Please don’t scold me.

Please.

Unfortunately, when it comes to my life…I have to shuffle priorities.

And I thought summer was called “vacation”?

We have summer ball league.

Any of you mothers out there who have more than two kids on different ball teams:  You should be sainted.

I feel sorry for myself about having two on different ball teams, and then sit on the bleachers next to my friend Jenny who has 5 kids.

And then I realize that I am a whiner and need to suck it up.

Last night, my sweet husband started lecturing me for not taking the time to blog, and I almost slapped him.  Almost.

Because he’s right – this blog keeps me sane.  Well, sane-r…I guess.

So it’s 4am, everyone is asleep – no ballgames or practices, no swimming lesson, no bakery orders, no playdates,  no 911 calls…Let’s make donuts.

I was sitting on the bleachers at the ball diamond, thinking about donuts.  Yeah, I’m weird.  We established that about 9 months ago.

And I was thinking about Krispy Kremes, and how they’re really good, but not like REALLY good.

I want a big fat donut that’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Something that squishes in your hand and leaves sugar crust all over your face.

I want a donut that makes me close my eyes when the first slap of sweet hits my tastebuds.

And the donut that I want is an Old Fashioned.

Old Fashioned Donuts are cake donuts.  Big, ugly cake donuts.

And they’re easy to make.  So, let’s make some.

Whisk together 1 cup sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon.

Then add 2 eggs…

1 cup milk…and 1/4 cup melted butter.

Beat well, then add 4 cups of flour…

Mix together.  If the dough is super-sticky, you can add more flour. 

I added an additional 1/4 cup – most likely due to the extreme humidity we’re experiencing in East Central Illinois.

Now, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

During this hour:

You can peruse the ball schedule for the week.

You can get online and drool over zappos.com’s selection of Keens.

You can decide to organize your cabinets and pull out a cooking pot and drop it on your foot.

These are just suggestions.

After an hour, dust your surface with flour and roll out 1/2 the dough to about 1/2″ thickness.

And cut away…

Mine were easier to cut into circles, then cut out the middle.  The middles were sticking to my regular donut cutter.

You don’t have to have fancy cutters – you can use a mason jar lid for the big part and a bottle cap for the holes.

And you can cut and re-roll.  I just re-rolled once – if you do it too many times, you end up with fried bread.  We want donuts.

Repeat with the other half of the dough.

I kept a few holes.  I hate donut holes.  They’re so annoying and such a waste.

Let’s set up our fry station:

I have two fryers…but that’s only because I stole the white one from my dad.  (Don’t tell him, okay?)  Just one fryer is fine.  Or you can do 1″ of grease in a pan on the stove.

You’ll also need a rack, or something you can set the donuts on to drain.  Paper towels are fine, paper bags…whatever ya got.

Heat the oil to 370 – 375.  My fryers have a 350 mark and a 375 mark, so I just set the dial between those, closer to the 375 side.

I know.  Precision is not my bag, baby.  But again, we’re not building houses.  We’re making donuts.

Once the grease is ready, drop ‘em in.They sink, then float.

After about 1 minute, they turn golden and you need to flip.

Okay, I would reach my hand in and grab one of those right now…if it weren’t for 3rd-degree burn fear.

Pull them out and allow them to drain a bit…then dip in a sugar glaze…

Mine is just powdered sugar and water.  It’s like the most basic thing ever.

Dip and let them dry…and then you can:

Put them in a box and take them to work because everyone was having an awful day.Holy crap.  Big and ugly – just what I was hoping for.

OOORRRR…

…let your extremely-patient (NOT) 6 year-old have one.  He’s “been waiting almost a WHOLE HOUR, MOMMY!”OOOOORRRR…

…stack them artistically and photograph them for posterity.Donuts leaning on a cake plate –Amy Robinson.  June 9, 2011.

If you look closely, you can see a ring of grease on the inside edge…

That’s probably a “no-no” in the donut world…but it’s a “yes-yes” in Amy world.

Fat=Flavor.  Duh.

Old-Fashioned Cake Donuts

Adapted from Food.com

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

4 cups flour (plus additional if needed)

Whisk the sugar, cinnamon and baking powder.  Mix in eggs, milk and melted butter, combine thoroughly.  Add 4 cups flour, mix until combined.  Add additional flour if dough is sticky.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Roll dough to 1/2″ thickness on floured surface.  Cut donuts and holes, re-rolling and cutting once.  Heat fryer to 370-375 degrees, drop donuts into hot fat and flip after first side turns golden brown.  Drain on wire rack or paper towels, dip in powdered sugar glaze.

Eat immediately.  Donuts should ALWAYS be eaten within a few hours of frying.

That’s like the 11th Commandment.