Best Doughnut Casserole Recipes

DOUGHNUT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Arrange the doughnuts and bread in the bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
• Beat the milk, cream and eggs in a large bowl until well blended. Add the sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk until homogenous.
• Pour the liquid mixture over the bread cubes in the baking dish and let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 1 hour. (You can freeze the casserole at this stage for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before baking, or cook directly from the freezer in a 325-degree oven, covered with aluminum foil, for 65 to 75 minutes.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake until the center is just set, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Top with maple syrup and fresh berries.

CLASSIC JELLY DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Microwave the milk in a small bowl until 105 degrees F to 110 degrees F. Stir in the yeast and 3 tablespoons sugar; let stand until foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
• Add the yeast mixture, eggs and vanilla to the flour. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in the butter 1 piece at a time. Continue mixing, scraping the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes (it will be a little sticky). Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Scrape the dough into the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; dust with flour.
• Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and gently pat until 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 to 14 rounds as close together as possible. Place the rounds 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared pans. Lightly coat the tops of the rounds with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pot until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Cut the parchment paper around each dough round so they can be picked up separately. Working in batches of 3 or 4, use the parchment to carefully slide the dough rounds into the hot oil. Fry the doughnuts, flipping occasionally, until golden brown, 2 1/2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to a paper towel?lined baking sheet to drain. Return the oil temperature to 350 degrees F between batches.
• Put the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. While the doughnuts are still warm, toss them in the sugar to coat, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Using a chopstick or skewer, poke a hole in the side of each doughnut, wiggling the stick around to form a pocket. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip with the jelly and squeeze about 2 tablespoons into each doughnut.
• Blueberry-Lemon Poppy Seed
• Skip the sugar coating in Step 5. Fill the doughnuts with blueberry jam. Top with lemon glaze (whisk 1 cup confectioners? sugar with the zest of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and a pinch of salt). Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
• Apple-Cinnamon
• In Step 5, coat the doughnuts with cinnamon sugar (whisk 3/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon). Fill the doughnuts with apple butter.
• Learn how to make a Hanukkah favorite: jelly doughnuts!
• Lemon-Raspberry
• In Step 5, coat the doughnuts with raspberry sugar (pulse 1/2 cup freeze-dried raspberries in a food processor or spice grinder until powdery; mix with 1/3 cup sugar). Fill the doughnuts with lemon cream (whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks, then fold in 1 cup lemon curd).
• Strawberry-Chocolate
• Skip the sugar coating in Step 5. Fill the doughnuts with strawberry jam. Top with chocolate glaze (melt 6 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate with 1/3 cup heavy cream and a pinch of salt in the microwave, then stir until smooth).

SLOW-COOKER DOUGHNUT BREAKFAST BAKE

Steps:

• Line inside of 5-qt. slow cooker with a double layer of heavy duty foil; spray insert and foil with cooking spray. Layer half the doughnut pieces in slow cooker; top with half the apples. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and apples. In large bowl, whisk together cream, eggs and vanilla; pour over doughnut pieces and apples. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over doughnut mixture., Cook, covered, on low 4-5 hours or until set. Remove insert. Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes. If desired, serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.

DOUGHNUT FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla in a wide shallow bowl.
• Soak the bread halves in the eggy mixture for 5 minutes a side.
• Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan/skillet, fry the egg-soaked bread until golden and scorched in parts on both sides.
• Put the sugar onto a plate and then dredge the cooked bread until coated like a sugared doughnut.

DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the milk until it is warm but not hot, about 90 degrees. In a large bowl, combine it with the yeast. Stir lightly, and let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, beat the eggs, butter, sugar and salt into the yeast mixture. Add half of the flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons), and mix until combined, then mix in the rest of the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, if the dough is too wet. If you're using an electric mixer, the dough will probably become too thick to beat; when it does, transfer it to a floured surface, and gently knead it until smooth. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, and cover. Let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts with a doughnut cutter, concentric cookie cutters or a drinking glass and a shot glass (the larger one should be about 3 inches in diameter), flouring the cutters as you go. Reserve the doughnut holes. If you're making filled doughnuts, don't cut out the middle. Knead any scraps together, being careful not to overwork, and let rest for a few minutes before repeating the process.
• Put the doughnuts on two floured baking sheets so that there is plenty of room between each one. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until they are slightly puffed up and delicate, about 45 minutes. If your kitchen isn't warm, heat the oven to 200 at the beginning of this step, then turn off the heat, put the baking sheets in the oven and leave the door ajar.
• About 15 minutes before the doughnuts are done rising, put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and heat it to 375. Meanwhile, line cooling racks, baking sheets or plates with paper towels.
• Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil, a few at a time. If they're too delicate to pick up with your fingers (they may be this way only if you rose them in the oven), use a metal spatula to pick them up and slide them into the oil. It's O.K. if they deflate a bit; they'll puff back up as they fry. When the bottoms are deep golden, after 45 seconds to a minute, use a slotted spoon to flip; cook until they're deep golden all over. Doughnut holes cook faster. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared plates or racks, and repeat with the rest of the dough, adjusting the heat as needed to keep the oil at 375. Glaze or fill as follows, and serve as soon as possible.