I recently read on Serious Eats about Campfire Donuts. I had never heard of such a thing, but apparently people fry donuts in a coffee can over a campfire, using refrigerated biscuit dough! That idea sounded a little dangerous to me, but I loved the idea of using biscuit dough and also of having piping hot donuts on a camping trip.
Glazed donuts are great, but they’re awfully sweet, even for me. My favorite donuts are some I used to get in Finland, and that’s the inspiration for this version. They were filled with raspberry jam (not that nasty jelly filling) and coated in cardamom-flecked sugar.
A couple of notes:
- Instead of full sized donuts, I decided on donut holes because they’re not such a big donut commitment. You can make regular donuts with donut holes on the side by using a small round cookie cutter to punch a hole in the center of each biscuit.
- I hate to deep fry, so I use just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and it works fine. You could certainly deep fry these though.
- Try this recipe with different glazes, as suggested in the Serious Eats recipe. The plain glaze is really good. I haven’t tried the brown butter glaze yet, but it’s next on my list.
Skillet Fried Cardamom Donut Holes with Raspberry Jam
Yield
32 donut holesPrep Time / Cook Time
/Activity Guide
Car Camping, PicnicIngredients
- 1 16-ounce tube refrigerated biscuit dough
- 1/2 to 1 cup oil
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam (optional)
Tools
- Cast iron skillet
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Small pot
- Spoon
- Tongs
- Paper Bag or Bowl
Method
- Cut each biscuit into quarters and roll each quarter into balls.
- In a paper bag or bowl, combine the sugar and cardamom.
- Combine the raspberry jam with a little bit of water in a small pot and warm it over low heat.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a cast iron skillet. Fry the dough balls, turning frequently. When they’re cooked through, place them on a paper towel lined plate to cool slightly.
- Once the donut holes are cool enough to handle, toss them in the cardamom sugar. Serve immediately with warm raspberry jam on the side for dipping.
O — M — G —- !
I would do this in a pie iron. Less fat, less mess.
Refrigerated biscuits are a great base for camp out donuts. I like the idea of pan frying and will try it in the future. We commonly deep fry donuts this way. Pour an inch of canola oil in a dutch oven, heat over a coleman stove (wood coals don’t stay hot long enough), use a whole biscuit with a hole poked in the middle (to approximate a typical donut and to cook faster), brown in the hot oil, then dredge in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Very popular!
Munkkit! I was never a donut person, but made an exception when I was living in Turku. I love that this recipe is based on those flavors!