Fan Girls: Candy Crush Donut Holes

Confession: I am addicted to Candy Crush. It's been a thing for about the last 6-8 months. Any spare moment I have, riding in the car (read: NOT driving), waiting in line at the post office, etc. I'm playing Candy Crush. No, I'm not texting a friend or checking my email like a normal person with friends. I'm lining up colorful candies in order to, well, crush them! I might as well tell you, I'm currently on level 105. Not to, like, brag or anything. I like to think of it as only a slightly sad obsession.It's safe to say, I'm a fan girl for Candy Crush. So, in honor of this too addictive game I decided to make donut holes. I'm also donut obsessed. This recipe can easily be made into traditional size/shaped donuts. It's a fantastic base recipe and (bonus) it sort of tastes like Krispy Kreme donuts. But you can be the judge of that. Candy Crush Donut Holes, makes about a million tiny donut holes, or about two dozen standard size donuts. Recipe slightly adapted from A Baker's Field Guide to Doughnuts.

1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons (two packages) active dry yeast
6 tablespoons shortening (you can substitute butter if you prefer)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-5 1/2 cups flour
oil for frying

In a small bowl pour the yeast over the warm water and allow that to sit for 5 minutes.

On the stove top or in the microwave heat together the shortening, milk and cream until just melted.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl or your mixer, combine the yeast water, shortening milk, sugar, eggs, nutmeg, vanilla extract and 2 1/2 cups flour. Stir until just combined. Add in another 2 1/2 cups flour. Stir to combine. If the dough still seems too sticky at this stage (still really clingy to the sides of the bowl as you mix) add in an additional 1/2 cup flour. I needed all 5 1/2 cups so probably you will too. Use your dough hook attachment or clean hands to knead the dough for a few minutes.

Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for one hour (or until doubled in size).I used mini cookie cutters to create my donut hole shapes. As you can see I still had to get a little creative as these aren't the exact Candy Crush shapes. And remember, you can totally just cut these into standard size donuts if you want. Here are my shapes. I ended up needing a small circle shape as my cookie cutter set didn't include one. I used the end of a large pastry tip, as it created a circle a similar size to my other shapes.

Punch the dough down and divide in two. On a floured worked surface roll out half of the dough, so it's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out your shapes. Place donut holes on a lightly floured baking sheet. Once you've cut out all your shapes, cover the baking sheet(s) with a clean towel and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.Fry in oil that is around 350°F. Fry for about ten seconds on each side. Remember, these are tiny donut holes so they don't need much cooking time. If you are making standard size donuts fry for about 45 seconds to one minute on each side. I like to use metal tongs to help flip the donuts as well as remove them from the hot oil to a plate lined with paper towels once cooked.White Chocolate Glaze, makes about one cup. 

1.5 oz. white chocolate
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon water
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl melt together the chocolate, heavy cream and water. I did this in the microwave. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Stir. Microwave on high for an additional 18-20 seconds. Stir until well combined. If you're adding food coloring do so after this step. Then whisk in the powdered sugar. I repeated this process five times to get all my colors. You could also substitute the white chocolate for semisweet for a delicious chocolate glaze. 🙂Dip warm donuts in the glaze. Devour. Play Candy Crush. Live your life. xo. Emma

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman