Champagne Donuts

By Julie Schulz

The Woman Today

Happy New Year! If you’ve got leftover champagne from the big party, give this recipe a try. I used a sweet spumante and they turned out light and fluffy, with a definite champagne taste.

Certainly using a doughnut pan would be ideal, but I don’t have one, so I improvised with a muffin pan and some tinfoil coils — just know you won’t get the classic doughnut shape. To transform my muffin tin, I cut 3-inch strips of tin foil and coiled each around my candy thermometer, which seemed to be a good diameter, and stood them up in each muffin tin. However, if you want them to look like donuts, definitely use a doughnut pan; otherwise, maybe just call these champagne muffins and skip the hole in the middle!

Here are my tips:

Size and shape: I piped the batter into my 12 muffin tins and, because it was a thicker batter, it looked like messy toothpaste swirled in there. So on half of them, I smoothed the batter out with a knife — it turns out, those are the muffins that rose up over the edge and created a large lip (your classic “muffin top”). So, leave them alone, they’ll settle and rise just fine without the smoothing. Also, I think I could’ve made 15 doughnuts so the batter didn’t rise up over the edge. I also tried carving the “lip” off to get that doughnut shape, but that was a definite no-no. You need the smooth baked surface for the glaze.

Glaze color: Use food coloring carefully. I put in 3 drops and instead of getting a pretty pastel shade, I got funky vibrant colors. So, go easy on it until you get the shade you want. Also, results may vary depending on the use of liquid, gel or paste versions.

Dipping: The bigger muffin-top doughnuts were also the ones that stuck in the glaze — the bottom I was holding tore away (another reason not to overfill your tins). Of course, those were the ones I tested for flavor.

Sprinkles: If desired, apply sprinkles immediately after dipping. I waited too long and they just rolled off because the glaze began to set. D

Champagne Doughnuts

12 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup champagne (room temperature)

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup champagne (for glaze)

2 cups powdered sugar (for glaze)

1/4 teaspoon salt (for glaze)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease two doughnut pans. Set aside.

2. Melt 1⁄2 cup butter, and allow to cool slightly. Add 3⁄4 cup room temperature champagne, 2 large eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the melted butter. Whisk to combine. Add 3⁄4 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder and give a quick stir, and then add 2 cups flour. Stir with a spatula until no flour streaks show in the batter.

3. Transfer the batter to a large gallon-size ziplock bag, and cut a small hole in the corner. Pipe the batter into each well of the greased doughnut pan, filling to about 1⁄4 inch from the top of the mold. Bake 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the glaze.

4. For the glaze, combine 1⁄4 cup champagne, 2 cups powdered sugar and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl, whisking to combine. Generously dip each cooled doughnut into the glaze, and then return to the cooling rack for the glaze to set.

Recipe courtesy of www.organicvalley.coop.

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Securitiessold,advisor yservices offeredthroughCUNABrokerageServices,Inc.(CBSI),member FINRA/SIPC, aregisteredbroker/dealerandinvestmentadvisor,D/B/AMPECURetirementand InvestmentServices.CBSIisundercontractwithMinnesota PowerEmployeesCreditUnioQn tomakesecuritiesavailabletomembers. NotNCUA/NCUSIF/FDICinsured,May Lost Value, NoFinancialInstitutionGuarantee. Not adeposit of any financialinstitution.CUNABrokerage Services,Inc.,is aregisteredbroker/dealerinall fiftystates of theUnitedStates of America. FR-1579471.1-0816-0918

Securitiessold,advisor yservices offeredthroughCUNABrokerageServices,Inc.(CBSI),member FINRA/SIPC, aregisteredbroker/dealerandinvestmentadvisor,D/B/AMPECURetirementand InvestmentServices.CBSIisundercontractwithMinnesota PowerEmployeesCreditUnioQn tomakesecuritiesavailabletomembers. NotNCUA/NCUSIF/FDICinsured,May Lost Value, NoFinancialInstitutionGuarantee. Not adeposit of any financialinstitution.CUNABrokerage Services,Inc.,is aregisteredbroker/dealerinall fiftystates of theUnitedStates