Skillet Fried Cardamom Donut Holes with Raspberry Jam

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.

cut-biscuits

frying-donut-holes

donut-holes

Skillet Fried Cardamom Donut Holes with Raspberry Jam

Yield

32 donut holes

Prep Time / Cook Time

/

Activity Guide

Car Camping, Picnic

Ingredients

  • 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

  1. Cut each biscuit into quarters and roll each quarter into balls.
  2. In a paper bag or bowl, combine the sugar and cardamom.
  3. Combine the raspberry jam with a little bit of water in a small pot and warm it over low heat.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

5 thoughts on “Skillet Fried Cardamom Donut Holes with Raspberry Jam

  1. 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!

  2. 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!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *