Applesauce-Raisin Doughnuts-Mix

These cake-style doughnuts take a shortcut with a baking mix, so the dough comes together in minutes without measuring out a pantry’s worth of flour and leavening. Applesauce is the secret to their tender, moist crumb, while chopped raisins and warm nutmeg and cinnamon give them a cozy, spiced-cider flavor.

After a quick knead, the dough rolls out and gets cut into rings, then fried in hot shortening until they bob to the surface and turn golden on both sides. Cake doughnuts like these are quick to fry, with no proofing or yeast rise required.

A toss in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm is the finishing move, giving them a sweet, fragrant coating that clings best to a hot doughnut. Don’t forget to fry the holes too.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the oil hot and steady. Too cool and the doughnuts soak up grease, too hot and they brown before cooking through.
• Don’t overknead. About ten times is plenty, since overworking makes tough, dense doughnuts.
• Fry only a few at a time so the oil temperature doesn’t crash and they cook evenly.
• Toss them in cinnamon sugar while still warm so the coating sticks.

Variations

• Swap the raisins for chopped dates, dried cranberries or diced apple.
• Glaze with a simple powdered-sugar icing instead of cinnamon sugar.
• Add a pinch of ground cloves or allspice for a deeper spiced flavor.