It’s been a long long long time since my last update. The rest of my senior year was a whirlwind and it was gone before I knew it. The wedding is slowly creeping up on us and there is so much left to do. I thought life would be a little less busy post-graduation, but I guess not!

As an apology for my hiatus, I give you caffeinated doughnuts. Jared, a friend of mine, came up with this idea and we brought it to life during spring break. We made a few without the caffeine – if you choose to do so, omit the caffeine pills and powdered sugar from the glaze.

Caffeinated Doughnuts
adapted from allrecipes.com

For the doughnuts:
2 .25 ounce packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 quart vegetable oil

For the glaze:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 caffeine pills (like NoDoz), crushed to a fine powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar, or to taste

1. Place warm water in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix together the yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of flour in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.
3. Mix in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl.
4. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out until 1/2 in thick. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter*. Cover with a cloth and let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double.
6. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave. Mix in butter and  corn syrup until smooth. Whisk in powdered sugar and crushed caffeine pills and add vanilla. Taste – if it’s too bitter, add more sugar.
7. Heat oil in a large pot to 350F. Carefully place doughnuts into the oil. Turn the doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry on each side until golden brown. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a wire rack. Dip in glaze while still hot and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

*Note: if you do not have a doughnut cutter, use whatever else you may have around the house! When we did this, we used a glass to cut out the doughnut and then used a shot glass to cut out the hole.