French Honey Crullers Food

CRULLERS

Steps:

• Make the Crullers: Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from the heat, add all the flour at once, and stir hard with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated, about 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, to evaporate some of the moisture, about 2 minutes.
• Scrape the mixture into a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer or mix by hand), and mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and adding 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg and mix until completely incorporated.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (use a large size, like #12), pipe the dough onto the sheet pan in rows of 2 1/2-inch rings. Freeze them for 30 minutes to make them easier to pick up.
• Meanwhile, make the Glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.
• Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 325 degrees F. Working in batches, lift the dough circles off the sheet pan and carefully slip them into the oil. Fry, turning once, until lightly browned. Drain the crullers on a brown paper bag; then dip them completely in the glaze. Let the crullers cool and set before serving.

FRENCH CRULLERS

Steps:

• 1. Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a brisk boil over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated. Continue to cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes to steam away as much water as possible. The more moisture you can remove, the more eggs you can add later and the lighter your pastry will be. The mixture is ready when a thin film coats the bottom of the pan.
• 2. Move the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Although you can mix the pâte à choux by hand, this can be rather arduous, so use a mixer if you have one. Stir the mixture for about 1 minute to allow it to cool. Then mix on medium speed and add the first egg. Let it mix in completely and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, and mix in completely. Add the egg whites, a little at a time, until the paste becomes smooth and glossy and will hold a slight peak when pinched with your fingers. Be careful not to add too much egg white or your crullers will become heavy. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star piping tip.
• 3. To fry the crullers, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fat thermometer registers 370°F. While the oil is heating, cut out twelve 3-by-3-inch squares of parchment paper and lightly grease them. Pipe a ring onto each square. When the oil is hot, place one cruller at a time in the oil, paper side up. Remove the paper with tongs. Fry on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel for at least 1 minute. Once cool to the touch, the crullers can be glazed.
• Crullers also bake very well, although they will have slightly firmer crusts than the fried versions. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe the crullers onto it, at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly and let the crullers sit in the cooling oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove, dip in glaze, and cool on a rack until the glaze has set.
• Beignets, the classic New Orleans fried dough treats, use this same batter and are even easier to prepare. Simply drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil. As the dough puffs, the beignets will turn themselves over-but keep an eye on them and flip any that need a little help.

FRENCH HONEY CRULLERS

Steps:

• For the French Crullers: In a heavy bottom sauce pan (preferable nonstick), bring the water, butter, sugar, pumpkin spice and salt to a brisk boil. Immediately add in the flour and whisk until it's completely incorporated. Keep stirring over the heat, but keep it at a low/medium. Remove as much moisture as possible for a fluffier pastry later on. I did this for about 3 - 4 minutes. Then, transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the paddle attachment to stir the dough for a minute to quickly cool down the dough. Turn the speed to medium and add one egg at a time. Don't add the next egg until the first one is completely mixed. Repeat the process with the remaining egg. Add one egg white and blend until the dough becomes smooth and glossy, if it's not getting smooth and glossy, add the other egg white. If it starts to become glossy with just 1 egg white, don't add the second. Transfer dough to a large pastry bag with a large star tip. Preheat your oil to 370 degrees in a deep saucepan. Cut about 16 3x3 squares out of parchment paper. Spray each square (one side) with butter nonstick spray. Pipe a ring of dough onto each square. Place cruller and paper into hot oil. The paper will automatically separate from the oil, and the cruller will float on the hot oil, bubbling away. Flip cruller once, and fry until light brown (about 2-3 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
• Make the glaze: Combine all the honey glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. When crullers are cold to the touch, dip each top half of the doughnut into the glaze. Let glaze harden with a cookie sheet under the wire rack to catch the drippings. When the glaze has hardened re-dip for a thicker glaze, if you prefer. If you run out of glaze just make more. French Honey Crullers taste best served on the same day. Store remaining crullers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.