mojito glazed potato doughnuts… because I have to do something with all this spring mint in the garden

I’m on the quest for a yummy yeasted doughnut recipe and I have been wanting to try a buttermilk/potato recipe for awhile. I don’t know why the addition of 3/4 cup of potato makes me feel like these are any healthier but it does and I love the combo of tart and sweet so I thought I might make a lemon glaze but what to do with the mint sprouting everywhere in the yard? Um, mojitos? That was the answer and what prompted me this glorious spring day to make some doughnuts. So I went to the store to get my ingredients came back and realized that the container of buttermilk in the fridge was actually about a tablespoon of buttermilk that had frozen (goddamn back of the fridge always freezes things)… So did I drive back to the grocery store for more buttermilk? Hell no, I substituted 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream and it worked just fine. It made quite a bit of dough so I froze half of the dough, cut out in shapes and froze them on a cookie sheet, once frozen I stacked them in a freezer bag and will thaw them in the fridge overnight and fry up some fresh doughnuts some Sunday morning and everyone will love me forever… or at least that’s what I’ll make them say before they can have one.

For the dough:

• 3/4 cups riced white potato, maine or russet
• 1 stick butter
• 1 package yeast
• 2 tbls sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• crisco or vegetable oil for frying
• 6 1/2 cups flour plus 1 cup for kneading

1. To rice potatoes : slice 2 medium potatoes and place in boiling water for approx. 20 minutes or until tender when pricked with a fork (ha ha, she said pricked)… sorry can’t help it I have a 13yo… when soft de-skin and put through ricer while still warm
2. while potatoes are cooking heat the buttermilk to 110-115 and then add sugar and stir in yeast, let sit
3. sift flour into a large mixing bowl
4. beat eggs and salt until pale
5. in a medium bowl combine warm riced potatoes with butter, stir to melt
6. add buttermilk/yeast mixture and egg mixture and combine
7. make a hole in the center of the flour and pour in the buttermilk/potato/egg mixture, stir to combine, it should look like this:

1. put onto a floured surface and knead dough, adding more flour as necessary

1. place in greased bowl, cover and allow to double in bulk
2. roll out onto floured surface and cut out doughnuts

1. fry in batches keeping the oil/crisco at 360, drain on paper towels, when slightly cool dip in glaze and place on racks to dry (I think crisco is better for doughnuts as it doesn’t brown them quite as much but who’s really going to complain if you only have oil… um no one)

Mojito glaze:

• handful of fresh mint leaves chopped
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/2 lime juiced
• powdered sugar

1. heat up half the rum with the chopped mint
2. in a bowl combine heated rum/mint with remaining rum and lime juice, stir and add in enough powdered sugar to make a glaze, about as thick as gravy (why can’t I think of a better analogy?)