Start to finish: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 4

5 cups flour
2 eggs
7 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy
A few drops of vanilla extract
Grated lemon peel from 1/2 lemon
1 ½ – 2 cups warm milk
Moderate amount of oil (peanut oil is preferred since it’s good for deep frying)
Any desired fruit jam filling
Confectioner’s sugar
Ground Cinnamon

Begin by mixing the flour, salt and sugar.

Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup milk, add a pinch or two of sugar and let sit.

Add the mixture to the middle of the dry ingredients, as well as the remaining ingredients except for the brandy, oil, jam, cinnamon and confectioner’s sugar.

Knead the dough, cover and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place in the kitchen.

Roll out the dough to about 1 cm and use a glass rim to cut into circles.

Place the circles on a floured towel; let rise for an additional hour.

Deep fry in hot oil with cognac/brandy added until golden brown. The alcohol is added so the pastry does not absorb too much oil in the frying process.

If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a large pot and add just enough oil to cover the pastries going in.

Heat the oil to 350 F. and gently lower the pastry into the oil. Deep frying is fast, so keep close watch as only 30 – 50 seconds might be needed.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon.

Using a pastry bag, fill the donuts with a filling of your choice.

The filling can also be heated and filled using a syringe, but this takes more work.

If you don’t have a pastry bag, spooning out a small piece of the donut and then spooning the filling into it works too.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (à la mode) and enjoy!