Russian Cottage Cheese Ponchiki (donut holes)
2 cups cottage cheese ( farmers cheese works best with this recipe )
3 Eggs
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3+ cups flour ( depends on eggs and cottage cheese consistency )
frying oil
confectioners sugar
If you’re using cottage cheese put it in a sieve and let it sit there for half an hour to get rid of extra moisture. No need to do that with farmers cheese.
With a stick blender blend cottage cheese into a paste .( If using farmers cheese skip this step.)
In a bowl add cottage cheese, eggs, salt , vanilla extract and sugar and mix it all together.
Combine flour with baking powder, and sift through a sieve .
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture.
Knead the dough slightly.
Adjust the flour , dough should be light, fluffy and a bit sticky.
Divide the dough into walnut size balls.
Dust each ball with flour when rolling in hands to prevent from sticking .
Makesure to roll all of the dough before frying.
In a medium sauce pan heat up the oil on a medium heat.
You should have enough oil so that the balls are floating and not touching the bottom.
Fry about 5 at a time depending on the size of the pan.
Keep an eye on the heat level , oil shouldn't be too hot as that will cause the balls to brown up too fast and be raw on the inside on the other hand not too cool as that will make the balls soak in too much grease.
Flip the balls about 2 minutes into cooking . Frying time is about 5 minutes for each round of balls.
Lay paper towels on the plate and place ready balls on in to get rid of excess oil.
Once the balls have cooled sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
Can be served with honey or condensed milk.
