Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnuts

Peanut butter and jelly are long-time friends, as are jelly and doughnuts. I brought these old friends together to party in this recipe, and didn’t know how sweet the result would be until I tried it. The peanut-buttery dough is delicious—characteristically light like any of your favorite yeasted doughnuts, but with that crave-able peanut butter kick—and is brought to a whole other level when filled with grape jelly. It’s a match made in comfort food heaven.

Prep time: 3 hours 20 min (includes 3 hours of dough-rising time)
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total time: 3 hours and 25minutes
Yield: 8 doughnuts

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Smooth Operator peanut butter
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from 1/4 ounce package)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup grape or strawberry jelly

Procedure

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk and Smooth Operator peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Let stand until lukewarm. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water; let stand until foamy.

2. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together flour, salt and sugar. With mixer on low, add yeast mixture, milk mixture and egg; switch to dough hook. Knead on medium speed until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl; cover and set aside to double in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

3. Pat dough into 1-inch thickness; use a 3-inch cutter to cut dough into rounds. Transfer dough rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet; let stand until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, pour enough oil in a large pot to reach 2-inches; heat to 360°F. Fry doughnuts in batches, turning once, until browned and puffed, 2 to 3 minutes. Pipe jelly into center of doughnuts; dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.