Donut Day - Celebrating day 1 of the Ice Storm of 2011

Day 1 of the great ice storm of 2011, and the powdered sugar is flying.


Yes, ice storms mean we eat donuts, per 3-year-old rationale.


Yesterday morning, my son decided that if there was an ice storm, he'd get donuts for breakfast. I'm not sure what prompted it, but soon he was announcing this - repeatedly - to his sister.


And last night, a quarter-inch of ice fell. This morning, glancing at the icy windows, my son reminded me: It's donut time.

So we drug out a cookbook, did a little tweaking and set to work. Within minutes the kids were dusted nose to knee in flour and powdered sugar. Messy? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely. And thankfully, we cleaned up any messes before round 2 hits late this afternoon!

Bear-Bear's Beignets
2 3/4 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. milk
1/3 c. water
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
32 oz. vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix milk, water, egg and vanilla, then add to the dry ingredients.

Heat oil in saucepan until 325 degrees. Drop the dough in balls, three to four at a time, until fried. Transfer to paper towels to cool. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!