Pandan Coconut Doughnuts

Ta-dah- homemade pandan coconut doughnuts! My only day off and I spent half of it making/frying doughnuts, lol. The dough contains mashed potatoes, which I love because it keeps the end result moist and fresh for longer than a few hours. Toooooo delicious – absolutely worth my time! 😂❤️😋

Adapted from Mashed Potato Doughnuts recipe in the Taste of Home Best of Country Breads cookbook

1 cup warm unsweetened coconut milk (from a can)*
3 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups warm mashed potatoes (plain, without milk or butter)**
5 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, melted***
2-1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (I used SAF Gold Instant Yeast)
1-1/2 teaspoons pandan paste
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)

*I’ve been getting my coconut milk from Costco lately. Here, I warmed the coconut milk in the microwave for a minute, which I think got it a tad too hot, lol (I would likely just warm it for 45 seconds next time). However, by the time I measured and added the sugar, got the eggs out of the fridge etc., I think it was just the right temp. :)
**Make sure your mashed potatoes are well-mashed. I kept ours a bit chunky when I made it for dinner the other day and I had to mash it a little more in the batter, which was kinda tedious. Since my mashed potatoes were refrigerated, I transferred them to a plate and microwaved for 1 minute 30 seconds.
***Took me just 30 seconds to melt in the microwave.

Place warmed coconut milk in a large bowl. Add 2 cups sugar and eggs; beat well (I just used a fork). Mix in mashed potatoes and melted Vegan Buttery Sticks. Then, whisk in yeast and pandan paste. Next, switching to a spatula, mix in flour, baking powder, and salt (do not knead). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove dough from fridge. Working with a quarter portion of the dough each time, place dough on a floured surface and knead it briefly until it becomes smooth and cohesive. Roll dough to about 1/2” thickness. Cut out 3” rounds with a cookie cutter (I use a large frosting tip to make a hole in the center). In the meantime, heat oil in a large Dutch oven (about 20 minutes using medium-high heat). Then, fry doughnuts and doughnut holes a few at a time until golden brown on both sides, adjusting heat if necessary (if doughnuts are turning brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium). Drain on paper towels. Place remaining 1 cup sugar in a bowl. Lightly coat doughnuts with the sugar (our doughnuts were fairly cooled by the time we did this) and transfer to a container. Enjoy!