BEST DONUTS IN PORTLAND RECIPES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine milk, egg, egg yolk, butter, sugar, salt, nutmeg, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Meanwhile, for filling, prepare pudding mix according to package directions. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pudding; refrigerate until cold., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll to 3/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. biscuit cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 25 minutes. , In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into pudding. Refrigerate, covered, while frying doughnuts., In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 350°. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Cool slightly., Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert a small tip. Fill bag with filling. With a small knife, pierce a hole into the side of each doughnut; pipe filling into hole, allowing some of filling to spill out for a tongue., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and hot water., Spread tops of doughnuts with glaze; let stand until set. If desired, pipe two small dots of vanilla frosting near the tongue for eyes. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Heat the milk until it is warm but not hot, about 90 degrees. In a large bowl, combine it with the yeast. Stir lightly, and let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, beat the eggs, butter, sugar and salt into the yeast mixture. Add half of the flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons), and mix until combined, then mix in the rest of the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, if the dough is too wet. If you’re using an electric mixer, the dough will probably become too thick to beat; when it does, transfer it to a floured surface, and gently knead it until smooth. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, and cover. Let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts with a doughnut cutter, concentric cookie cutters or a drinking glass and a shot glass (the larger one should be about 3 inches in diameter), flouring the cutters as you go. Reserve the doughnut holes. If you’re making filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the middle. Knead any scraps together, being careful not to overwork, and let rest for a few minutes before repeating the process.
• Put the doughnuts on two floured baking sheets so that there is plenty of room between each one. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until they are slightly puffed up and delicate, about 45 minutes. If your kitchen isn’t warm, heat the oven to 200 at the beginning of this step, then turn off the heat, put the baking sheets in the oven and leave the door ajar.
• About 15 minutes before the doughnuts are done rising, put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and heat it to 375. Meanwhile, line cooling racks, baking sheets or plates with paper towels.
• Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil, a few at a time. If they’re too delicate to pick up with your fingers (they may be this way only if you rose them in the oven), use a metal spatula to pick them up and slide them into the oil. It’s O.K. if they deflate a bit; they’ll puff back up as they fry. When the bottoms are deep golden, after 45 seconds to a minute, use a slotted spoon to flip; cook until they’re deep golden all over. Doughnut holes cook faster. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared plates or racks, and repeat with the rest of the dough, adjusting the heat as needed to keep the oil at 375. Glaze or fill as follows, and serve as soon as possible.