Fall baking, you keep me from taking naps. That's probably a good thing.
Today, I tried to make doughnuts... again. When I was home a month ago, Mallory, my sister-in-law, and I attempted since she had a deep fryer. It didn't go very well. The oil was too hot, we didn't have enough oil, and the doughnut recipe wasn't very good.
At least, this attempt redeemed homemade doughnuts. I've been craving them ever since we went to the orchard last weekend and bought apple cider doughnuts. I improvised on many levels: no buttermilk, no doughnut cutter or any cookie cutters (whoops, forgot that on my registry), and no chilling. And, I also let my oil get too hot.
As a result, these were my problems. The first few, during the too hot oil phase, were not cooked in the center. While the whole chilling the dough for three hours does not solve immediate cravings, I'm assuming it prevents the outside from overcooking making an overall fluffier doughnut. Mine were crunchy on the outside like elephants ears. I'm not complaining. I really like elephant ears.
In the end, they were awesome. It was like biting into deep-fried fall.
Next on the baking list: pumpkin pancakes and apple butter. Look for it this next week. Oh, and do you see that cute little pumpkin? 69 cents at Trader Joe's. I love it. For the spiced pumpkin doughnut recipe...