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Image of donut with Baker's Bacon

Vanilla Glazed Bacon Donuts

Nkechi Ahaiwe
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Servings 12 donuts

Ingredients
  

Donut Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk warmed to 115°F
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 1 teaspoon (divided)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled (8 tablespoons)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour plus more as needed
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying about 2 quarts
  • 6 strips of Bacon cooked and chopped for topping
  • Pomegranate Seeds optional

Icing Ingredients

  • 4 cups powdered sugar plus more if thicker consistency is desired (yes, 4 cups!)
  • 4 tbsp milk (or hot water for desired consistency)
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon maple extract plus more to taste

Instructions
 

Icing Directions

  • Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add the melted butter, 2 tablespoons of milk or hot water, and the vanilla to the powdered sugar. Stir to blend.
  • Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, adding a little more milk or hot water if necessary to reach desired consistency.

DONUT directions

  • Attach the dough hook attachment to the stand mixer, if using. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm milk (115°F), active dry yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Combine and let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
  • To the same bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, salt, grated nutmeg, cinnamon, and 2 cups of the bread flour. Mix on medium speed for about 1-2 minutes. Mix in remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high, and mix until dough pulls away from the bowl and a manageable dough forms. The dough should manageable, soft, and slightly sticky. If needed, add more flour little by little.
  • Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead by hand for about 4-5 minutes, sprinkling more flour as necessary. At this point, the dough should be elastic, very manageable, soft, and slightly sticky. It should also spring back when poked. Do not over-knead; you can tell if you over-kneaded the dough if it feels tough and dense.
  • Form dough into a ball and place on a lightly oiled bowl, making sure the dough is coated with oil on all sides. Vegetable oil is fine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm and draft-free environment for about 1.5 hours, until doubled in size. I usually let dough rise in a warm-ish oven.
  • After the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer to a clean surface. Using a rolling pin, roll to 1/2 inch thick.
  • Using a donut cutter or round cookie/biscuit cutters, cut into 12 donuts. Should make 12 donuts and 12 donut holes. Transfer them to 2 large baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm environment for another 20-30 minutes.
  • In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat vegetable oil to 375°F. To monitor the oil’s temperature, clip a candy thermometer to the pot (like the photo above). Cook the donuts one minute per side, about 3 donuts at a time. Transfer to a rack placed on top of a large baking sheet or something to catch any dripping oil.
  • Fry the donut holes after you’re done with the donuts, about 6 at a time. Transfer to a rack.
  • While the donuts cool a bit, make the vanilla glaze. The glaze should be thick enough to stay on the donuts.
  • Dip warm doughnuts in the glaze on one side. Let them cool for the glaze to harden, about 15 minutes. To get a thick coating, double dip after the first layer dries. Top with chopped bacon and an optional pomegranate seeds and Enjoy!
Keyword Bacon, Donuts