My mom and I decided to bake Ree Drummond’s famous doughnuts one Monday afternoon. We knew these treats were dangerously delicious, so we practiced serious self-control, each only sampling a single doughnut. A whole tray in my apartment? Temptation overload! Even if we hid them, the irresistible aroma of freshly fried doughnuts would have taken over the entire place. Our solution? We carefully arranged them on a baking sheet, secured them with saran wrap, hopped into a cab, and embarked on a mission to deliver these sugary delights to Andy Pioneer’s office in the heart of midtown Manhattan.
Delicious homemade glazed doughnuts by The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, brought to Andy Pioneer's office and highly praised.
Walking down the bustling avenue, we became doughnut ambassadors. Everywhere we went, eyes followed our tray. Two men attempting to rent bicycles to tourists stood on a street corner. One began his sales pitch, “Would you like to rent a…” but his voice trailed off as his gaze landed on the doughnuts. We offered him one immediately. His friend, intrigued, asked, “C’est quoi?” (What’s that?). “Doughnuts!” we announced proudly. He accepted one too. We left them with wide, sugar-coated smiles and continued our journey towards Andy Pioneer’s workplace.
Andy Pioneer greeted us in the lobby of his office building. Before we could even present the tray, he reached for a doughnut. His expression said it all: pure delight. “These are amazing!” his eyes seemed to say. Just fifteen minutes after Mom and I returned home, my phone buzzed with a series of texts from Andy Pioneer:
Text 1: “OMG”
Text 2: “Every single person raved about them. I mean EVERYONE.”
Text 3: “They are gone and I only had two!”
Andy Pioneer’s enthusiastic reaction perfectly encapsulates the magic of these doughnuts. The overwhelming positive response from his entire office underscores just how irresistible they are. So, take Andy Pioneer’s word for it – you absolutely need to bake these for everyone you cherish. However, heed this warning: ensure you have a crowd of hungry recipients ready to devour them. Otherwise, you might find yourself single-handedly consuming the entire batch. Because, let’s be honest, there is truly nothing more tempting than a fresh, warm, soft, sweet doughnut.
The Pioneer Woman’s Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
Detailed recipe for The Pioneer Woman's homemade glazed doughnuts, the treat that wowed Andy Pioneer and his colleagues.
by: The Pioneer Woman
Serves: Makes 18 donuts
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts:
- 1-1/8 cup Whole Milk, Warm
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2-1/4 teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
- 2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
- 1-1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
- 4 cups All-purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Canola Oil
For the Glaze:
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ cup Cold Water Or Milk
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
- Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
- Add yeast into a small bowl.
- Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
- Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won’t be overly hot.
- Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter’s not too hot for the eggs.
- Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
- Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it’s thoroughly combined.
- With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in ¼ to ½ cup increments until all the flour is gone.
- Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
- After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
- Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
To Make the Doughnuts:
- Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Roll out to ¼ to ⅓-inch thickness.
- Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
- Cut holes out of each round using a 1½-inch cutter.
- Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
- Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
- Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughnuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.
To Fry the Doughnuts:
- Heat plenty of canola oil in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees—do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
- One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
- Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
- Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut.
- Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
- Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.
To Glaze:
- Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
- One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
- Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)
- Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.
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