LIGHT AS AIR DONUT HOLES FOR THIS WEEKEND

This recipe comes from the April edition of Cooking Light...go figure. Why a fried donut recipe is in a magazine called Cooking Light, I'm not sure, but it is...I tried it, and they were delicious...light as air.
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6 tablespoons warm water (see note)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1+ 1/8 teaspoons dry active yeast (I used 1¼)
6.75 ounces flour (about 1½ cups) divided (see note)
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
6 cups peanut oil (I used vegetable oil)
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Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, let stand for 5 minutes or until bubbly. Weigh, or lightly spoon 5.63 ounces (about 1¼ cups) flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife, add salt.
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Add sour cream and lightly beaten egg to yeast mixture and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and mix until a moist dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour (1 tablespoon at a time) to prevent dough from sticking to your hands. (dough will feel slightly sticky). See note.
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Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place (85 degrees) for 1 hour or until almost double in size. (see note)
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Punch down dough. Divide into 36 equal portions; roll each portion into a ball. Cover dough with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray; let sit 30 minutes.
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Fry in 375F oil, for 2 minutes or until golden and done. Drain donuts on paper towels. Glaze or roll in sugar.
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OK, now that was their instructions...here's mine: I ended up using two cups of flour because their recommendation was simply not enough. I shaped the donut holes and placed them on a square of parchment paper that I had sprayed with cooking spray and then wiped off with a paper towel. This allows you to pick up each donut hole without deflating it.
Yeast dough's only cooperate with you if they are kept warm, so, either bring the egg and sour cream to room temperature before you use them, or sit your bowl of dough (and later your pan of shaped donut holes) over a large bowl of very warm water (the hottest water coming from your kitchen sink).

This dough was supposed to take only an hour to raise the first time. However, I didn't use room temperature ingredients, so it took almost 2 hours. Once I sat it over the bowl of warm water, the dough became beautifully light and fluffy.

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I find that an electric skillet works well for frying donuts because you can set the temperature and it doesn't take all that much oil. Just make sure you flip them over every 30 seconds for a total fry time of 2 minutes.

Drain them, initially, on several layers of paper towels. Once drained, dip the hot donuts in a glaze or roll them in sugar.
Glaze

1½ cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons warm water

(I added a half teaspoon vanilla)
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NOTE: Recipe starts with 6 tablespoons warm water. You can actually use fairly hot water in this step because the granulated sugar will cool down the water before you mix in the yeast.
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NOTE: This recipe needs a lot more flour than is called for. I used two cups of flour (lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled off with a knife), and I didn't put it in 1 tablespoon at a time, like directions suggest, I just dumped it in.