Snownuts 101

One of the few family traditions that I clearly remember as a child is my mom making snownuts!  Snownuts are a delicious homemade treat that was ONLY made when it snowed.  As a child, it made snow days even more fun.  As an adult, I see why my mom only made them when it snowed!  It is VERY time consuming, and there is a lot of steps to the process... but BELIEVE ME, it is totally worth it in the end!

First thing is first, you will need the following...

Doughnuts

3 3/4 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 package ripid-rising dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup very warm filtered water (130'F)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 bottle of vegetable oil for frying

Sugar glaze recipe
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBSP water

And let's get started!  In your mixer bowl, add 3 Cups flour, sugar, salt, and rapid rise yeast. 

  This is the yeast that I use.

  

Mix dry ingredients with a wooden spoon,

and then add the melted butter and warm filtered water.

Put the dough hook onto your mixer, and start the mixer on low.  Let it form a soft dough.

As the dough is mixing, add 1/4 Cup of flour in SMALL amounts.

Once the dough is "stiff", move it to a floured surface, and knead it.  Add flour if needed until the dough is no longer sticky.  

Smooth it into a ball.

Wash, dry, and LIGHTLY oil the mixing bowl.

Add the dough back to the bowl and roll it over so that the oil side is up.

Cover with a lint free cloth and place the bowl in the oven.  Let the dough rise for 30-35 mins.  It should have doubled in size. The oven should NOT be on.  This simply provides a dry area for the dough to rise.

While the dough is rising, lightly oil 2 cookie sheets.

Move the dough to a floured surface and punch it down.  

Pull off balls of dough,

 roughly golf ball size.

Flour your hands slightly and roll it into a long line.  

Fold the long line in half,

and twist it.

Place the twists on oiled pans, 

and place the oiled pans into the oven to rise for another 30 mins.

While the twists are rising... add the ingredients for the glaze into a small mixing bowl and whisk.  

Set up your assembly line... fryer, drying plate with folded paper towels, glazing bowl with tongs, and wire cooling rack with wax paper underneath it.  I also put out an additional plate for the finished donuts.

Once the twists are ready, place 3 at a time in the fryer, and flip them over as needed!  Lightly golden is what we are looking for. 

Remove from the fryer and let them dry on the paper towel plate. 

After adding 3 more donuts to the oil, begin dunking and flipping the donuts in the glaze.  Try not to waste the glaze, you will need it all!  DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE NEW DONUTS IN THE FRYER!!!  You will need to keep a close eye on them.

Let the finished donuts cool on the wire rack.

And enjoy them :).  This process takes about 2 solid hours!  You can also do it without a fryer, use a large skillet, and make sure that you keep at least 2 inches of oil in the pan at all times.  It is MUCH easier with a fryer, and to be completely honest... it is the only reason we have a fryer!  Let the oil in the fryer COMPLETELY cool before moving it.  We keep the bottle from the oil, and pour it back into that bottle to throw it away.  We can usually get 2-3 uses from it before throwing it out.  I made a double batch today, and I will throw that oil away!