Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 17 - Old Fashioned Crooks (20 page)

He grinned at
me.
 
“Does that mean that you’ll
still marry me, and settle for an overnight stay in Union Square instead?”

“No, sir.
 
We are going to Paris!”

He looked at me
somberly for a moment before he spoke again.
 
“Suzanne, is that a yes?”

“It is!
 
Yes!
 
Of course it’s a yes!
 
I’m in, Jake.
 
I’m all in.”

His smile was now
broader than mine.
 
“Then let’s go
round up your mother and Grace to be our witnesses, and let’s do it.”

And suddenly, in
an instant, I knew that I had everything in the world that I’d ever truly
wanted.

ORANGE DUNKERS

I got this idea from some treats
my mother-in-law used to make at Christmas.
 
They featured the candied oranges cut
into cubes and added to an applesauce cake recipe.
 
She baked hers in loaves, and we started
making them in cupcake tins when I realized they would make a great baked
donut!
 
Making these adds a rich
cinnamon taste to the air, and they are worth trying for that alone!

INGREDIENTS
WET
1-1 1/2
 
cups milk (2% or whole)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 stick butter, (1/4 cup), melted
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon orange extract
Zest of one orange, fine
DRY
1/4 cup orange slice candies, cubed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3-4 cups flour

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, stir in the milk, sugar, melted
butter, beaten egg yolks, canola oil, orange extract, and orange zest
thoroughly until everything is well combined.
 
In another bowl, stir together the cubed
candy pieces, cinnamon, baking powder, and 3 cups of flour.
 
After slowly adding the liquid, stir the
mixture well.
 
This will make a nice
batter, but feel free to add more flour or milk to the mix in order to get a
batter that easily scoops out on the edge of a tablespoon.

Place in donut molds, or scoop out tablespoon-sized balls
on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for six to eight minutes, or until
they are golden brown and spring back to the touch.
 

Yield: 8-10 Dunkers

DOODLE DROPS

These
delightful little donut drops are easy to make, and they have the added benefit
of being really tasty, particularly when it’s cold outside.
 
Not the fanciest donut we make by far,
but we make these sometimes when time is of the essence, and particularly if
there aren’t any other treats in the house.
 

INGREDIENTS
WET
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk (2% will do in a pinch)
1/2 cup sugar, granulated white
DRY
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose unbleached is our first choice)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 dash of salt

DIRECTIONS

Beat
the eggs together in a large mixing bowl, and then add the milk and sugar,
stirring well.
 
Set this aside, and in
another bowl, sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
 
Add the dry ingredients to the wet,
stirring thoroughly.
 
Use a small
cookie scoop or two tablespoons to add the batter to 375 degree F canola oil,
cooking for two to three minutes per side and turning the balls halfway
through.
 
These can be dusted with powdered
sugar, iced, or slathered with jelly, jam, or my favorite, apple butter, or
even better, pumpkin butter.

Yield:
10-12 drops

APPLE DROP TREATS

We first made these using apple cider, but we found it too limiting in
our time frame, since cider isn’t always available on our local store
shelves.
 
We’ve substituted apple
juice instead on occasion, and now we enjoy these year round.
 
For a stronger bite, substitute cider
for the juice, and add some apple butter on top for a truly tasty treat!
 
These can also be made adding small
apple bits, but for a real treat, try using dried cranberries instead!
INGREDIENTS

WET

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh apple juice
 
(cider will
do nicely, too)
1/4 cup brown sugar, light
1/4 cup sugar, white granulated

DRY

4 cups flour, unbleached
all-purpose
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt

FINAL ADDITION

1/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, beat the
eggs thoroughly, and then add the juice or cider.
 
In a different bowl, combine the brown
sugar and granulated sugar first, and then add the sugar mixture to the wet mix.
 
After that’s incorporated, take another
bowl and sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg,
and salt.
 
Incorporate the dry mix
into the wet, and then add the melted butter last.
 
The dough will most likely be sticky at
this point, but work enough flour into the mixture to be able to scoop it out
with a cookie scoop or two tablespoons.
 
Fry the small round balls in hot canola oil at 375 degrees F for 3-4
minutes, turning them halfway through the process.
 
These can be topped with powdered sugar,
glazed with a simple icing, or simply dunked in the topping of your choice,
from hot fudge to butterscotch to any of a number of jams.
 

Yield:
 
8-10 Drops

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