Old fashion Amish Fasnachts a potato doughnut! JUST IN TIME FOR FAT TUESDAY TOO!

                                                                             

This year 2015 I added GLAZED to my Fasnachts, as requested by my children! I always do plain & powdered sugar Fasnachts as tradition but I caved & made 1/2 of these years Fasnachts GLAZED! Too good to not do! Look for the glaze recipe at the bottom of this post!

1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed potato (plain nothing added)
1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg (if desired)
2 packs yeast
1 cup warm water ( use the water from making the potatoes!)
5 cups flour

beat mashed potato with sugar, add shortening & beat . Add eggs, salt & vanilla. Dissolve yeast in warm, potato water then beat into potato mixture. Beat in about 3 cups of flour, that you stirred nutmeg in (if using). Dump out onto flour surface & need in the rest of flour until dough is no longer sticky.You might need more or less flour at this stage. You want the dough to no longer be sticky, play it by ear. Put in bowl, cover with cloth & let rise until doubled.  Once doubled roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rectangles lay out on flat surface covered in wax paper. Let rise until almost doubled in size & puffy. Fry in shortening 350 - 375 degrees that is 4 inches deep. Turn doughnut over once to brown on both sides. Once brown remove from fryer & drain onto paper towels. Once cool dredge doughnut in powdered sugar. Store in air tight container. Makes 3 dozen.
FOR THE GLAZE:
4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 TSP Salt
2 TSP Vanilla
Add milk just enough to make a thin glaze about the consistency of Chocolate syrup! Mix well with whisk. Dip still warm but not hot Fasnachts into the glaze first the tops & then the bottoms. Let sit on raised racks to set up. Once all are dipped go back & dip again if you like a heavy glaze! Mine are double dipped of course!

Soft Molasses Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup Crisco shortening 
1 cup molasses ( I used Grandmas blackstrap) for milder taste use any mild molasses or Table syrup.
2 eggs
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat shortening till fluffy, beat in sugar till fluffy, beat in eggs then add, vanilla & molasses. Mix all dry ingredients together & slowly add to your molasses mix. Chill dough. Once chilled roll dough into walnut sized balls. Dip the tops of the dough into an egg wash made from 1 beaten egg + 1 tablespoon of water beaten together with a fork. Then dip tops of cookie into granulated sugar. Place dough balls onto greased cookie sheets sugared side up & bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen big soft chewy cookies. Easy & a very good texture with old fashioned taste. These cookies stay soft if you place a piece of white bread in with them in your container. If bread hardens just replace with a new piece of bread. This trick keeps all soft cookies soft & fresh.

Old Fashion All Butter Sandtarts

2 eggs
1 cup butter softened
1 & 1/2 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla together, beat well. Add flour & salt together & then slowly beat in to egg butter mixture. Chill well or roll into 2 logs & freeze logs.
If chilling dough to roll follow these steps. Roll out thin on floured board. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on baking sheet & brush with a wash made from 1 beaten egg & 1 tsp water beaten together. Sprinkle with colored sugar & or cinnamon & sugar. Bake 375 degrees until light brown about 5 to 8 minutes. Makes about 8 dozen cookies.
   If using log method take frozen log & slice very thin with a sharp knife. Use same mixture of egg wash & sprinkle cookie with cinnamon & chopped peanuts bake 375 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

1 lb powdered sugar
1 cup graham crackers
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter softened
2 dashes of salt
1 tsp vanilla
 Mix all together beat till combined well. Chill at least 1 hour. Take out of frig and shape into eggs shapes. Place on cookie sheets and freeze. When ready to coat remove freezer and dip into melted chocolate. Use 2 forks to handle each egg in the chocolate.

Melt at least 1 pound of Wilbur Chocolate coating chocolate in crockpot on low. Dip each egg into this mixture to coat. Let dry on sheets of wax paper or on wracks. Store in plastic containers in cool place.

Bangin' Meatball Subs

1lb. ground turkey burger ( substitute beef if you like)
1 tsp salt.
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup bread crumbs
3 Tbs. chopped parsley ( fresh preferred)
2 tsp. Italian seasonings
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 Tbs. olive oil
mix everything together except olive oil. Stir together combining well. Coat large baking sheet with the oil. Roll your meat into golf ball size. Turn balls once to coat with the oil. Roast in oven at 450 degrees until firm about 20 minutes.  Serve in crusty rolls with slices of provolone cheese in bottom of roll. Top each sandwich with the following sauce & sprinkle with shredded parmesan or italian cheese blend.

Bangin' Meatball Sauce
1 lrg. onion chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 large cans chopped tomato
1/2 tsp sugar or to taste
Cook onions till soft in the olive oil. Add garlic cook till soft. Add tomato paste stirring to blend. Add rest of ingredients & cook on medium heat till sauce is bubbling & thick about 1/2 hour . The longer this cooks the better the taste. Could be done in crockpot for easy cooking. Top each Bangin' Sub with at least 2 Tbs of this sauce. Sprinkle your shredded cheese on top.

Mocha Frosted Drops

1 & 3/4 cups flour
2 Tbs. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 sqrs. unsweetened choc. melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
1tsp espresso powder
1 tsp. vanilla

 Mix dry ingredients together. Beat softened butter till fluffy add sugar & cooled melted chocolate. Beat in egg. Stir together milk, espresso & vanilla. Add alternately with the dry ingredients to your butter mixture. Chill at least 1 hour. Drop onto greased sheets & bake 400 degrees 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely & frost with chocolate mocha frosting. Makes about 3 dozen cookies

                                                            Chocolate Mocha Frosting
8 Tbs. softened butter
3 cups melted semi sweet chocolate chips cooled but still soft
1/2 tsp espresso powder
1tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup to 3/4 light cream

Beat butter, beat in melted chocolate, mix espresso, vanilla & cream together. Mix alternately with cream mixture & powdered sugar into your chocolate base. Add dash of salt & beat till combined. Use as much of cream mixture until you get a frosting consistency. Add more or less of your powdered sugar as needed. Frost cooled cookies and top with sprinkles or chocolate decorations as desired.