Glazed Blueberry Donuts

Whenever I make Pillsbury biscuits or crescent rolls, I always save some of the raw dough to make into donuts. I love cooking from scratch, but I also love doing the semi-homemade thing: doctoring up cake mixes or turning biscuits into donuts. Last time at the grocery store I saw blueberry biscuits on sale for a buck and decided to try them. I love blueberry pancakes, muffins, and donuts. Now I could make my own! As biscuits, I wasn't overly impressed with them. Glad I tried them, but wouldn't buy them again. However, as glazed donuts, these things are amazing.

Ingredients:
Donuts
Pillsbury biscuits
vegetable oil

Glaze
1/8 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Donuts
Now you can make these one of two ways. If you want regular donuts, use an empty pop bottle to make a hole in the middle of each biscuit (then pop the dough out of the bottle and make donut holes!) Or if you are lazy like I was when I made this, flatten them to desired width so they're like elephant ears (I came out with a cross between a donut and elephant ear).

Pour your vegetable oil in a large sauce pan, enough so that the donuts can be submerged. Heat the oil over med-hi heat to between 360 and 375 degrees. (I don't use a candy thermometer; I just wing it.) With tongs put your biscuit into the oil and cook until the perfect golden brown on each side. Place on a plate lined with paper towel.

Glaze
In a small sauce pan, heat the milk and vanilla over low heat until warm. Sift in powdered sugar into the pan. Slowly whisk the sugar in until well combined. Remove from heat. Dunk donuts into the glaze, one at a time, and set on a rack. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. (Recipe from here.)

Every time I make donuts, Eric want me to make a glaze. I've resisted all this time because secretly I like cinnamon-sugar donuts the best so that what I usually make. But I decided to give it a whirl this time because I didn't think cinnamon-sugar or a frosting would compliment the blueberry donuts. I'm glad I glazed them and Eric was absolutely thrilled.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Homemade Donuts and Elephant Ears

Being the sweet and loving girlfriend that I am, I surprised Eric with breakfast in bed. A nutritious meal of homemade donuts.

Mini Elephant Ears

Okay, that's a little bit of a lie. I am a sweet and loving girlfriend. But not sweet and loving enough to actually get up super early and make the pastry dough from scratch. I suppose the title should read Semi-Homemade Donuts and Elephant Ears. I used tubes of crescent rolls and biscuits to make my donuts.

Elephant Ears
Elephants ears are the easier of the two to make. Whenever we make crescents for dinner, we usually save two to three of the triangles in a Tupperware container so we can make them into donuts later.

Ingredients:
1 tube of crescent rolls
vegetable oil
granulated sugar
cinnamon

Directions:
Unroll your crescent roll dough and separate all the triangles. Generously coat the bottom of a skillet with the vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot use tongs to add the crescent roll triangles.

Frying the crescent rolls

Cook for approximately one or two minutes or until you notice the dough beginning to puff up. When the dough begins to puff, flip the triangles over and cook for about 30 seconds or until the dough turns a golden brown.

Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Dredge the elephant ears in the mixture cinnamon sugar or sprinkle the mixture on the donuts. Serve while still warm.

Donuts and Donut Holes
Donuts and donut holes take a little more oil and a little more work to make than the Elephant Ears, but they are just as yummy.

Ingredients:
1 tube of biscuits
vegetable oil
cinnamon sugar, optional
powdered sugar, optional
frosting, optional
glaze, optional

Directions:
Separate your biscuits and lay them out on your work space. Rinse out an empty soda pop bottle. The size of the bottle doesn't matter. Remove the cap and press the opening of bottle into the center the biscuit to make the hole in the center. To get the dough out of the bottle opening, just squeeze the sides of the bottle; it'll pop right out and you'll have donut holes. Repeat with the rest of the biscuits.

Fill a saucepan half way with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, submerge one or two donuts in the oil at a time. Cook until they are a golden brown, about a minute or two. Place the donuts on a paper towel-lined plate.

Eat your donuts plain or decorate with cinnamon-sugar (our favorite), powdered sugar, frosting, or glaze. I don't have a recipe for glaze yet, much to Eric's disappointment. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

~Krissy