Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts

I’d like to formally introduce my first Valentine’s post for 2017. Drumroll, please. Because these Valentine’s inspired doughnuts are drumroll worthy. Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts are a sweet and tangy treat.

A rep for The Wild Hibiscus Flower Company was generous enough to send me an assortment of their cool, creative products made with exotic ingredients. Last Christmas I created Hazelnut Hibiscus Advent Linzer Cookies with the hibiscus flowers in syrup.  There were so many other gorgeous teas, extracts, and salt to choose from. However, I decided to save them for this year’s Valentine’s posts.

These Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts use high-concentration hibiscus flower extract, made from fresh cold-pressed hibiscus flowers, dried hibiscus, and cane sugar, and 100% pure dried flower Heart-Tee -Hibiscus Tea from the company. I added the extract to the dough and the glaze. I sprinkled the tea over the wet glaze for an added decorative and flavor boost.

The best part is the extract turns the glaze into a beautiful shade of lavender. No food coloring is necessary.

Making Doughnuts are Easier than You Think:

For those of you who have a fear of making doughnuts, rest easy. Because I am here to tell you this is a simple process. Once you get the hang of it, the fun of switching up colors, flavors, glazes, frostings, and decorations far outweighs the minimal work involved. However, make sure you have a thermometer handy.

Keeping the oil warmed to a certain temperature is key. Also,  be aware of the one hour forty minute rise time.

So enjoy these Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts to get ready for the heart parade. My next posts up until Feb 14th will be all about Valentine’s Day treats.

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Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Buttermilk Doughnuts, Heart Doughnuts, Hibiscus Doughnuts, Homemade Doughnuts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Rise Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 10 doughnuts

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

For the Doughnuts:

• Ingredients:
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1-1/2 cups lukewarm buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups plus 3 cups flour divided
• 1 tablespoon hibiscus extract
• 1/3 cup butter
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• vegetable oil for frying

For the Hibiscus Glaze*:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4-6 teaspoons buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons Hibiscus extract
• 1/3 cup crushed hibiscus flowers or 2 hibiscus tea bags

Instructions

Make the Doughnuts:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, hibiscus flavor, and 2 cups flour.
3. Beat on low for 30 seconds with the paddle attachment, scraping the bowl if needed.
4. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.
5. Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead in the remaining 3 cups of flour until smooth.
6. Cover the bowl with a dishcloth and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about an hour.
7. Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll dough 1/2-inch thick.
8. Cut with floured doughnut heart. Use a smaller heart cutter to create the heart-shaped insert. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray.
9. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size, 30-40 minutes.
10. Place a layer of paper towels next to the stove.
11. Transfer to the paper towels.

Glaze the Doughnuts:

1. Heat butter until melted over medium-low heat and remove from the stove.
2. Whisk in the powdered sugar, buttermilk, and hibiscus flavor until smooth.
3. Dip the doughnuts into the glaze and set them on cooling racks over parchment or foil-lined baking sheets.
4. Sprinkle with the dried hibiscus.
5. Let the glaze harden completely before serving.

Recipe Notes

*I doubled the glaze amount because I wanted the thicker layer of glaze you see in the photos.

Like these Hibiscus Glazed Buttermilk Doughnuts? Also, check out some of these other delicious recipes:

ROSE HIBISCUS CARAMELS

MINT FROSTED BAKED MINI-DOUGHNUTS