Flops

Sometimes, despite your very best efforts, a cooking project  fails.  It happens to everyone.  Usually, we stay within our comfort zone, choosing recipes that are familiar enough to guarantee at least an edible outcome.  But every now and then it's important to stretch ourselves with something challenging.  I had one of those experiences on Sunday, when I decided to try the "New England Cinnamon Sugar-Cider Donuts" from a recipe in last month's issue of Saveur.  They looked wonderful, so I bought the graham flour and boiled apple cider that the recipe called for.

Since it was a brand new recipe, and I've only made donuts a few times before, I very careful checked and double-checked my ingredients.  I know that I followed the recipe to a T.  I heated the oil in my deep fryer to 350 degrees F, just like the recipe called for.  The recipe was described as wet and sticky, which mine certainly was.  You were supposed to oil your hands and roll about 1/4 cup of dough in you hands into a ball.  Then you use your thumb to make a one and half inch hole in the center.  Then you drop it into the hot oil.  I followed those directions exactly, but when it went into the oil, the dough just disintegrated.  I had put about three donuts-worth into the oil, and this is what came out:

It was basically fried crumbs.  I have considered everything that could have gone wrong, and I really do not know.  I have no real desire to try this recipe again, since I don't know what to correct.

So next weekend, I'm going to use a more traditional recipe for donuts with these flavors, but one where you refrigerate the dough for a half hour and roll them out in flour.  I'll let you know how that turns out.