Butternut Squash Doughnuts

September. School started Tuesday and the house has its school-year shape again — the early alarms, the packed lunches, the particular after-school energy that's hungry and slightly unraveled and needs fifteen minutes of food and quiet before anyone can be a reasonable person.

Ethan is a junior now and has morning seminary four days a week and drives himself. Noah is in second grade and currently reading at what his teacher calls "an impressive level" and what I call "he disappears into books for two hours at a time and I have to call him to meals twice." Mason is in seventh grade at the middle school and navigating the transition with the calm practicality he brings to everything. Olivia is in ninth grade, fourteen and a freshman, which she approaches with specific confidence and general anxiety simultaneously.

Beverly's second school series started this week. New school, new participants, same hunger for the information. Forty-one parents signed up for a six-week series on weeknight cooking — fast, nutritious, real food that can actually happen on a Tuesday after a long workday. Session one: five ingredients or fewer, twenty minutes or less. I showed them three meals. Everyone left with shopping lists and, I hope, a little less defeat about dinner.

The private lessons with Sandra have become a standing every-other-week thing. She's working on enriched doughs now — cinnamon rolls, brioche, a babka she attempted twice and got right on the third try. The look on her face when she got it right was worth everything.

Teaching Sandra enriched doughs these past few weeks has quietly reignited something in my own kitchen — that particular satisfaction of working with a living dough, watching it rise, knowing you’re building something that takes real time and rewards the patience. After her babka triumph this week, I came home and went straight to my own enriched dough project: butternut squash doughnuts I’ve been meaning to make since the first squash showed up at the farmers’ market. They’re the kind of baking that feels right when the house has its rhythm back and there’s finally a Saturday morning that belongs to no one’s schedule but yours.

Prep Time: 30 min + 2 hr rising | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: ~3 hr | Servings: 12 doughnuts

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
1/4 cup warm whole milk (110°F)
1/2 cup butternut squash puree (roasted and mashed or canned)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 quarts)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp whole milk (for glaze)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (for glaze)

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine the warm milk and yeast in a small bowl and let sit 5—10 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast may be old — start again with a fresh packet.
Mix the enriched base. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butternut squash puree, sugar, softened butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
Build the dough. Add the yeast mixture to the squash mixture and stir to combine. Add the salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl but still feel tender — avoid adding too much flour.
Knead and first rise. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6—8 minutes until smooth and elastic (or use the dough hook on medium speed for 5 minutes). Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size.
Shape the doughnuts. Punch down the risen dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Roll to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 3-inch round cutter, then use a 1-inch cutter (or the cap of a spice jar) to cut the center holes. Gather scraps, re-roll once, and cut remaining doughnuts.
Second rise. Arrange doughnuts and holes on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise 35—45 minutes until puffed and slightly jiggly.
Fry to golden. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to 350°F. Working in small batches of 2—3 at a time, fry doughnuts 1 1/2—2 minutes per side until deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels and allow to cool slightly.
Glaze and serve. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth and pourable. Dip each warm doughnut into the glaze, letting the excess drip off, and return to the rack. Glaze sets in about 10 minutes. Serve the same day for best texture.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Squash Doughnuts — What Sandra’s Enriched Dough Lessons Inspired Me to Make