kidstuffs: Lazy Daisy Donuts

It's a snow day at the End of the Main Line...and all the way down to Philly and on into Jersey. 10-14 inches, whoo! This, of course, means that two and a half hours into the day, we have already made "fancy" breakfast, are on our second cup of hot chocolate (and third cup of coffee), made two projects and the baby is starting to get up from his first nap.

What counts as "fancy" breakfast? Lazy Daisy Donuts!

This is a Nana recipe. The original Nana, my great grandmother, would make large, fresh biscuits, then cut out the holes with a shot glass and deep fry them (in lard!) to golden brown on each side, then immediately dust them with powdered sugar until they were glistening with a layer of sweet fatty goodness. They were then gobbled up instantly. If you could wait, they were fantastic cooled and hardened with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, but they rarely got to that stage. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, feel free to make these with fresh biscuit dough.

At our house, we made the lazy kind. These were devised by the current Nana, my mother, who is well on the way to having a cookbook's worth of recipes using biscuits from a can.

The kid loves biscuits from a can. Yes, they are processed and made from who knows what and all...but you can't beat them for keeping a kid entertained for a good 30 minutes while you make the real dinner. The kid loves opening the can (which can be a 10 minute process in itself), pulling them out, deciding whether to roll them out and cut shapes with cookie cutters or leave them as is...it is a big decision each and every time. And you can't beat them for a quick and easy breakfast treat.

These donuts take only a few minutes to make, or entertain kids for a good 30-45 minutes, depending on age and intensity of falling snow, if you let them do each step not involving heat sources. Measuring and cutting butter is a 5 minute activity, plus math! Whoo!

We happened to have the flaky buttermilk biscuits today, but any can of biscuits will do for this "recipe". To make them into donuts: preheat oven to about 375 or 400 degrees (if you have something else cooking, just toss them in at the same temp as long as it is over 350). Melt about 2T. butter in a small bowl, and put about 1/4 c. sugar in another bowl, with a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg if you feel like it. Pop open your biscuits and punch out a hole with a shot glass, bottlecap, whatever you have about that works. If you are feeling creative, find a small cookie cutter - flowers or hearts are popular around here, though we have been known to use the smallest dinosaur from time to time. Dip in the butter, then the sugar, place dipped side up on a foil lined (easy cleanup!) baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown. The sugar will be hot when done, so make sure you let them cool for a minute or two before calling the kids away from their stations at the window, desperately looking for the first flakes of snow.

Enjoy!