Cinnamon Doughnut Twists

Christmas week. Kai, Danielle, and Tommy arrived Tuesday. They drove from Albuquerque in two days, pulled in at four, and Tommy ran across the gravel and into the house and stayed in motion for the next forty-eight hours, the way four-year-olds do at Christmas with grandparents and a fire and presents in plastic bags he wasn't allowed to peek into. Danielle baked an Anasazi bean bread Wednesday morning — a kind I hadn't had before, with corn and bean and a smoky flavor from chiles. Hannah ate half a loaf. The Cherokee-Navajo kitchen has its own dialect and I am learning it slowly.

Luna and Cole came in Wednesday night. River and Lucia drove down Thursday morning. Lily, Ben, Ada, Quoy came at noon Thursday. Caleb pulled in with Terry at one. Fourteen people in the house by the early afternoon of Christmas Eve, plus three dogs and a cat that Lucia brought because she didn't want it in a kennel. The house was full and loud and warm and I cooked through it.

Christmas Eve dinner was tamales. Rosa's recipe. Terry directed from a chair. Hannah and Lily and I assembled. Ada and Luna joined in. Twenty-two pounds of masa, six different fillings — chicken, pork, beef, a sweet one with raisins, a vegetarian with cheese and chiles, and a venison one I've been working on for a couple of years. We made about a hundred and twenty tamales. Steamed in two pots. Served with the green chile from Danielle's September gift. Terry watched and ate two and said: Rosa would have eaten three. I said: that's the rule, Mama. She laughed. She said: Rosa is here. The whole kitchen agreed.

Christmas morning Quoy gave Lily the acorn-cutting blade. She did exactly what he said she would — laughed, then cried. He had wrapped it in deer hide. He said: I made it with Uncle Jesse. She held it. She said: this is the best gift you've ever given me. He said: that's why I made it.

Christmas dinner was the wild turkey from a hunt I'd done in late November, plus venison ribs, plus fry bread for the table because Danny loved fry bread. I made the fry bread myself. Hannah usually does the fry bread. She let me do it. The bread was good. Ada said: this fry bread is good. Hannah looked at me. I looked at the floor. I am a man who can take a compliment in the welding bay and not in the kitchen, but I took this one. I said: thank you.

The fire pit went late. The Christmas fire. The cold moon. Tommy fell asleep in Kai's arms. The adults stayed past midnight. We didn't talk much. The talk had happened. The fire did the rest. Caleb stayed all the way to the end. He drove Terry home through fresh snow at one in the morning. He drove back to Pryor sober, alone, satisfied. He texted me at two: best Christmas of my life. I read the text. I cried. Hannah was asleep. I went to bed and didn't wake her.

Hannah usually handles the fry bread. She’s done it for years, and she’s better at it than I am — or was. This Christmas she stepped back and let me work the dough, and when Ada said it was good, something in me shifted. I’ve been thinking about that moment ever since, about what it means to earn a compliment in a kitchen full of people who know what good food tastes like. These cinnamon doughnut twists aren’t fry bread exactly, but they come from the same instinct — hot oil, simple dough, the smell of something frying while family moves around you — and they carry that same quiet satisfaction when you pull them out and they’re right.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 12 twists

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
3/4 cup warm whole milk (110°F)
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (for coating)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (for coating)

Instructions

Activate the yeast. Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Stir gently and let sit 5–8 minutes until foamy.
Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Add the yeast mixture, butter, and eggs. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5–6 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky.
First rise. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Shape the twists. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 10 inches long, then fold in half and twist the two strands around each other twice. Pinch the ends to seal.
Rest the twists. Place shaped twists on a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover and let rest 15 minutes while you heat the oil.
Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium to 365°F. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby.
Fry in batches. Fry 2–3 twists at a time, turning once, about 1 1/2–2 minutes per side, until deep golden brown. Do not crowd the pot. Transfer to the wire rack to drain briefly.
Coat with cinnamon sugar. Mix 3/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Roll each hot twist in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cinnamon Doughnut Twists — The Fry Bread Lesson I Didn’t Know I Needed