Back in November, I was in Anaheim, California on vacation (I’ll bet you can guess where). One night I got the itch to get out of the house that we were renting, so I went on a little drive down the block at about 12:00 am. I drove past a little donut shop called M & M Donut and there was a line of cars winding around and around in the parking lot. It was so busy and the line was so long that it looked more like a tailgating party than anything else. I had to stop! I figured that if other people were crazy enough to brave the line, I had to as well. I asked some people in the parking lot what the big deal was and they told me that the donuts were made fresh and the blueberry donuts were the best that they had ever had. With that, I decided to get in line.

I waited in line for about 40 minutes and was still no where near the entrance and decided that even if they were the best ever, it wasn’t worth the wait when I had a 24 hour drive the next day, so I headed back empty handed. The next morning I went back and they were still open, still making fresh donuts to order, with no line! Apparently the party starts when they first open at midnight, but in the morning (when normal people eat donuts), the party would already move on. Either way, I bought a dozen of their hot, fresh blueberry donuts…and they were great. Not only were they piping hot, but they tasted great as well. I decided that I had to try and replicate the recipe.

I think I succeeded. Like my Facebook page and let me know if you agree.

Blueberry Donuts (Adapted from this recipe)

1 cup – All purpose flour

1 3/4 cups – Cake flour

1 Tbsp. – Baking powder

1 tsp. – Salt

1/2 tsp. – Fresh ground cinnamon

1 tsp. – Fresh ground nutmeg

3/4 cup – Sugar

2 Tbsp. – Shortening

1 – Large egg

1/2 cup – Milk

1/3 cup – Plain mashed potatoes

3/4 cup – Fresh blueberries

Peanut oil for frying

Icing (see below)

 

Sift the flours, spices, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Cream the shortening and sugar together in a large stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and mashed potatoes and cream again until smooth. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/3 of the milk to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Repeat twice more until the flour and milk is just incorporated. Add blueberries, stir once. Cover and chill for 24 hours.

Heat oil in a large heavy pan to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s important not to skimp on the oil because it will keep the temperature more consistent (I used enough for the pan to be about 4-5 inches deep). You don’t want the temp to swing either direction. Oil that is too cold can result in greasy donuts. Oil that is too hot results in raw centers. Line a small baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack on it that will sit above the paper towels without touching.

Flour a clean dry surface with until well coated. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the contents (still cold) onto the floured surface. Press lightly with your hands (no need to roll and fold, the less you work the dough the better) until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Flour the top of the dough and make sure that there is enough flour on under the dough so that it doesn’t stick. Using a 3 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Using a 1 inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the centers out. Gently ball up the remaining dough and repeat the process.

Fry the donuts, a couple at a time at the most. After each batch, wait for the oil to hit 360 again. When the dough is dropped into the oil, it will first sink to the bottom. Once it rises to the top, flip it over using a chopstick. Go ahead and flip the donut 2-3 more times to ensure even cooking and a golden brown surface. Once completed, remove to a wire rack to drip dry. Setting donuts (or any deep fried food) on a paper towel, will make the food more greasy. It is better to allow the food to drip dry so that it doesn’t sit in the cooling oil.

Once the donuts are slightly cooled but still hot, dip one side in the glaze and let cool (if you can wait).

Simple Cinnamon Glaze

2 cups – Powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. – Ground cinnamon

2-3 Tbsp. – Light cream

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and stir well. The consistency should be so that when you write your first initial into the bowl of glaze with a spoon, the glaze returns to smooth after about 3 seconds. If it’s too thick add more cream. If it’s too thin add more powdered sugar.