Brunching on donuts de pão de queijo com bacon…Happy Memorial Day Weekend 2013!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! We hope you all are getting a chance to spend time with family and remember those who served our country. Though this holiday is synonymous with grilling and eating outdoors, I think it is important to remember why this holiday is significant and why we get together and celebrate. Thank you to all who have served. We appreciate it today and everyday. Cheers to you all!

Like many people out there, we like to spend Memorial Day Weekend relaxing and spending time together. We eat good food and play with the dogs. I think we do this for many other holidays as well. Earlier this weekend I made a brunch dish that would be perfect for this holiday to make you feel happy and in the mood for going outside and/or grilling. Doughnuts of course! Well pão de queijo shaped into doughnuts with bacon added in. Also with a maple bourbon Hollandaise “glaze.”

I guess this is a spin on the savory & sweet theme that’s really popular nowadays. So I didn’t want to make a really sweet glaze for the doughnuts de pão de queijo, Plus, I don’t really like very sweet glaze. Use a decent bourbon. This TJ brand fit the bill nicely.

I just used my favorite Hollandaise recipe with maple and bourbon added in. I also tested it with a lighter “mock-style” Hollandaise and it was very tasty. So take your pick:  classic Hollandaise vs. lighter “mock” Hollandaise. I like options, but the classic one tastes the best, in my opinion. The light “mock-style” sauce is really nice if you want to cut out some calories and fat. Either way, these sauces taste great with the donuts or with fruit too!

I was really excited to make these doughnuts because my husband’s family visited last weekend and we went on a shopping spree at Sur le Table. My parents-in-law treated me with the doughnut pan and some other kitchen items–this green spoon-ula too! Thank you again! The doughnuts start out in the same way as my pão de queijo recipe with water, milk, oil and salt heating up in a pan to boil. Then you follow a choux-like procedure by adding the tapioca flour and letting it cool for a bit. After that you add the egg, cheese, and bacon! Okay, we are definitely fans of good-quaity bacon, here!

Here’s the choux-like dough.

Shape them into doughnuts and donut holes, then bake!

Cheesy, bacon-y goodness in a donut/doughnut…and it’s not fried! 🙂 Top with the maple-bourbon Hollandaise glaze and bacon “sprinkles” or eat plain. Remember how I told you that the doctor (specialist in family medicine and holistic medicine) said that it is good  to eat some fat in your breakfast? This doughnut doesn’t make me feel guilty one bit. It shouldn’t. One is enough to satisfy me. It makes sense that if you like something with fat, it’s okay to eat it, just not too much of it to make you sick. You do need to eat some fat and flavor. I like to keep it positive when it comes to food and not be so negative about the subject. No pharisaic foodies here!

Doughnuts de pão de queijo com bacon

Half-dozen regular sized doughnuts and 6-7 doughnut holes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or rendered bacon fat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (5 ounces) tapioca flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 cups grated Parmesan cheese (or a mix of different cheeses)
• 1/2 cup chopped crisp bacon

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease doughnut pan with spray oil, butter, coconut oil, or bacon fat. Line a smaller baking sheet with parchment for the doughnut holes.
2. Heat the milk, water, oil, and salt in a small pan and bring to a boil. Take it off the heat, then stir in the tapioca flour. Let cool down for about 10 minutes.
3. Knead in the egg until the dough is smooth. Mix in the cheese and bacon in the dough until combined.
4. Place enough dough in the doughnut pan to fill each mold about 3/4 full. Shape the remaining dough into balls for doughnut holes and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for ~25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve slightly warm with the maple bourbon Hollandaise “glaze” and with some chopped crispy bacon “sprinkles.”

Maple Bourbon Hollandaise “Glaze”

~Six servings

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2-3 tablespoons bourbon
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1. Using a food processor or blender, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, maple syrup, bourbon, salt and cayenne pepper. Puree until smooth.
2. With the blender/processor running, add the melted butter in a slow stream and blend until thick, silky and smooth.
3. Keep the sauce warm by placing it in a sealed container over a metal bowl or pan with hot water.

Lighter “Mock-style” Maple Bourbon Hollandaise “Glaze”

~Six servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup silken tofu
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 2-3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil/neutral-tasting oil (or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon grape seed oil)

1. Steam the silken tofu until warm and heated through or microwave for about 45 seconds.
2. Using a food processor or blender, puree until smooth. Add the lemon juice, maple syrup, bourbon, nutritional yeast, salt, cayenne pepper, and turmeric and pulse until well combined. With the blender/processor running, add the grapeseed oil in a slow stream and blend until silky and smooth.

These doughnuts are full of flavor and fun. Great for brunch! Maybe you can try it this weekend for Memorial Day?!?! I wouldn’t regret making them. Delicious!

Happy Memorial Day 2013!

Related articles

• Pão de queijo (cheese buns), a cheesy gluten-free bread (foodflavorfascination.com)
• Roquefort & Cinnamon Doughnut Recipe With Cognac Jelly (greatbritishchefs.com)
• Doughnuts (randomrants2013.wordpress.com)
• Cambium Donuts, Rolled, Raised, Fried (Part 2) (wildness.me)
• Raspberry Curd Doughnuts Recipe (greatbritishchefs.com)