Once again, Saveur magazine was my guide to this month's donut adventure. I made mini Long Johns with bacon or...
Long John Junior Bacon! Sounds like something I would get at Jack n' the Box or something.
I hear you ask, why mini? Simple. I wanted to try them various ways. Some with custard filling, some without, some glazed with chocolate, some with maple glaze, some with bacon, and some without.
First things first: THEY WERE AMAZING. I was very sad when I realized that I was done making them. Second, I can't think of one good reason not to put bacon on them. Even if you have to have turkey bacon, tofu bacon or kosher beef bacon, they were perfect perched on top of the donut. Crunchy, salty with sweet and chewy.
As for the recipe, it was a little weird compared to other recipes so far. I had to melt crisco with boiling water. I also used a whole packet of yeast, which seemed like a lot for a batch of donuts. They didn't even rise that much. I only use one teaspoon with several of my bread recipes and it turns out great. I'm thinking I can cut back on the yeast for raised donuts too.
The best tip was for how to fill the donuts. I used a skewer and poked two holes on opposite sides of the donut, pushing the dough inside to the edges to make a well. Instead of using a pastry bag to pipe in the filling, I used my cookie press with the decorating tips. The press looks like a caulk gun. Not just for bathrooms boys and girls! Anyway, the main reason I use the press is I think makes it easier to control. In addition, I'm a mom of boys, it is just a whole lot of fun to shoot food from a caulk gun.
The Maple Glaze recipe was also from another section of the very same Saveur magazine. My glaze turned out paler compared to the picture in the magazine, so I must of did a poor measuring job or something. Not that it mattered, it was still delicious. The maple flavor is subtle. It is more of a maple aftertaste, which was perfect with the bacon! Didn't overpower it. Just FYI, the recipe makes a lot of glaze.
My friend and I brainstormed other good uses for that leftover maple glaze. She came up with cinnamon rolls, french toast or drizzled on bread pudding. All wonderful ideas. I just grabbed some graham crackers I gave those a whirl. They were yummy.
Now Bake That!
