Chocolate Donut Holes

When I saw the cover of the Halloween issue of Food Network Magazine this year, I knew it was gonna be good - it had a cake on the cover! The cake, which is on the docket for later this week, is part of an orange  and black themed section full of halloweeny sweet goodness. The first thing I decided to make were the donut holes.

I really hate frying things. Not really because of the fat and calories but because of the mess and the waste. Every time I fry things I end up with oil splattered everywhere! Also, in order to fry things, you have to use an insane amount oil. Then, when you're done, you have to through the oil away. That's a half to whole bottle of oil gone in one shot! Maybe because I don't have much practice with frying things, the stuff I make only turns out everyone once and a while. That also tends to make me stray away from frying foods. I don't know what came over me but I decided to take on those donuts, and I'm glad I did.

I won't go into all the details of how they're made but, I will say I was a little worried as I was making them. It seemed way too sticky and I thought there was no way I would be able to roll it out, or whatever it said. Instead, I took a melon baller to make balls about an inch in diameter (which I think is what the instructions call for). I loved how well that worked! Everything was uniform, I made way less dishes and my hands where far less of a mess. However, once I fried them they puffed up quite a bit. And, as I cooked them, the started to burn faster. I don't have a candy thermometer so, maybe the oil got too hot. But, I also noticed the oil getter really, really dark, which I think was because of the chocolate. I don't know if it's a thing but, maybe they started to burn faster because of the darkness of the oil.

My other cooking note-to-self would be to make more of the glaze. I was able to make it through half of the donut holes before I ran out of chocolate and had to make more. Immediately after I glazed them, I sprinkled them with black and orange nonpareils.

They were just as delicious as I expected (even if they didn't really end up looking like the picture...). Slightly crunchy from being fried, chocolaty, smooth glaze, and chocolaty, fluffy inside with a hint of orange zest. They're a nice little seasonal pick me up after my runs in the morning ;) and I will definitely be making this again next year for Halloween!