Doughnuts (Old-Fashioned)

Homemade doughnuts are amazingly tender and delicious. The dough itself isn't terribly sweet, so the coating of sugar doesn't make them cloying at all. A mix of cinnamon and sugar or your favorite frosting would be just as delicious.

1 Tbsp. of dry active yeast
1/3 cup sugar
3¼ cups flour, plus more for rolling and shaping
1 egg
4 Tbsp. softened butter
½ tsp. salt
vegetable oil, canola oil, or lard for frying

Coating:
sugar
cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water. Let sit about 5 minutes until the yeast foams a bit (so you know it's active).

Beat in 2 cups of the flour, sugar, egg, butter, and salt. Add the remaining 1¼ cup flour ¼ cup at a time until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place until the dough doubles in bulk, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can chill the dough overnight.

Punch down the dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Roll dough to about ½" thick and use a large round biscuit cutter (a drinking glass works too) to cut circles and a smaller round cutter to cut out the holes. Obviously, if you are lucky enough to be in possession of a doughnut cutter, go ahead and use that!

Cover doughnuts (and holes) and let rise until puffy looking, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can put the cut doughnuts on floured baking sheets, cover, and chill the cut dough overnight.

Heat an inch or two of oil or lard in a large heavy pot to 350-375°F.  Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet and put them near the pot. Put about a cup of sugar in a medium bowl and have that handy as well.

Add 3-4 doughnuts (or 8-10 doughnut holes) to the oil. They should sizzle immediately as you add them to the fat. Cook doughnuts until light brown on one side. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to flip the doughnuts, cook until the second side is light brown. Transfer cooked doughnuts to cooling rack and let cool/drain for a few minutes. Dip doughnuts into sugar to coat. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Serve warm if at all possible.

Makes about 18 homemade doughnuts and doughnut holes.