Biscuits - Doughnuts

Whoa Nelly and Heavens to Betsy -  leftover biscuits get gussied up in a city slicker dessert. Great for a BBQ supper or a brunch. This features golden bits of biscuits, set in a custardy bath, all baked into golden perfection and topped with a smooth as silk Southern Comfort crème anglaise.

These big puffy, lightly sweety, barely chewy but oh-so-good doughnut squares of fried dough covered with a thick and luscious maple glaze are irresistible. 

 

Doughnuts -Louisiana style.  The "beignet" is French for "small doughnut" and easily upstages a Krispie Kreme for its extreme homestyle, real taste. Not too sweet, not too rich, this is a doughnut with a pastry feel. You may use a deep fryer or a wok and tongs. A bread machine does a great job with the dough.
In the BB Test Kitchen, we blend some pure vanilla powder with the confectioners' sugar before dusting. Serve with espresso or Cafe Brule -New Orleans coffee and chicory. You can also leave out the yeast and double the baking powder for a different sort of texture -equally good. In that case, knead half as long.

Any flour would do but Southern White Lily makes this the most tender cobbler imaginable. Whatever flour you use, just use a gentle touch. You can roll out the cobbler top or make the topping soft and drop in dollops on the most sumptuous filling ever.

A rich cake doughnut fragrant with orange zest and dusted with icing sugar or dipped in orange glaze.

These are big  Detroit around this time of year, but anyone who experiences a fresh and warm Paczki would adopt them. These are part of the Lent tradition but you can also fete Mardi Gras with paczki if you are willing to let them sub for another treat, New Orleans Beignets. Choices, choices!

 

Tim Horton’s is a national Canadian donut chain/treasure, (but now they're in New York City!) renown and adored for their coffee and innovative treats. They constantly promote something new and exciting. In Fall, they have featured a much-touted Pumpkin donut I was keen to try. Alas, each and every day I visited a Tim Horton outlet, they were sold out! So I invented my own quintessential pumpkin spice donut. This recipe is worth its ransom in pumpkin recipes on Google.  But here is Act One, in a Pumpkin Passion Play. These are puffy, pumpkin flavored yeasted donuts, stuffed with fresh vanilla custard and then tossed in spiced sugar (or you can fondant/glaze them).
 

If you happen to adore old-fashioned cake donuts, this recipe has your name on it.