Jelly Donuts

Let me start off by saying, I have never made home-made donuts before this. Yeah. I have very good luck when it comes to cooking and baking. That isn't bragging, it's the truth (okay, I'm bragging a little). My boyfriend and I are fat kids at heart, and we love donuts, so much. The only ones we have been able to find are over an hour away in driving distance. We aren't rich, and don't want to get morbidly obese, so we stray from going there more than twice a year.

Recently he has had a hankering for some donuts, and was honestly getting a little annoyed that there isn't anywhere within a 30 mile radius that could satisfy him.

After everything I made for Christmas, I had lots of sugar, oil and flour leftovers, so I decided to make some donuts. I followed a basic donut recipe, and modified it A LOT to fit my likes. All of the oil (in the donuts) could be replaced for more banana puree, I have tested it, and they came out good, but I prefer it with the oil. You could bake these as well, instead of frying them, at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes. These were a big hit with my taste buds, and Sean really enjoyed them as well.

We will be starting the new year off right in a tasty sugar induced coma.

For The Donuts:

1 1/4 cups vanilla soymilk

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup banana puree

1/2 cup melted vegan butter (I used miyoko's because it's palm oil free)

1/3 cup coconut sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

1 quart oil (I used coconut, and couldn't taste it, but you should probably use a neutral oil like canola)

For The Jelly:

Two 1.3 oz bags of freeze dried fruit (I used half raspberry and half strawberry)

2/3 cups chopped dates

1 cup filtered water

juice of one lemon

For The Glaze:

2 1.3 oz bags freeze dried bananas

1 cup vanilla soymilk

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp coconut sugar

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk until it is warm (between 100-115 degrees fahrenheit).

2. Pour the milk into a large bowl, sprinkle yeast on the top, stir, and then let it sit aside for five minutes.

3. Once the yeast has bloomed, stir in the banana puree, vegan butter and sugar. Add half of the flour (2 cups) and mix until combined, then mix in the rest of the flour. I used my ninja food processor (it has a dough blade) to mix it all together. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can use that, or you can use a wooden spoon and then your hands. Mix it until the dough is soft but firm.

4. Rub some oil on a clean bowl and then add the dough into it. Cover with a large towel, and let it rise in a warm place for an hour. If you don't have a warm spot in your kitchen, heat your oven to the lowest setting for 20 minutes, turn it off, place the bowl inside, and crack the oven door.

5. Sprinkle flour on your surface of choice and then turn the dough out onto it. Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a donut cutter, or cup, cut out the preferred shape. I used a cup with a 1 1/2 inch diameter, but you can make bigger or smaller ones. Once you run out of room, re-roll out the dough and cut more.

6. Place the cut dough onto a baking tray with a silpat or parchment paper, and cover with a towel. Let it rise again for another 45-60 minutes.

7. In a large saucepan, combine all the jelly ingredients. Cook on medium low for 30 min until the dates are softened and the fruit is re-hydrated. Set aside and let cool.

8. In a blender or food processor, combine all of the frosting ingredients until smooth. If you want to omit the frosting, you can skip this step.

9. Add oil into a large saucepan, and heat to 300 degrees (I used a thermometer). Cook the donuts for 1 minute on each side, or until they are golden brown. Only add a few at a time into the oil so the temperature doesn't drop.

10. Transfer the donuts to a rack or a plate lined with paper towels.

11. Let them cool slightly, and then fill them. It's really easy. You can either use a pastry bag, or a straw and a ziploc bag (that's what I did). Put the jelly into a plastic bag, and zip it up. Stick the straw slowly from one side to the other without piercing through the other side. Cut a small piece off the end of the bag, and pipe the jelly mix into the doughnut, slowly, and stop when you start to see it coming out of the end.

12. Pour the frosting on the top, and serve immediately.