As with anything, there are several ways to make this recipe. My dad, in amazingly true form, recited made-from-scratch instructions from memory – which I totally appreciate, but I’m pressed for time this week. So, with ingredients I already had on hand, I made this semi-homemade (shout out to Sandra Lee!) version using frozen peaches and refrigerated biscuit dough.

Here’s how I did it:

Fried Peach Pies
makes 16 pies

1 lb. bag of frozen peaches (or any fruit of your choosing)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 can of refrigerator biscuit dough

Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar

1. Thaw the peaches according to package instructions. Drain excess liquid and chop into bite size pieces. In a bowl, mix peaches, sugar, apple pie spice, ground ginger, and cornstarch together until combined.

2. Bust open the biscuit dough and cut each dough disc in half. Roll out the dough, on a floured surface, using a rolling pin until it’s a quarter inch thick.

3. Using a slotted spoon, scoop a couple of tablespoons of the peach mixture onto the dough. Dampen the edges with water, fold over, and seal with the tines of a fork.

4. Fry in oil that is 350 degrees until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes a side. Drain on some paper towels, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy them hot or cold!

Hope you had a lovely Happy Pi Day, y’all!

Since I don’t live close enough to get my fried dough fix from Cafe Du Monde anymore, my mom (the enabler) spoils me with care packages of my favorite treats from home. She sent me this Beignet Mix last year and I finally busted it open and made me some sweet treats that instantly transported me right back to the French Quarter.

The mix (which you can buy online, if you’re so inclined) is so stinkin’ simple! Just. Add. Water. The end. Well… actually, then you mix it, roll it, cut it, fry it…

And finally, inhale it. The end.

In honor of my childhood weekends on the sunny island of Oahu, I decided to make a fried dough recipe with a Hawaiian spin.

Here are the players. Well, except the vanilla. The recipe didn’t call for it, but it snuck into the picture anyway. Honestly, I don’t think it would do any harm to add a little bit in. I shall try that next time.

So, these aren’t the doughnuts I first remember eating with my mom all these years ago. While perusing the amazingly delicious Doughnuts cookbook by Lara Ferroni, I came across Malasadas – a “yeast doughnut that originated in Portugal and became popular in Hawaii.” Inspired, I decided to give this recipe a whirl. I made a few changes, though.

I decided to make twists as apposed to the squares in the original recipe. This wasn’t easy and the end result didn’t look too much like twists, so when I make this again I’m stickin’ to the squares. Even though they were misshapen, they were scrumptious! They kind of reminded me of those sweet King’s Hawaiian rolls, which I just love.

Try it out! Here’s the recipe:

2 tbsp. lukewarm water
1 tbsp. (11 grams) yeast
1/2 cup superfine sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 tsp. salt
3 to 4 cups bread flour
vegetable oil for frying

1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle with the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs until thick. add the yeast mixture, shortening, remaining sugar, milk, half-and-half, and salt. Mix until just combined.

3. Switch to the dough hook attachment and add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a soft dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl. The dough will be moist, but not too sticky.

4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Flip the dough over, cover, and let rise another hour until is doubles again.

5. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer reads 350?F.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thick, then with a pizza cutter or knife cut it into 1/2-inch strips. Take two strips and twist them together. Cut twists in half for a more manageable size.

7. With a metal spatula, carefully place in the oil. Fry until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon. Drain briefly on a paper towel. Drizzle with pineapple glaze (recipe follows). Serve immediately.

Pineapple Glaze
recipe adapted from Doughnuts

1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
3 to 4 tbsp. pineapple juice
2 tbsp. chopped dried pineapple (optional)

1. Place the sugar in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the pineapple juice, a little at a time, to make a smooth pourable glaze.

2. Add in chopped dried pineapple and stir to incorporate.

3. Drizzle over the freshly fried doughnuts.

And here’s how mine turned out…
This one’s for you, mom!

It has been my observation that each culture seems to have their own version of fried dough: Italians have their zeppole, churros made famous by Mexico, and let’s not forget the all-American funnel cake – just to name a few. As much as I enjoy finding fried dough around town, I’m interested in learning how to make it at home as well. This is the place where I will document my food finds and kitchen adventures. Won’t you come along for the ride? I know I share this obsession with many others and I hope that this little blog will be a place where we can all indulge in the sinful deliciousness that is fried dough!

Happy heart day, to you!

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