A Hint of You: Copycat 'KRISPY KREME' donuts

So i embarked on an arduous* process on tuesday night, which i feel many people would frown upon, given the pre-conditions to starting ...For one it was already 9pm; Secondly, it wasn't even hump day yet; and thirdly, i was slightly drunk. Nah i'm just kidding. But i should have been. I'm not sure what other people do on their tuesday nights; probably more normal things like sitting in a movie theatre gorging themselves on popcorn because it's 'cheap tuesday', and tbh who the f*ck can afford to watch regular priced movies anymore??? But no, my brother coaxed me into making homemade donuts. Which wasn't the least bit regrettable, but probably something you'll wanna start earlier in the day or earlier in the night even.

Just like cinnamon buns, these babies need time to rise two times; this is why the recipe takes quite some time to make. All other components are easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. That is, if you are cool with deep frying.

Did i mention there was going to be deep frying? oh no..well there is! heh...surprise! These are donutsss we're talking about; I have yet to have a baked donut that tastes better than one that's been doused in hot oil to bake up before your eyes. I'll be damned if you can find one either.

I'm not going to beat around the bush much longer, because if you're going to start these, they will consume about 2 and a half hours, start to finish. (mind you, like i mentioned before the bulk of this time is spent waiting for it to rise, not hard labour or anything) P.S there is ZERO kneading in this recipe...pheewww, i bet that was a deal breaker, and you feel a lot better about trying them now.

P.s.s-- i can't decide if i should spell it 'donut' (American spelling) or 'doughnut' (Canadian spelling). I'm a ~~lazy~~ conflicted Canadian evidently.

What you need:
Doughnuts
2 (1/4 ounce) packages (or 4 and a half teaspoons) of quick rise yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled till lukewarm)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter
4-5 cups all-purpose flour
canola oil for deep frying

Glaze (Prepare ahead of frying)
For very sweet: half a regular can of (sweetened) condensed milk, with vanilla and powdered sugar to taste.
OR
Mildly sweet:
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 -6 tablespoons warm milk
--> mix all ingredients together until fully combined.
--->taste as you go! Add other ingredients accordingly.

Cinnamon sugar mixture
1/4C granulated sugar
about 2 tsps cinnamon (more or less depending on personal taste)
-->mix altogether in a separate container with a lid

What you need to do:
step one:
in a large bowl, combine and mix warm water and yeast. It is imperative it's warm, or else the yeast will not activate! so be careful and get it right!

as i said, it was late, so all pictures kindaaa suck. my bad.

step two:
heat milk on stove over med-high heat, stirring occasionally until small bubbles form. Remove from heat. Melt in butter, sugar, and salt. Once it is lukewarm, add the eggs. Add yeast mixture to the milk mixture, along with 2 cups of flour. Mix well until combined, or beat on medium speed for two mins with a mixer.

step three:
Add in remaining flour by 1/2 C increments until dough has come together, and is only tacky, but not superly sticking to your hands or spoon.

step four:
NO kneading! Yipppeeeee!!! stick that ball of dough in a warm place with a damp towel covering it for about 40 mins (once it's puffed up a good amount, and leaves an indentation when poked).

step five:
drop risen dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and pull out that rollin' pin; flatten to about a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick, or thinner of you want not as thick donuts.

step 6:
Cut out donuts with a donut cutter (if you have one hahaha) which of course i did not. So i used a simple glass cup, about 1 and a half inches in diameter. Then plucked out the centers with a melon scoop spoon thingy. You can use a shot glass for mini donuts, or something larger for a bigger doughnut. The options are endless!!! You may want to keep in mind that when these rise again, the centre-hole will fill in more, and again when you stick them in the oil to bake.

step 7:
After cutting out all your donuts, place them in a greased pan or on parchment paper to rise again, about 30 mins, or until doubled.

yep, these are ready to deep fry!

step 8:
heat your oil in a large pan to 350; no, i don't have a thermometer to check temperature, i just used a few of the donut centre's as testers and heated the oil accordingly. It will be in your best interest to use a pan that has a lip like mine, so you can slide them into it easily. Please note, i used my bare hands to 'guide the slide' of them into the hot oil...which is obviously not ideal, but i found using tongs to drop them in ruined the nice shape of the dough.

puff-up, my pretties!

step 9:
fry them for about 1min each side, or until they are a light golden colour --just like the lone donut in this picture above. Remove promptly and set on a paper-towel-lined-plate (or pan or whatever).

step 10:
if you have an extra set of helping hands, get them busy with glazing the donuts about a minute after removing them from the hot oil and have been de-greased a bit....But! if you are covering them in a cinnamon sugar mixture, i would suggest taking them straight from the hot oil and into an already prepared pan of the sugar mixture. Shake them well to distribute the mixture all over the donuts. The grease really helps it stick ;)