Emoji Donuts For The Texting Fanatic In You |Cooking With Amanda

Let me preface this by saying that I normally DO NOT fry things from home. I am the queen of things like oven fried chicken (this Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken is on point in case you need a good recipe), and up until now, all the donuts I have shared with you have been baked.

[See: Chocolate Kahlua Donuts and Chunky Monkey Banana Donuts - those baked donuts'll knock your socks off]

Most would argue that baked donuts are not real doughnuts.

Emoji Donuts called for a change with my aversion to frying though. Because if you are going to make donuts that look like the donut emoji, you really have to get it right.

All of this is to say that I (along with my teenage boys that eat like bottomless hungry monster pits) am really glad that we fried these donuts.

The next thing you need to know about Emoji Donuts is that they are CAKE DONUTS. That means the batter is super simple to make and you probably have all the ingredients hanging around in your cabinet if you move enough things around.

I went with cake donuts because they are sturdy. And honestly, a little less intimidating than yeast doughnuts. If you aren't sure about the difference between cake donuts and yeast doughnuts, we are probably not friends.

Kidding.

Kind of.

Yeast doughnuts are like this Krispy Kreme Glazed Donut Recipe. They are fluffy and when you bite them, they sort of squish down and lose their shape a bit.

Cake donuts on the other hand are made with what's essentially cake batter. When you bite into them they hold their shape. The outside is a nice golden brown, and the inside is like a perfect, tender cake.

On to the glaze!!! I made two. A pink glaze and a chocolate glaze. That's because half of my donut emojis have pink frosting with sprinkles and the other half have chocolate.

The pink was my favorite because I am definitely 6 years old when it comes to donuts, but the chocolate is rich, perfectly decadent, and goes GREAT with the cake donuts.

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Emoji Donuts Recipe

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Ingredients

1 cup Granulated Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
Vegetable Oil, for frying
Rainbow Sprinkles, for decorating, Jimmies

For the Pink Glaze::

2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Red Food Coloring

For the Chocolate Glaze::

1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
4 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, dark
pinch of Salt
2 tablespoons Milk
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl) fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Make a well in the center and add the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while mixing until the ingredients in the bowl are combined.
Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until it's combined.
Add the remaining cup of flour a little at a time, mixing between each addition until the dough is soft and sticky, but still firm enough to handle. (You can add up to 1/2 cup more flour.)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill for 1 hour.
Heat 1-2 inches of vegetable oil in a large stock pot to about 360°F. Have your frying strainer or slotted spoon ready. Line a plate with paper towels.
On a well-floured surface, roll out half of the dough to about 1/2" thick. ***Remember that these WILL puff up when cooking and if they are too thick the center won't cook through***
Using a large biscuit cutter, cut out your donuts. Use the small biscuit cutter to cut out the hole in the center.
Carefully drop your donuts 1-2 at a time into the hot oil. You may need to reduce the heat on your stove so they don't burn or cook too quickly on the outside.
Cook for about 1 minute and turn them. They will need to cook for about 3 minutes total while you continue to turn them so they are colored and cooked evenly.
Remove them to drain on the paper towels and repeat with the remaining dough.
Once the donuts are completely cooled, you can glaze them and add sprinkles.