Doughnuts Round II-Jelly Doughnuts that is...

I brought these fantastic jelly doughnuts to my friend's Suzanne's house for Hanukkah, needless to say they didn't last long. As you may remember, I decided to try all the doughnut recipes of the October Daring Baker's challenge since I wasn't able to participate, and started with the pumpkin doughnut recipe. I was about to try a second recipe but when I saw these in Elra' s blog, I had to try them, they looked so tasty. I used the recipe as given by Martha Stewart, but let the dough rise during the day, for about two hours. I tried both the method given in the recipe of sandwiching the jam in between two disks of dough, and the method of injecting the jam after the frying. Injecting not only is faster, but results in better looking doughnuts. If you don't have a pastry bag and the tip to inject the jam, use the method given by MS.

Happy Hanukkah!

Ingredients

Makes about 20.

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons margarine or unsalted butter, room temperature
• Peanut oil, for frying, plus more for bowl
• 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam or jelly

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the warm water and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt; mix until well combined. Add egg yolks and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour. Mix until combined, then knead dough in bowl until all flour is incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead a few minutes until smooth. Knead in margarine until incorporated.
2. Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl, turning several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Bring dough to room temperature, about 30 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into an 11-inch square, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out about 24 (2-inch) rounds. Reroll scraps; cut out about 16 more rounds.
4. Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg whites. Brush edge of a dough round with egg white, then mound 1/2 teaspoon jam in center. Top with another round; press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet; let rise until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Heat 3 inches of oil in a large, heavy pot until it reaches 360 on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 or 5, slip doughnuts into hot oil. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain.
6. While doughnuts are still hot, dip them in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, turning to coat. Serve immediately.