Deliciously Easy “Cheater” Doughnuts!

Around these Pennsylvania Dutch parts, the tradition of eating a doughnut on Fasnacht Day (otherwise known as Fat Tuesday) is quite common and can be traced back to the German heritage in the area. According to my mother-in-law eating a doughnut on Fastnacht Day is supposed to bring good health for the coming year, but really, I think it’s just the perfect excuse for everyone to eat doughnuts.  😉 Making them from scratch always seemed too daunting until I was strolling the aisles of my grocery store last week and BAM had a flashback to 7th grade Home Ec. That’s right, there’s a secret way to make ‘cheater donuts’ that means you can have fresh, delicious donuts in under 15 minutes flat!

While the idea that my Home Ec teacher let a bunch of 7th graders anywhere near hot pots of frying oil still amazes me, I’m so glad she did. Here’s how to make delicious ‘cheater’ donuts in just minutes… no Home Ec teacher required.

Start with the secret ingredient: biscuit dough. That’s right, these little poppable containers contain all the ingredients you need besides the oil. I’ll be honest, I don’t often buy this type of product for my family because I steer toward more organic and natural brands, but I also believe in letting go once in awhile.  One can of Pillsbury dough every few months {probably} won’t hurt anyone. Plus, doughnuts aren’t exactly a health food so I got over it quickly.

Are you ready? This part is hard. Poke a hole in the middle.

Tee-hee! You know I don’t have time for anything hard! It’s easy, and the kids loved this part.

This little sweetie declared, “Mommy, when I get older I want to be a baker.”  Considering she spent her first year of life being fed through a tube, you can probably see why I got a bit verklempt when I heard those words.

Also? I didn’t have the heart to tell her that poking holes in premade dough probably didn’t qualify as baking. Though in my book, IT DOES.

Now, get your oil hot over medium-high heat. I used canola oil, another natural foods no-no, but again, YOLO!  You’ll need enough in the pot to cover the donuts. Here’s a really important tip if you’re not used to working with oil: IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE IT’S BOILING, BUT IT’S SUPER HOT AND CAN HURT YOU. I always put a teeny piece of dough in the oil and when that starts bubbling you’re good to go. If there’s nothing in the oil you can’t tell how hot it is and putting in a doughnut could cause burns if the oil is too hot!!!! <——- is this disclaimer clear? Making Lemonade is not responsible for burns, and is in fact terrified of hot oil, so watch out, peeps!

Let those puppies fry a bit. When one side is brown, flip them over.

When both sides are brown and appear to be cooked through, take the doughnuts out of the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels.

While still warm, place them in a bag filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, and shake. Our paper bags ended up ‘leaking’ so we did it over the sink to save my floors.

Now comes the fun part. Eat these delicious spheres of doughy goodness warm! I’d have taken a picture of my kids eating them but I wasn’t able to capture the moment fast enough. I’m pretty sure the kids inhaled them in under 2 minutes while my back was turned.

The doughnuts are best eaten fresh, but I’m not gonna lie– my husband ate them up to two days later and had NO problems doing so.

And the only reason we had any leftovers two days later is because I’m gluten-free and can’t eat them (though, I will admit to taking one bite to make sure they were as good as I remembered, and WOAH, I think I heard angels sing!), and I limited the donut-eaters to one a day. Otherwise? There wouldn’t have been a speck left!

PS- sometimes I get asked so I’ll tell you now this vintage cake stand is from Fenton, and the pattern is Silvercrest Spanish Lace. It’s one of my most favorite things in the history of ever.

Mardi Gras may have come and gone this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t partake in the easiest doughnut recipe ever. Plus, these doughnuts are SO out-of-this-world delicious you might find yourself deciding to be Pennsylvania Dutch too… even just for the day. The DOUGHNUT Day!

Do you have a Lenten tradition? Anyone else celebrate Fastnacht? What about Home Ec memories– does anyone else remember cooking in super hot oil?!

{don’t forget to pin it so you have this recipe on hand for next Fat Tuesday/ Fasnacht Day!}

{linked up to Make it and Love it}