Homemade Doughnuts

These bad boys were darn tasty! We all loved them as our Sunday treat! They are really easy and don't require much work. They just take a some time for the dough to raise. These are by far the best home made doughnuts I have had.

• 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening (or margarine, that's what I used)
  
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut. I used a small bowl for the outside, and a baby bottle for the hole. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess, (or set them on a plate so they can be nice and sticky!)