Christina's Pumpkin Donuts with Spiced Sugar

from Baking Bites

My father-in-law said these were the best donuts he's has in years.

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp buttermilk

1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (canned is ok)

Canola oil (for deep-frying)

Spiced Sugar

1 cups sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

dash ground nutmeg

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla, buttermilk and pumpkin. Gently stir in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight if desired. That way you can have donuts first thing in the morning with minimal fuss!

Working with 1/3 of the dough at a time, press the chilled dough out, on a lightly floured surface, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into donuts using donut cutter or roll it all into small donut holes. Repeat until all the dough is used. You may reroll the scraps. You should end up with about 24 donuts and 24 holes.

In a large sauce pan, heat 2-3 inches of oil to 365F/185C. Make a thick stack of paper towels to drain the donuts on. Fry the donuts until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Monitor the temperature to make sure it remains constant. Remove dough to drain and cool thoroughly on paper towels.

In bowl, whisk together sugar and spices. Coat donuts and donut holes in sugar mixture. Eat while warm.