I need [non-Dunkin'] donut holes tomorrow afternoon

Mike G wrote:I have to bring 4 dozen donut holes to something.

Has to be holes. To me that's like asking for Chicken McNuggets-- everyone's going to get them from the same place, Dunkin' Donuts.

Me being me, though, I can't stand that idea. Is there somewhere that has better, or at least non-chain, donut holes?

Your answer is more likely to be put to use the closer your suggestion is to me in Lakeview/Roscoe Village, or at least on the route to Glenview.

Thanks.

GRANDMOTHER'S YEAST DONUTS

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup milk, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages dry active yeast
1/2 lukewarm water
2 eggs beaten eggs
7 + cups flour

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water. Let rest until bubbly.
Combine the butter, sugar and salt in large mixing bowl. Scald 3/4 cup milk and pour over the sugar mixture. Stir until butter is melted. Stir in the remaining cold milk to cool mixture to lukewarm.

Stir in the yeast. Beat in the eggs.

Add flour gradually, stirring well until well blended. Continue to add flour until dough is stiff enough to turn out onto a floured board to knead.

Knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in greased large bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let rest in warm draft-free area for about an hour until doubled.

Punch down and let rest a few minutes before rolling out.

On floured board with rolling pen, roll dough to large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with round biscuit cutter and cut out center with smaller cutter. Placed on greased tray, cover and let rise until doubled.

Heat fat to 375 degrees. With large spatula, lift raised dough and slide into hot fat. Fry on for approximately 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Turn over to fry to golden brown on second side. Lift from fat and drain.

Grandmother did not specify in her recipe what her sugar cinnamon or powdered sugar glaze was exactly, so I researched through my aunts and my father and thus adapted as close to their memory as possible and made this addition to her recipe.

Glaze:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Sugar Cinnamon:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine ingredients of glaze and stir until well blended. Using a pastry brush, brush glaze on one side of warm donut; let set for a few minutes on wire rack. Brush the other side of donut and let rest to set.

Stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Place in small bowl. Place warm donut in to the sugar and turn to coat with the sugar.

Yield: 2 to 2-1/2 dozen medium sized donuts

The folks living in the little village of Concord in the 1930's had most likely never had the delicacy of a donut until my grandmother, Sara Nickel, made them. My grandfather, Roy Nickel, produced Morgan-Scott Hybrid Corn and had a seed processing building outside Concord. My father and aunts tell me when Grandfather held an open-house field-day for his seed corn business, Grandmother made the donuts from scratch to serve the visiting farmers. Considering I awakened early in the morning to make one small batch of donuts for the fair, I wonder what time Grandmother rose to make the number needed to satisfy the hungry men. As a child, I do not remember the open house events, but I do recall the days Grandmother would make her unusual treat to take for morning breaks for the workers who did the hand grading and processing of the corn at the seed plant several tunes during the fall. I recall being thrilled when there were donuts "left over" to be enjoyed by the grandchildren for an after school treat, although I now realize Grandmother made an amount to assure there would be some left over. Grandmother's donuts were the first and only donuts I recall eating as a child. I know donuts are very common and readily available today, but they were quite unusual, highly praised, and greatly looked forward to in the community of Concord.

I like my grandmother, love to bake and experiment in the kitchen. It is special for me to now have my Grandmother's heirloom recipe as my aunt located it and gave me a photo copy in Grandmother's own handwriting. Since Grandmother did not have in her recipe exactly the sugar coating, feel special being able to update her recipe from my aunt's memory. Grandmother's recipe did not specify they type of fat used for frying, but my father was very sure she would have had their own rendered lard to use which he believes added to the flavor. Since most people today do not perform the many hours of hard farm labor which helped to metabolize the animal fat, I choose to update my use of Grandmother's recipe by choosing vegetable oil for health conscious folks of modern day.

I hope someday, my grandchildren will recall with fond memories the wonderful treat of their grandmother's special homemade donuts I have made with love for them as much as I reminisce about my grandmother's donuts. Even more, I hope my grandmother's donut recipe will be handed down through the generations and that my daughters and granddaughters will have inherited our "culinary gene" to carry on the family donut tradition.

Mhays wrote:What about the little knots at Patty's - would those do? I don't know if they'd be willing to make a bunch of them, though...

Darren72 wrote:For everyone's future reference, a friend brought a box of excellent donut holes from Lou Mitchell's to our morning Bears brunch-gate yesterday.

Lou Mitchell's
565 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago
Tel: (312) 939-3111
Fax: (312) 939-4400