Kolobki (russian Cottage Cheese Donuts)

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb russian cottage cheese (farmer's cheese)
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon other extract
• oil (for frying)
• powdered sugar
• sour cream, to serve

Recipe

• combine first 7 ingredients to form a very thick batter.
• (original recipe calls for 1/2c flour and crumbs, but even with double the flour mine was too sticky to roll.).
• heat oil in a wide frying pan.
• (according to good eats, more oil is better since the oil is absorbed when oil temp drops, which happens when too much cold stuff is added to not enough oil. i used enough to fill the pan with 1/3 of an inch).
• use a tea-spoon to quickly scoop and drop dough balls. since the batter is pretty thick, use your finger to make the drop.
• alternatively, form balls roughly 1" in diameter, then drop into oil.
• do not crowd the pan or drop so many that you won't be able to flip them comfortably.
• fry past golden-brown, about 90 sec. adjust oil temp if needed.
• flip using 2 forks.
• fry the other side.
• carefully lift each kolobok out onto racks lined with paper towels, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• repeat until batter runs out, and serve whatever hasn't been stolen from the plate. top with sour cream or possibly syrup/jams? should keep well overnight.