SIMPLE SUGAR-AND-SPICE DOUGHNUTS

"It can’t get any simpler than this: a soft, easy-to-make, easy-to-roll-out dough that is quickly deep-fried in bubbling, hot, fresh peanut oil. It’s fun to watch the circles turn golden brown as they float around the top of the pan. A speedy flip, and in minutes a golden-brown and tender, warm doughnut is yours. A fast drain on paper towels and a quick toss in cinnamon-sugar, and you have the perfect accompaniment to a steaming cup of coffee or tea or a cold glass of milk."

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 1/2 cups sugar, divided use
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
Approximately 6 cups peanut oil

Combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

Combine the cinnamon with 2 cups of the sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Set aside.

Place the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and begin beating. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until the mixture is well combined. Add the eggs and continue beating. When well incorporated, begin adding the reserved flour mixture, alternately with the milk. Beat until a soft dough forms.

Lightly flour a clean, flat surface. Transfer the dough to the floured surface and lightly sprinkle the top with additional flour. Either pat the dough down or gently roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Using a doughnut cutter (a round cutter with a removable disk in the center to create the hole) or a biscuit cutter (if you use a biscuit cutter, you will have to carefully hand cut the center holes), cut out circles, reserving the “holes.” Gather up any remaining dough along with the “holes” and, again, pat or roll out the dough and cut out circles. Don’t discard any dough, as the bits and pieces of the leftover dough can be fried to make oddly shaped doughnuts.

Place a thick layer of paper towels on a flat surface.

Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Add the doughnuts, a few at a time, and fry, turning occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the doughnuts have risen and are golden brown. Using the slotted spoon, gently lift the doughnuts to the paper towels to drain for just a few seconds. Then, transfer the doughnuts to the cinnamon-sugar mixture in the plastic bag and gently toss to coat them well. Remove the doughnuts from the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place them on a serving platter.

Makes about 3 dozen
Excerpted from David Burke's New American Classics by David Burke and Judith Choate
Copyright © 2006 by David Burke and Judith Choate. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.