doughnut, anyone?

Ju-Lyn, , , ,

Happy Place, Happy Space

My first memory of doughnuts is set in a little town in South Texas in the 1990s: noses pressed against the window of a Krispy Kreme outlet impatiently waiting for their “Hot Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Now” neon sign to flash. We eventually left with a box of said goodies & coffee.

I fell in love that day. I still enjoy a good doughnut, with my experience taking me away from original glazed to beignets (first tried in New Orleans, not France, although credited to the latter), churros (my first taste at Disneyland; doughnut hailing from Mexico, Spain, Latin America), bomboloni (Italy), and then closer to home but experienced/remembered later in life: jalebi (South Asia, Middle East), youtiao (China), an-donut (Japan), Gulab Jamun (India), Kueh Keria (Malaysia, Indonesia).

I resisted making these delectables at home – recipes I looked at inevitably involved deep frying, which I judiciously avoid. But when I saw Doughnut Muffins on King Arthur Baking, I coaxed Baker Fiend Younger Child to my aid.

While obviously not a Krispy Kreme, it is a tender-crumbed cakey donut encrusted in cinnamon sugar. What’s not to love?

In the interest of research, I googled Doughnuts around the World. I am thrilled that I have so many more of these yummalicious treats to try.

Do you have a favourite doughnut?

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Reading your Joyful Posts brings me to my happy place. I hope having them in one place makes it easier for you to find when you need a bit of happy therapy, too.

If you would like to join in Happy Place, Happy Space, ping back to this post and I will include you next week.

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  1. The feature photo is my contribution to SquareOdds hosted by Becky at Life of B: not quite the typical doughnut.
  2. This post is also my contribution to:

Published by Ju-Lyn

A Mostly-Vegetarian living, running & eating her way through Singapore.

58 Comments

  3. Hi Ju-Lyn,

    One favorite doughnut. . .? I love most of them and am thankful that making them involves deep frying which I also avoid, so I have never actually made my own and only get them by being somewhere where they are laid out to share by the host.

    But you did remind me of a favorite treat and recipe from my youth that I’m willing to share, but warn you that this story is about a brother (me) dealing with having 2 younger sisters and how I mastered many of the problems they presented. It’s fun and has the easy recipe for beer pancakes which were a hugely popular treat my day used to make – sometimes, but not always, which is part of the fun of the story.

    So you know, I now love and cherish both my sisters despite the grief we gave each other at the time. Once I trained and civilized them, they were able to pass as domesticated adults. . .

    I hope you get a smile from my account of surviving them.

    The Art of Surviving Sisters

    Have a great week – and do find a Saturday morning sometime to check out beer pancakes.

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  4. When I saw the top picture, I thought to myself, “Oh my. What is this new deliciousness?” I love that you researched doughnuts around the world and mean to try them all. You’re my kind of girl. 🙂 Fresh Krispy Kremes are so simple and yet so delicious, aren’t they? It’s amazing, really. Way to go enlisting Baking Daughter. I would have done the same with my Baking Daughter!

    Right next to my Jiu-Jitsu place (another much obliged hat tip to you for the mention of my post. 🙂 ) is a doughnut place. I’ve been pondering the fact that I haven’t had a doughnut in, literally, years, and wonder if one of these days I should partake. And yet, eating such a thing after exercising seems counter-productive. Hmm. Another occasion, maybe. 🙂

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    1. You have been able to resist going in to the donut place? I would have gone in at the very beginning!!?!!!

      Thank you for supporting my obsessiveness 🙂 it’s so much fun for me, but not always for those around me.

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  6. I am reading your engaging post on Sunday morning: perfect donut time, unless of course we’ve just finished a spring baseball practice for 10 year olds, and a parent brings a box of donuts to celebrate whatever new skill we learned that day. Donuts bring back such happy memories. Thanks for adding to them!

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  14. A donut that is not fried! You are on to a winner there, Ju-Lyn. I rarely have them so I can probably remember each of those occasions. The memory that sticks out most was when my TL and I were backpacking around Europe. We were staying in Annecy in December. It was beautiful and freezing. We bought churros (not sure whether that is the correct spelling). They were hot and totally delicious. We were starving because we were trying to live off a combined $50 per day. That may have added to the enjoyment.

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      1. I think technically it is the shape and being fried – many here are frosted or glazed, not cinnamon, And the consistence. A jelly doughnut is not that same shape, is filled, but the texture of the dough is the same…

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        1. I have since discovered that there are many recipes for baked donuts (ring-shaped as well) … perhaps this donut muffin is a take on that sort of cakey bake.

          When all is said & done, I think I need a fried ring when I crave a donut.

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  17. I love all the feels of this. And now donuts in the morning for me and my granddaughter sounds good. Donuts reminds me of my dad. I never bought them for my kids, that was him. His special papa thing that I still smile about.

    Thank you for including me in your Happy Place… Donna

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  19. I love finding those analogues in world cuisine. We can see that things are the same but also different all around the world. I’d add Polish Pączki (delicious jelly-filled powdered donuts) and Chhattisgarhi Gulgulle (like donut holes) to the list. Where I grew up, in Vermont, people would also eat raised donuts (made using yeast) and top them with maple syrup. Delicious.

    But my favourite is kind of boring – just the plain fried cake donut. The best can be found at a little place in Lebanon, New Hampshire called “Muriels” where Muriel herself makes them and then gives them to you fresh in brown paper bags turning slightly clear with the hot oil.

    I like these plain donuts on long bike tours also. Energy bars are a luxury you can only find in larger cities and towns but plain donuts, excellent sources of calories, are available so many places. Frosted/filled are too messy to eat while riding but plain are great.

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    1. Todd! I’m not sure what happened but I just found this response when I was clearing out my Spam box …. arghhhhh!

      I seem to recall having a conversation with you some time ago about cuisine analogues … was it about dumplings?

      I haven’t had the Paczki nor Gulgulle nor the maple syruped donuts, And those Muriels sound fantastic!!!

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