DONUTS

• Generous ½ cup of mashed potato
  
  (about one large potato).
  
• 1 ½ cups water, reserved from cooking potato
• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 ½ to 5 cups flour

In the mixer, mix the sugar with the warm potato water. Sprinkle the yeast on top of this mixture, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Mix, and then let rest until the yeast begins to bubble.

Add 2 cups of the flour, the potato, the oil and the salt. Beat until a smooth paste forms. Add the rest of the flour, a half-cup at a time, to form a smooth, soft dough. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about one hour.

Roll out the dough to between ¼ and ½ inch thickness. Cut out donuts with a donut cutter. Alternatively, you could use a round cookie cutter, and an apple corer for the holes. Re-roll scraps, and repeat. Place on a greased surface, and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. In a deep skillet or wok, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F, or until small bubbles form when a wooden spoon is placed in the hot oil.

Using a greased spatula, drop the donuts top-side down into the hot oil. Fry for about half a minute, then turn over fry for another half a minute. Remove from pan with a slotted spatula, and place on a paper-towel-lined platter. Makes approximately 50 donuts.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

• 2 oz chocolate, melted
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cups icing sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup hot water

Mix all the ingredients until smooth. Dip tops of donuts into the glaze, and allow to set.

CINNAMON-SUGAR COATING

In one bowl, mix 1 cup of icing sugar with water to make a loose glaze. In another bowl, mix ½ cup sugar and 1 tbsp. cinnamon. Dip tops of donuts into glaze, and then immediately into the cinnamon-sugar.