Glazed Donut Cookies Family Cookie Recipes

Steps:

• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold and stir until just combined.
• Scoop the dough by level tablespoonfuls onto one of the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate until slightly chilled and firm, about 15 minutes.
• With lightly floured hands, roll each piece out into a 51/2-inch-long rope. Join the ends together to form 2-inch rings. Place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about a 1 inch between the cookies.
• Once you've filled the 2 baking sheets (you should be able to fit about 14 on each sheet), bake the cookies until puffed and very light brown on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes, switching the baking sheets in the oven halfway through baking. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Let the baking sheets cool and bake the remaining cookies.
• For the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, grape jelly and 1/3 cup water in a medium bowl. Dip the rounded top of the cooled cookies into the glaze, letting any excess drip off, and place back on the rack. Immediately decorate with chocolate sprinkles before the glaze sets. Let the cookies sit for about 30 minutes for the glaze to harden. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For glaze, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in cream, corn syrup and vanilla. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate; whisk until blended. Transfer to a large bowl. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Dip tops of cookies into glaze. Decorate as desired with sprinkles and chopped nuts. Let stand 30 minutes or until set., Freeze option: Place wrapped disks in resealable plastic freezer bag; freeze. To use, thaw disks in refrigerator until soft enough to roll. Prepare, bake and decorate cookies as directed.

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.
• Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, dip into the glaze; if you like, flip them so the tops they're completely covered. Put on racks to let the glaze harden.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4 cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (the milk will be room temperature at this point). Add the rested flour mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add 1 cup of flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix on medium until it's incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• Remove the paddle attachment from the mixer, and switch to the dough hook. Start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute. The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that you can't roll it out. (For this step, you may only need to use as little as 1/4 cup flour, so there may be flour leftover.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
• When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. (For filled doughnuts, don't cut out the holes.) Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. To test, use a fingertip to lightly touch one of the doughnuts. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs more time; if it springs back slowly, it's ready; and if the dough doesn't spring back at all, it's over-proofed. You can punch down and reroll over-proofed dough once.
• While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to 360°F between batches. Let the doughnuts cool slightly before glazing with the Basic Sugar Glaze or Chocolate Glaze .