Brazilian Doughnut recipe

 

A Historical Novel based on True Events

by Nancy Madison

At the end of the Civil War southerners look forward to more peaceful times. Instead the Reconstruction Period is a tumultuous era. Many former Confederates leave their homes in search of a better life. About twenty thousand southern residents sail to Brazil to homestead. In late 1865 Tom Mahon and his friend disinherited Virginian Randolph Carlisle finally reach Galveston after traveling cross-country from a Union prison in Maryland. Good-natured, trusting Tom is no match for clever, unscrupulous cardsharp Randolph to whom winning is everything. Meeting Tom’s dark-eyed sweetheart Mattie Ratliff, Randolph decides to steal her from Tom. He has Tom framed for a crime he didn’t commit then sails off to Brazil with Mattie and her family, leaving Tom in a Galveston jail.

Brazillian Rain Drop Doughnuts

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2-1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Vegetable oil for frying

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

• Total Time: 30 minutes

Preparation

1. In a deep fryer or skillet, heat several inches of vegetable oil to 360 degrees (F).
   
   
2. In a small bowl, stir the cinnamon into the 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.
   
   
3. Mix the flour, salt and 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl.
   
   
4. Stir in the eggs and 1/2 cup buttermilk with a wooden spoon. Add more buttermilk, slowly, until mixture has the consistency of a very thick cake batter.
   
   
5. Stir in the baking powder.
   
   
6. Using 2 teaspoons (or a small cookie scoop), scoop a generous teaspoon of batter and carefully drop it into the oil, using the second spoon to help scrape the dough off of the first one. Repeat with several more teaspoons, but do not overcrowd the doughnuts or they will stick together.
   
   
7. Cook the doughnuts, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides.
   
   
8. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain briefly on paper towels.
   
   
9. Roll the doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar while still hot.
   
   
10. Cook the rest of the doughnuts in batches.
    
    
11. Doughnuts are best served warm, and can be reheated or kept warm in the oven.

Makes about 25 small round doughnuts.