Mexican Fried Puffs

These light, crispy fried puffs or fritters make a great dessert anytime when served with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. For me, the best part about making them is watching them puffed up in the hot oil. CAUTION: not to be prepared by children without proper supervision!

Unbleached all purpose flour	4 cups
Baking powder	½ tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Shortening	2 Tbsp
Dry yeast	4 oz.
Warm water	½ cup
Granulated sugar	1 Tbsp
Milk, scalded and cool to Rm.T.	1 cup
Enough cooking oil for frying

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; then cut in shortening.

Sprinkle yeast in warm water, add sugar to it, and mix well. Add this mixture to scalded milk that has cooled to room temperature. If necessary, let the yeast mixture sit for about 10 minutes before adding it to the milk.

Add liquids to dry ingredients and mix to form a dough. Knead dough until it becomes elastic and pliable. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

Pinch a small piece of dough and roll it into a ball between palms. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll it out to about 1/8-inch in thickness. Cut into 3 or 4-inch squares or rounds.

Fry in hot oil until golden on both sides and very puffy. Fry only a few at a time as they will spatter. Holding them under the oil helps them to brown and puff more.

Drain on paper towels. Serve fried puffs piping hot or keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven before serving.

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