Fried Dough Balls

Image: Serving plate containing fried dough balls covered with a sweet powdered coating and served with cranberry preserves. .

Description: These sugary sweet balls of goodness will have you coming back for more! Made over-the-top by dipping my homemade spiced cranberry preserves!

Yield: Recipe make approximately 16-18 fried dough balls

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon melted butter

• 1/2 cup milk

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

other:

• Oil for frying

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Combine the cinnamon and powdered sugar in another bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the egg, sugar, butter, and milk in a large-sized bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine thoroughly. The batter will be sticky, so either use a spoon or a pastry bag to extrude the dough for frying.

Pour oil into a large, deep skillet for frying. You want the oil to be about 2 inches deep. Heat the oil and keep it between 365°F to 375°F (I use a candy thermometer to measure the heat). You can test the oil by pouring a drop of water into the pan; if it sizzles across the top, it’s ready.

Roll the dough into small balls, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, with floured hands to prevent sticking. Quickly drop the balls into the oil (they will lose their shape if you roll them ahead of time, so work quickly and drop them in as you go).

Fry the dough balls for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, flipping as needed. When the donuts are cooked through and golden brown, remove them from the oil, allowing the excess oil from the dough balls to drip off back into the hot oil.

As the doughnuts come out of the pot, drop them into the bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture and toss to coated.

Serve with Spiced Cranberry Preserves! Enjoy!