Malassadas

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees f)
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• vegetable oil (for deep frying)
• sugar, for sprinkling

Recipe

• 1 in a small mixing bowl, combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the water. stir to dissolve the sugar and set aside. if the yeast doesn't foam after a few minutes, you need to buy new yeast and start again.
• 2 in an electric mixer, beat the eggs and the remaining 3/4 cup sugar until thick and pale yellow in color, about 6 minutes. change the mixer attachment to a dough hook. with the machine on low speed, slowly add the yeast mixture, melted butter, milk, half-and-half, and salt. add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix until a soft ball forms that leaves the sides of the bowl and climbs up the dough hook. remove the dough and turn into a lightly-oiled bowl, turning to oil all sides. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 3 turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and dust it with flour. roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12x17 inches and 1/2 inch thick. cover the dough with a lightly-oiled piece of plastic wrap. put the dough in a warm, draft-free place and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• 4 heat 6 inches of oil in a deep, heavy pot, or an electric fryer, to 360 degrees f.
• 5 with a sharp knife, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. flour your hands, then pat the squares down a little to lightly flatten them.
• 6 fry the squares, 2 to 3 at a time, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes, turning them to brown evenly. drain on paper towels. sprinkle the doughnuts with sugar and serve warm.