Cronuts

A friend recently asked me what I would choose if I could only pick one food to eat for the rest of my life. I went with the first food that popped into my mind, "DisneyLand Churros!" Because they're the happiest place on earth and childhood nostalgia meets cinnamon & sugar and deep fried dough- it's a no brainer!
For as long as I can remember, I've preferred doughnuts and churros to every other dessert option. And while I did forego trying a burger with a doughnut bun while we lived in Texas, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Hi-Tops at Hi-Lo Diner in Minneapolis (Check out the Gary Cooper and the Notorious P.I.G.!). I've tried doughnuts everyplace we have lived, and while I'll never grow tired of trying new doughnut shops, I've never found a place that measures up to Foster's Doughnuts in my hometown.

And so, in honor of National Doughnut Day (and my first time ever celebrating it), I decided to try a new recipe- not a churro or a doughnut, but a Dominique Ansel Cronut from his book, Dominique Ansel: Secret Recipes.  It took several days of preparation, including quite a bit of research to find the perfect doughnut cutter and two days of dough lamination, and all along I knew there was no way they were going to be as good as the real deal, but they were still pretty darn good :)

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Resources, Tips, and Takeaways

• The Ateco 3 1/2 inch Doughnut Cutter fits the specifications called for in the book exactly.
• IT'S NOT HARD, it just takes time. You have to start two days ahead of time, so it's more effort than difficulty that will keep me from making these on a regular basis.
• You can get the recipe here if you don't have access to the book. Our local library has a copy, and I'm looking forward to also making his famous Kouign Amann.
• I substituted his ganaches and glazes for a simpler flavor profile. We had sugar, cinnamon & sugar, powdered sugar, and frosted donuts. Frosted with sprinkles was probably our favorite. The dough itself isn't overly sweet, so the added sugar keeps things in balance.
• The recipe makes at least 12 doughnuts and I've heard the doughnuts don't keep well, so make sure you have someone to share with!