Pumpkin Doughnuts

It is October which just screams pumpkin  to me. I will say though, that after Thanksgiving hits I am pretty much pumpkin free for the next 9-10 months. Since I made my own pumpkin puree this year I have an abundance of the stuff in the freezer so, I have been looking for all sorts of ways to use it up. Part of me says that I should pace myself and let the puree sit there so I have it over the winter months, but as I mentioned earlier I gorge on pumpkin  for October and November then I go on a kind of pumpkin detox for the rest of the year. So  keep the pumpkin baked goods coming  for the next 5 weeks!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup sugar (139 g, 4.9 oz)
• 2 TB instant yeast
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (252 g, 8.6 oz)
• 6 cups all purpose flour (767 g, 27 oz)
• 1 TB cinnamon
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• vegetable oil or shortening, for frying

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 TB cinnamon

Procedure

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer combine t0gether your milk, eggs, and pumpkin puree. Add your flour, sugar, yeast, salt, shortening, and spices to the bowl. Mix together until a rough dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes begin kneading by hand or use the dough hook attachment for the stand mixer. I prefer to knead this dough by machine because it is relatively sticky, especially in the early stages. Knead by hand for 5-7 minutes or by stand mixer set on medium speed for only 2-4 minutes. It does not need to develop a lot of gluten it just needs to be nice and smooth. This will give you a tender doughnut.
2. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, unless it is in a stand mixer bowl. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until it has almost doubled in bulk.
3. Turn the dough out onto a well floured counter and gently deflate. Roll to 1/2-inch thickness and, using a doughnut cutter, cut into doughnuts. You can also use a large 3.5″ round cutter then use a small 1/2″ round cutter to cut the center doughnut hole out. Leave the doughnut right on the counter and cover them with lightly oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 30 -50 minutes, or until they are slightly puffy.
4. Combine your sugar and cinnamon into a large enough bowl that you can toss your doughnuts in it to coat them with the sugar/spice mix.
5. Heat your oil or shortening in a deep fryer or a wok to 350 degrees. I used the wok because I need a lot less oil for the frying process. Place in a few doughnuts at a time, and fry about 1 minute per side. Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon or a spider skimmer to a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Quickly and carefully (they are hot!)  place one doughnut at a time into the sugar and cinnamon mix and toss to coat. Continue frying and sugaring  the rest of the doughnuts. Allow them to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes or so before eating.

* Doughnuts stale rather quickly so it is important  to eat them all up before the end of the day!