In honor of National Donut Day (June 4, which is just around the corner), here are two simple and delicious recipes for buñuelos, a kind of donut popular in Mexico and many other Latin countries. A buñuelo is actually a fried dough ball or fritter. It is usually made with a filling or topping. Mexicans traditionally serve it with syrup made with anise seeds that give the pastry a licorice taste.

For this recipe, you will need:

1. Four eggs
2. One-quarter cup of white sugar
3. One teaspoon of vegetable oil
4. Two cups of all-purpose flour
5. One teaspoon of baking powder
6. One teaspoon of salt
7. One cup of white vinegar
8. One teaspoon of ground cinnamon
9. One cup of vegetable oil for frying

To make:

• Combine the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl. Beat the ingredients until they are thickened. Add the oil. In another bowl, combine the one and one-half cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Add this to the egg mixture little by little and beat all the ingredients well.
• Pull the dough mixture out onto a board that has been coated with the remaining one-half cup of flour. Then knead the dough until it is smooth.
• Make the dough into about 15 balls, and then roll each one into a flat circle about five inches in diameter. Let them stand for about 10 minutes.
• Next, heat the oil in a deep fry pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the dough circles until they are golden brown on the outside, turning them once. Drain them using a paper towel. Sprinkle them with the cinnamon and sugar.

The recipe above came from AllRecipes.com.

Here’s a recipe for spiced brown sugar syrup to put over your buñuelos if you like, courtesy of NoshOn.It

You will need:

1. One cup of packed dark brown sugar
2. Two cups of water
3. One cinnamon stick
4. One-half teaspoon of anise seeds
5. The peel of one-quarter of an orange

To make:

• Bring one cup of water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Little by little, add the remaining water, cinnamon stick, anise seeds and orange peel. Bring the mixture back to a boil, and then reduce the heat again, letting it simmer for about 10 minutes until it has thickened a little.
• Then take it from the heat and run the syrup through a strainer to remove the solid ingredients.

Enjoy a great meal at one of the Dallas area’s top Tex Mex restaurant chains, Mattito’s.  Stop by one of locations soon!

By Mtam (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons