Spudnuts

The other night, I made 112 donuts. No, that's not a typo. Every now and again I actually do have a productive day. But don't worry, I did not eat all 112 donuts myself. We had a little party with our neighbors. It was quite fun and the donuts were delicious. I've been making this recipe for a few years and it does cut down okay (I've quartered it). But, if you're going to all the effort of making donuts, why not have a party?


Spudnuts
(makes 100-120 donuts)

1 cup shortening
2 cups mashed potatoes (I use instant because sometimes mine are lumpy - shh!)
4 cups lukewarm milk
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
12 to 15 cups flour
1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Scald the milk with the shortening (at first it will seem like they aren't going to come together, but they will - just keep stirring). Let this cool for a bit (15-20 minutes). While it is cooling, dissolve yeast in water. To the milk mixture, add sugar, salt, and enough flour to make a thin batter, about the consistency of cake batter. Add the mashed potatoes, beaten eggs, dissolved yeast, and lemon extract. Add enough more flour to make a soft but workable dough (I usually use about 13 cups total). At this point, I divide the dough into two large bowls to let it rise - you would need a giant bowl to leave it in one. Let rise until doubled then punch down. Then let rise until doubled again. After the second rise, roll dough out to about 1/4" thick and cut out in donut shapes (either with a donut cutter or with two circle cutters - the smaller one should be quite small). You will probably want to roll the dough out in several batches - the entire thing is a little unwieldy. Place the cut donuts on cookie sheets or any large platter to allow to rise another time. After an hour (or so), drop donuts in hot oil (375 degrees), raised-side down. Turn once. Remove from heat and drain briefly on a cookie rack then dip in glaze (I do a ratio of about 1 cup powdered sugar to 2 Tbsp water - you can also add a little cocoa or maple flavoring) or just powdered sugar. I served these with cider and for one night, I was the most popular girl in the neighborhood!