On some days, I just want to come back from work and unwind in the kitchen. Lately I have been attempting to involve the kids more and more in what I do. My son has recently discovered a love for donuts and I wanted to try and make some for the kids because I can control what goes into these donuts and it is actually very easy to involve the kids in shaping and decorating these.

Krispy Kreme happen to be my favorite donuts and I wanted to replicate their taste and texture. Doing my research on the internet revealed that there is a very secretly guarded formula that makes these donuts so good. People have attempted to replicate it and have managed to get fairly close but not close enough! I did shortlist a recipe which was repeated on several sites and promised good results.

I did follow the recipe as instructed but I do have to admit that when I was making the dough it became very very sticky for me - almost a dropping consistency. Which meant that I had to add a fair bit of additional flour to make the dough "barely manageable". This did result in my doughnuts not being as tender as I would have liked them to be. But this was a great chance for me to learn and I promised myself the next batch will be "absolutely right". The recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com but I did add my own touch .... I added a bit of vanilla extract to the batter because I love the cakey taste in my donuts and vanilla always helps!

The kids really enjoyed cutting the donuts with a cookie cutter to make the big round and a bottle stopper to make the hole. The dough that remained from the cookie cutters was rolled out and cut into squares with a pizza cutter to make beignet shapes. Once the dough has risen, fry the donuts. Glaze the round donuts as you like and top them with toppings of your choice. Dust the beignets with icing sugar and enjoy warm!

Ingredients

Donuts

1 (.25 ounce) envelope (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

2 tablespoons warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

vegetable oil for frying

Vanilla Glaze:

2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons hot water or as needed

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon milk

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.To make the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate with butter and milk till melted and smooth.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up. You can also fill your donuts with jam or nutella!