Fastnacht Day

Happy Shrove Tuesday!! Growing up this meant fastnachts at our house - we would get so excited to fill our tummies with warm, sugar-covered, potato doughnuts. Mom would spend most of the day making them and as they came out of the deep fryer (fastnachts being the sole reason we owned a deep-fryer), I would get to shake them in paper bags filled with either powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. By the time I was in high school mom was working again so I made fastnachts a few times myself. In college I even got my own fry daddy so that I could make them in my apartment - and share them with all my friends. Once you've had a fastnacht, you'll know the day is approaching and hope they are being made.

In the past, I always made them with regular yeast. So you mix your wet ingredients, let it sit for 5 min, then add the dry ingredients, knead it out, let it rise for 30 min, then roll it out, let it rise again, yada, yada, yada..... took FOREVER! The whole day was always gone. Well not this year. I had some double fast-acting yeast in the cupboard. Let it sit for 10 min (this acts as the 1st rise in the 2-rise recipe) then roll it out, cut the fastnachts, and they only have to rise ONCE!! This has changed my world, people. I had the treats made and my mess cleaned up by the time ellie woke from her morning nap. All I had to do was fry them and shake them in the sugar - a perfect afternoon nap activity. But enough with all the talking - you want some pictures, right?

Of course, we had to offer ellie a taste.

Not sure if she liked it or not - it was after dinner and everyone knows fastnachts are really a breakfast treat!