PSA: Mother’s Day is coming up on May 14th! Are you ready?

Truth be told, I always get a little bummed when Mother’s Day rolls around. My mom and I live so far apart that we rarely get a chance to celebrate together! In fact, the last time I think we were able to was back when I was still a sophomore in college. At the time, Portland’s food scene didn’t have the hip and happening options available today; I’d asked my friend Leah for recommendations, and she suggested I make a reservation at Papa Haydn, a Portland institution known for their desserts. The food wasn’t particularly memorable, but my mom and I randomly ended up being seated next to my friend Leah and her mom — it turns out that after I’d asked her, she’d had the same idea to take her mom to brunch there as well! Too funny.

So every year Mother’s Day rolls around, despite the fact that my mom is literally oceans away, I still inadvertently find myself planning activities for us. Most of them revolve around food, of course; I always idly check my favorite restaurants to see if they’re doing any sort of Mother’s Day special for our hypothetical brunch or dinner date.

However, it occurred to me that the last time my mom visited, she didn’t seem to like New York too much. The city was too dirty, crowded, and loud for her. Instead, she preferred to stay in the relative comfort of my apartment, relaxing with her mug of tea and my cat on her lap. It gave me the idea — this time around, our hypothetical Mother’s Day date would be a cozy brunch made at home with her favorite (and slightly weird) Chinese digestive tea and incredibly light and fluffy jelly donuts:

Originally, I wanted to do a breakfast in bed situation, but honestly, my mom is too much of a neat person to tolerate eating in the bedroom. But you should totally do that for YOUR mom! In fact, I’ve partnered with some awesome companies to do a Mother’s Day giveaway filled with all the items you need to make your mom the perfect breakfast in bed. Think — breakfast pastry mixes and jams from Stonewall Kitchen, a fuzzy pink mohair blanket from Garnet Hill, pretty breakfast-in-bed wares from Simon Pearce, and a customizable frame from Framebridge to gift to your mom!

** JOIN THE GIVEAWAY!!! **

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

This post was done in partnership with Stonewall Kitchen, who sponsored this post by providing the compensation, ingredients, and giveaway goodies in this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own — thank you for supporting Hummingbird High and all my sponsors!

Some baker’s notes:

    • I let the dough develop overnight in the fridge because I found that the slower rise brought out more flavors in the bread. I also liked breaking up the work into two portions, so it doesn’t feel like you’re just sitting around waiting for things to happen foreverrr. But if you’d like to just get it all out of the way, no worries! After kneading the dough, allow the dough to proof for about 1 1/2 hours in a lightly greased bowl covered with plastic wrap. During this time, it should double in size. After it’s doubled, follow the instructions in the recipe to roll out and re-proof the rolls a second time.

 

  • To coat the donuts, I tossed them in sugar with a teaspoon of sumac, a citrusy flower with a beautiful maroon color frequently used in Middle Eastern cuisine. It tastes like lemon zest, but funkier and more complex. You can find it in Middle Eastern groceries or specialty spice stores (New Yorkers: I got mine from Kalustyan’s in Manhattan, but I’ve also seen it in Sahadi’s in Brooklyn). In a pinch, use your favorite citrus zest or omit altogether — the donuts will still be tasty, I promise! Read more about sumac on Serious Eats.
 
 
 
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Get the Recipe: Overnight Jelly Donuts

Servings: 12 donuts
Author: Michelle Lopez
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Ingredients

For the Jelly Donuts

  • 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) whole milk
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups (15.75 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup if necessary and more for the work surface
  • 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick // 3 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • canola oil, for frying

Assembly

  • 1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sumac (see baker's notes)
  • a pinch of kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) your favorite jam

Equipment

  • a deep-fry thermometer
  • a pastry bag with a small round tip or a Bismarck tip

Instructions
 

  • Bring 3/4 cup whole milk to a boil in the microwave or over medium heat in a small pot. Watch closely to ensure that the milk doesn't boil over. Pour the milk into a measuring cup and let it cool to between 120 (F) and 130 (F). Sprinkle 3 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast over the surface of the milk, and give the mixture a quick whisk. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the mixture to get bubbly — this means your yeast is activating!
  • While the yeast is activating, combine 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients on low speed to combine. Add the milk and yeast mixture (make sure it's bubbly before you do), and immediately add 2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks. Mix on low speed until just combined, and switch out the paddle attachment with the dough hook. With the dough hook, knead the dough on low speed, about 3 minutes. At this point, you could add a bit more flour if necessary, but resist the urge to add too much — I wouldn't add more than 1/2 cup. The dough should be workable but still somewhat sticky.
  • With the dough hook on low speed, add 6 tablespoons butter, a piece or two at a time. It may look like the butter isn’t incorporating, but don’t worry — it will! You might have to stop the mixer and knead the butter in with your hands to help incorporate it. Just keep kneading; I promise it’ll work. It just takes a while! Once all the butter is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and knead the dough for another few minutes until it turns completely smooth and elastic. You can tell it’s done when it looks tacky and is no longer sticky.
  • Transfer the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. During this time, the dough will rise and double in size.
  • When the dough has chilled, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper generously with cooking spray.
  • Tip the cold dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a rough nine by 13-inch rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Use a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut out 12 dough rounds and set them on the prepared sheets. Sprinkle a light dusting of flour over the top of each dough round and lightly cover them with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to proof until the dough is puffy and springs back slowly when pressed gently, about one hour.
  • At this point, it's time to fry the donuts! Line a wire rack with paper towels. Put 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons sumac in a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Add vegetable oil to a medium, heavy-bottomed pot until you have about two inches of oil. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat the oil to 375 (F). Carefully add 1 to 2 donuts to the oil and fry them until golden brown, around 1 to 2 minutes per side. Use a slotted spoon to fish the donuts out of the oil and transfer them to the prepared wire rack. After about 1 or 2 minutes, when the doughnut are cool enough to handle, toss them in the bowl of granulated sugar until coated. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  • To fill the donuts, use a Bismarck pastry tip (or the handle of a wooden spoon) to poke a hole into one side of each, making sure not to poke through to the other side. Fill a pastry bag with a small round tip (or a Bismarck pastry tip) with the jam of your choice. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the hole and gently squeeze to fill each doughnut. The donuts are the best on the day they're made.
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