Have you been to your local donuts shop lately. They seem to come up with these themed donuts for every holiday. Dunkin Donuts rolled out their lineup for Halloween, which is a spider donut. These are some creepy looking donuts with bright orange bulging eyes popping out from the spider.
I came up with a fresh recipe for these chilling Halloween Donuts. I flavored the terrible bright orange colored icing with actual orange flavor. Iced chocolate donut holes make the body of the spider and chocolate icing make the spider legs. The whole thing sits on a plain donut that is spread with orange icing.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup whole milk, heated to 110°F
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
Vegetable oil for frying
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 Tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice, depending on desired consistency
2-3 drops orange food color (optional)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Store bought chocolate icing.
Method
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4 cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Once 30 minutes have passed, in a separate bowl for mixing, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (making sure milk is at room temperature).
- Add the rested flour mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup of flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix on medium until it's incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Using the dough hook of the mixer, start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute. The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that you can't roll it out.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
- When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness.
- Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes.
- While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels.
- In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to 360°F between batches. Let the donut cool before glazing.
- Whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice.
- Adjust thickness by adding additional orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Add food color and mix until color is thoroughly mixed.
- Set aside 1/4 cup of the glaze in a ziplock bag.
- Dip cooled donuts into glaze.
- Place glazed donuts on wire rack to allow glaze to set.
- Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl.
- Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. If the glaze isn't thin enough, stir in 1 additional tablespoon of milk.
- Cover the glaze with plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the doughnut holes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, buttermilk and melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. (The dough will be very wet.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hours until chilled.
- When you are ready to make the doughnuts, attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add 3 to 4 inches of oil, ensuring there are at least 2 inches from the top of the oil to the top of the pot. Begin heating the oil over medium-high heat. (The oil is ready for frying when it reaches 375ºF.)
- Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Flour your hands then pat the dough out until it is about 1/2-inch thick all around. (The dough will be very sticky and wet. Add more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.)
- Flour the cookie cutter, lightly flour a small baking sheet and line a separate baking sheet with paper towels. Using the cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough and transfer them to the floured baking sheet, re-flouring the cookie cutter after each cut. Gather the scraps, pat them down and cut out as many additional circles as you can.
- Carefully add the doughnut holes in batches of 3 or 4, cooking them for 1 to 2 minutes per side and flipping them as needed.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnut holes to the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Allow the doughnut holes to cool completely then dip them into the prepared glaze, shake off any excess and place the doughnut holes on a cooling rack to allow the glaze to set.
- Once the donut holes have cooled place one donut whole in the center of each orange glazed donut.
- Using chocolate icing, pipe 4 lines on each side of the orange glazed donuts.
- Use the orange glaze in the ziplock back and snip a corner of the bag to pipe eyes on the chocolate donut holes.
- Serve immediately for the best freshness.
