Recipe: Bumuelos in red wine sauce

Bumuelos in red wine sauce Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes Servings: 6 to 8 Red wine sauce 2 cups regular or turbinado sugar 2/3 cup dry red wine 2 cinnamon sticks 4 whole cloves In a small, heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the sugar, red wine, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the liquid thickens to a honey-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the sauce will harden. Remove from heat, strain out the cinnamon sticks and cloves and set the sauce aside in a warm place. If not using right away, cool the sauce and then cover; rewarm the sauce before using. Bumuelos and final assembly 1 cup water 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 2 teaspoons sugar Pinch salt 1 1/2 cups (6.4 ounces) sifted flour, or more if necessary 3 to 4 eggs Canola oil for frying Powdered sugar for dusting Red wine sauce 1. In a medium saucepan, heat the water, butter, sugar and salt over high heat until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. 2. While the water is coming to a boil, place the flour in the bowl of a mixer or in a large bowl. Using the beater attachment or electric mixer, beat in the boiling liquid mixture over low speed. Continue mixing on low speed until a soft dough comes together in a single mass, leaving the side of the bowl. 3. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue adding eggs until the dough is soft but thick and sticky; depending on the dough, you many not need to add the fourth egg. Set the dough aside. 4. Fill a wide pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches with oil. Heat the oil until a thermometer inserted reads 350 degrees. 5. Using a medium ice cream scoop or 2 soup spoons, take a heaping tablespoon of dough, form a coarse ball and slip it into the hot oil. (If the ball is difficult to form, beat additional flour into the dough, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Fry 1 or 2 test bumuelos until puffed and golden brown (this will take about 7 minutes). They should puff to the size of ping-pong balls and have the light, fluffy consistency of good doughnuts. 6. Continue to fry 4 to 5 balls at a time until golden brown. (The second and third batch will always be better than the first.) Remove the fried balls to a paper towel-lined plate and dust with powdered sugar. Set aside until all of the dough is fried; this makes 14 to 16 bumuelos. 7. To serve, spoon 3 tablespoons of warm sauce onto each serving plate. Place 2 to 3 bumuelos on each plate and serve immediately. Each of 8 servings: 667 calories; 5 grams protein; 70 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 40 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 123 mg. cholesterol; 52 grams sugar; 53 mg. sodium.