.
Now it's time to mix up the dough. You'll need:
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (cinnamon can be substituted)
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk (almond milk works, too)
4 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
Mix the dry ingredients together first in a mixer with a dough hook. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined and you have a smooth and sticky dough. If you don't have a mixer, you'll have to muscle through it with your blending tool of choice.
By now your oil should be hot so test it with a drop of dough. When the bubbles form around it, start carefully dropping in small teaspoons of dough. I was able to fit 9 drops in each batch, leaving a little room for them to turn.
Be sure not to make the dough drops too big, as the dough will puff up as it cooks. My cooked drops measured 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches round. You'll need to make sure the oil is deep enough so the dough can cook without resting on the bottom of the pan. As one side browns, use a fork and turn them to brown the other side. Most of mine turned themselves over when they were brown, so that made it easy. Be sure to let them cook long enough to get them cooked through. Biting into a doughy one will ruin your fun.
When they're done, I drain mine on paper towels stacked on a plate. Let them cool enough to handle, and roll them in white sugar.
Also, this dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for several days before cooking. And while white sugar is the traditional way to coat the doughnut holes, adding things like cinnamon to the sugar or using powdered sugar would give them a variety twist. Comment below about how making these went, and if you tried a different coating, what was it like? We'd love to hear from you.
Stay warm everyone, and enjoy this very Rust family food!
Mamma Rust
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