Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Christmas #Hanukkah #Holiday #Gluten-Free

Libby Klein Today I am thrilled to offer a Hanukkah recipe! I have been gluten-free for a long time, and I've been able to replicate everything I love in a gluten-free copycat version with two exceptions. Today I have conquered one of them. Jelly Donuts. 

Full disclosure: I am not Jewish. I know some of you think I am because of my last name - but it's German. I have friends who are Jewish which is how I know sufganiyot - or - Jelly donuts are a Hanukkah tradition. So I figured with all the Christmas hoopla going on, what better time to offer up a recipe that includes my Jewish friends?

My love for donuts goes back to Sunday School where a kaleidoscope of colorful pastries were set out before every service in what I'm sure was meant as a sugary bribe for attendance. A bribe I was all there for. Being one of my favorite foods in the world, the lack of a good yeast-raised jelly donut is a celiac tragedy. 

Until now. These were not hard to make, but I'm not someone who deep fries things very ofte, so that learning curve was the hardest part for me. I had trouble getting the oil not to overheat. Too hot and the donuts get too brown on the outside and stay raw on the inside. My stove and cookware tend to be overachievers too. Once I got my oil to the right temperature I turned off the heat and kept my eye on the thermometer for cooling off. Then I'd give the burner a quick burst of flames to keep it steady.

The finished donuts are near perfect. It has been so long since I've had a proper jelly donut that I totally forgot to roll some of them in powdered sugar.

Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts

Makes 1 dozen donuts

*This recipe has a long chill time before they rise

 

Ingredients

Oil for deep frying (canola, vegetable, or melted shortening)

Deep Fryer or heavy pan like a Dutch oven (You will need enough shortening or oil to fill the pan enough so the donuts can sink down half-way.)

Candy/Frying Thermometer or a digital thermometer that goes up to 400º

 

Sweet Dough
1 ¾ cups (490g) gluten-free bread flour blend
½ cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp plus ¾ teaspoon (24g) instant yeast
1 tbsp whole psyllium husks (or 1½ tbsp psyllium husk powder), optional 
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups (360ml) whole milk (or dairy-free alternative)
1/3 cup (169g) butter, very soft or melted (or dairy-free butter)
1 large egg, at room temperature

Fluffy Filling

½ cup shortening, softened

½ cup (125 g) powdered sugar

¾ cups marshmallow fluff – the thick kind – not sundae topping

¼ teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Toppings

Powdered Sugar

Granulated Sugar

Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)

 

Vanilla Glaze

1 cups (250 g) powdered sugar

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp (60 ml) whole milk

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Instructions

 

For the Dough

Heat the milk to just barely warm.

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the dry ingredients. Whisk around to combine. Using a dough hook or metal beater, add the warm milk, followed by the soft butter and then the egg. Beat until a soft dough forms. It will be very sticky. Scrape dough into center of bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

 

Remove dough from the refrigerator and knead it on a well-floured surface until smooth. Roll out to about ½-inch thick.  Cut the dough with donut cutter dipped in flour, or roll into balls and gently flatten down to make fillable donuts. Reroll scraps. Place donuts and holes on parchment squares on a baking sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until a little less than doubled in size. I like to put them in a cold oven with a cake pan of just boiled water on the rack below them.

 

Frying in Oil

When donuts are almost completely risen, heat the oil or shortening in a deep fryer or heavy duty Dutch oven to 320º-330° F. Carefully lower donuts, only a few at a time, into the oil, parchment and all (especially if they're sticking to the parchment). Use tongs to remove the parchment from the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side (longer for donuts without a hole in the center). I didn’t need to put the parchment in the oil but I thought this was a genius idea.

 

Remove the donuts from the oil and place them onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet.   Glaze or garnish and fill as desired. Donuts are best eaten fresh, but will keep for a day, well covered, and can be heated very briefly in the microwave (15 seconds or so).

 

To Make the Fluffy Filling

Whip all the ingredients for the filling in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high. Fill a pastry bag or ziptop bag with the filling and pipe into the cooled donuts.

To Fill

Using a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, puncture a hole on the side of the donut. Fill with jelly, fluffy filling, or anything else you'd like. If you don’t have pastry bags, cut the donuts in half and spoon the filling in the middle.

 

Topping

Roll filled donuts in powdered sugar, granulated sugar, or dip in a glaze. If the granulated sugar won’t stick, brush the donut with a little melted butter first.

 

For Vanilla Glaze:

In the microwave, melt butter with milk in a one-quart measuring cup or bowl.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla, whisking constantly until a pourable consistency.  Dunk donuts in the glaze as desired. Make sure your glaze is not too thick or you’ll end up with frosted donuts instead of glazed donuts.

Recipe from Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake

 

 

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - Kirkus Reviews

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .

 

While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .

 

Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/