spudnuts

photo found on flickr.com- my kitchen was a floured mess and i didn't want to bust out the camera.

every year for mike's birthday, we make homemade donuts and have friends and family over to celebrate. it's definitely a two-person undertaking! however, the work is worth it and it's a fun tradition we have to make them together.

1 quart milk

1 cup shortening

1 T. salt

1/2 t. lemon juice or vinegar

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 yeast cakes

4-5 eggs

2 cups mashed potato flakes

1 cup sugar

enough flour to make a soft dough. i used at least 8 cups of flour, and a couple more cups when rolling out the dough

scald milk and add shortening. stir until well-mixed; set aside to cool to room temperature, then add yeast. combine salt, lemon juice/vinegar, nutmeg, and sugar. beat eggs and add to sugar mixture. add potato flakes and milk mixture, then slowly add flour until dough is slightly sticky but pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

let dough rise until it doubles in size (2-3 hours). roll out on floured board and cut. let them rise for another hour or so. cook in hot oil.

some people like to sprinkle powdered sugar on them; we prefer to dip them in a glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

enjoy!