by Jessica Beck
Makes approximately 1 dozen donuts and eyeballs.
The Lazy Person’s Fried Apple Pies
These are great fun to make with kids, and we’ve been enjoying them for a very long time. When the donut maker (yours truly) is feeling lazy and doesn’t want to go to much trouble, these are a wonderful alternative to some of the fussier recipes that are more standard for our household. Give them a try. I’m willing to wager that you’ll find yourself turning to this lazy recipe again and again.
Ingredients
— Precooked apples with or without cinnamon, 1 can (8 oz.)
— 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
— 1 teaspoon cinnamon
— 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
— 1 ready-made pie crust from the freezer section
Directions
Bring enough canola oil to fry these pies up to 375 degrees F.
Heat the apples in a pan on low heat, adding the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mixing well. Take them off the heat to cool. Unroll the pie crust, and flour the rim of a glass and cut circles out by pressing down and using a circular motion. A decent-sized glass will yield four pies out of one crust.
Place a small amount of the cooled apple mixture in the center of each dough circle, then wet the edges of the dough, fold it in half, and then pinch the ends together, sealing in the apple. The shape looks like a half moon.
Drop two of the pies into the oil at a time, flipping after three to four minutes on the first side. After eight to nine minutes, or until golden brown, remove them from the oil and set aside to cool. Dust them with powdered sugar, and they are ready to eat.
Makes 4 pies.
Gingerbread Bats and Balls
We like gingerbread year-round, not just at Christmas. It’s amazing what a lovely flavor it brings to complement what can be an overload of pumpkin, from our coffee drinks to our tea to our donuts. We’ve modified the basic sticks-and-stones recipe over the years, and then we decided to Americanize it a little with a baseball reference. No matter where you live, though, these are really delightful.
These donuts are wonderful, a real gingerbread treat that fries up beautifully. I have to admit, I used to make these as regular donuts, but one day I decided to make logs and balls from the dough, and thus “sticks and stones”—now “bats and balls”—were born. They taste even better than the rounds, in my opinion.
Ingredients
— 1 egg, beaten
— 1⁄2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
— 1⁄2 cup molasses
— 3 teaspoons ginger
— 2 teaspoons baking powder
— 1 teaspoon baking soda
— 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
— 1⁄2 cup sour cream
— 2 1⁄2 to 3 cups flour
Directions
Preheat enough canola oil to 375 degrees F to fry your donuts in.
In a large bowl, beat the egg, then add the brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Stir in the remaining ingredients, holding the flour until last. This next bit requires a bit of guesswork, so keep adding the flour slowly until you get a soft dough. Pull off four equal-sized pieces of dough about the size of your thumb and roll two into elongated sticks and two into tight balls.
Drop these into the hot oil and keep turning them until they are brown on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels, and then eat plain, glazed, or dusted with powdered sugar.
Makes approximately 10 stones and 6 sticks.
Orange Drop Donuts
I love the flavor of orange in my donuts, so I make these when night begins to fall quickly and I need a burst of summer around the house. These donuts are light and fluffy, and as an alternative, you can use lemon, peppermint, or vanilla extract to give completely different flavors.
Ingredients
Dry
— 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
— 1 teaspoon baking powder
— 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
— Enough canola oil to fry donuts
Wet
— 1 egg, beaten slightly
— 1⁄2 cup granulated white sugar
— 1⁄2 cup whole milk (2% can be substituted.)
— 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
— 2 teaspoons orange extract
— Zest from one orange
Directions
Preheat the canola oil to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together, mixing the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg together.
In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients: the beaten egg, sugar, milk, melted butter, orange extract, and zest.
Slowly add the wet mix into the dry, stirring just until it is incorporated.
Drop tablespoon-sized balls into the oil, turning until they are golden brown.
Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels, then dust with confectioner’s sugar or make a glaze using orange extract, a bit of zest, and confectioner’s sugar, mixing until the glaze drizzles off the spoon.
Makes 5 to 9 drop donuts, depending on baking method.
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OTHER BOOKS BY JESSİCA BECK
The Donut Mysteries
Glazed Murder
Fatally Frosted
Sinister Sprinkles
Evil Éclairs
Tragic Toppings
Killer Crullers
Drop Dead Chocolate
Powdered Peril
Illegally Iced
Deadly Donuts
Assault and Batter
Sweet Suspects
Deep Fried Homicide
Custard Crime
Lemon Larceny
Bad Bites
Old Fashioned Crooks
Dangerous Dough
Troubled Treats
Sugar Coated Sins
Criminal Crumbs
Vanilla Vices
Raspberry Revenge
Fugitive Filling
Devil’s Food Defense
Pumpkin Pleas
Floured Felonies
Mixed Malice
Tasty Trials
Baked Books
Cranberry Crimes
Boston Cream Bribes
Cherry Filled Charges
Scary Sweets
The Classic Diner Mysteries
A Chili Death
A Deadly Beef
A Killer Cake
A Baked Ham
A Bad Egg
A Real Pickle
A Burned Biscuit
The Ghost Cat Cozy Mysteries
Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws
Ghost Cat 2: Bid for Midnight
The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries
Cast Iron Will
Cast Iron Conviction
Cast Iron Alibi
Cast Iron Motive
Cast Iron Suspicion
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Recipes
Other Books by Jessica Beck
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