Jam (technically ours are Cream) Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 tbsp (2 packets) dry yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 stick (8 oz) butter
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups peanut oil
Raspberry jam (we used banana pudding), for filling (pastry bag with metal tip) 
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

*Warning!! Be prepared to spend All Day  doing this. ok, now you know.

Directions:

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar in a mixing bowl and let it stand until the yeast is dissolved and the mixture is puffy. heat the butter and milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter is melted. (take off heat) Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together the milk and yeast mixtures and pour it into the flour mixture. attach the dough hook and knead the dough on the slowest speed for about 10 minutes; after the first few minutes the dough should clean the sides of the bowl (i mixed it by hand). If the dough is very stick, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it for 30 seconds on a lightly dusted surface. You can also knead this dough by hand, either in the bowl or on a floured surface. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat the dough on all sides. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm, draft-free place, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on a floured surface. Cut circles of dough with a 3-inch butter. Cut remaining scraps into 3-inch pieces. Place dough circles and scraps on a piece of floured parchment paper and leave them to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (do you see why this takes all day?) until doubled in size.
4. Line two or three baking sheets with four layers of paper towels. Clip candy thermometer onto a 4-quart pot and pour in the peanut oil. Heat the oil over a medium flame until the thermometer registers 350 (or a piece of bread dropped in the oil bubbles instantly but doesn’t turn dark brown right away).
5. Carefully place three or four doughnuts into the oil. Fry until golden, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side (i found 1 minute worked). Bring the temperature back to 350 between batches. Transfer the doughnuts with a metal slotted spatula to the paper-towel-lined baking sheets. Repeat until all the doughnuts and scraps are fried.
6. Sift confectioners’ sugar generously over the warm doughnuts. When the doughnuts are cool, fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain metal tip (mine was plastic and worked fine) with jam. Plunge the tip into the bottom of each doughnut and squirt in a small amount of jam (or pudding; if you decide to do pudding make sure you make it ahead of time…like during one of the “rising period”s for the doughnuts).

*Notes:
We got way more than 18 doughnuts, which is how much it says there will be. Overall these are really good. I didn’t wait until they cooled completely to put the pudding in. But they still taste great.