Time to make the donuts

Cinnamon Rolls are something I've always baked, but not this time. Our local bakery has cinnamon rolls that are fried and they are amazing. Fluffy and so soft.
These were not that fluffy and soft but hey I tried and they look amazing. I was making apple fritters so I did a half a recipe of these too, as long as I'm heating up oil let's fry all the things! I made the dough the night before and while I should have proofed them in the oven overnight, I didn't. I think that would have really done the trick. Instead, in the fridge overnight, then in the oven with a pan of steaming water to add some humidity and warmth. that did puff them up - but could have done a better job. Hindsight right? But these were great - such a fun bake... I mean fry. I'd be willing to try them again with more time

Cinnamon Roll Donuts
Ingredients
For the dough:
2 & 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 & 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 large egg, at room temperature
For the filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
oil for frying
For the cinnamon maple glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together 2 & 1/2 cups flour (to start), yeast, and salt. Set aside.
In a microwave safe cup or bowl, combine water and butter. Microwave in 10 second bursts until the butter just barely melts and the mixture is warm but not hot! You can also do this in a pot on low heat.
To the water/butter mixture, whisk in brown sugar and the egg until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix together until it starts to come together into a very sticky mixture. Gradually add in more flour and mix until it starts to ball together into more of a dough.
Knead the dough in your bowl or on a floured work surface until it's smooth and slightly tacky but no longer sticky. Add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands / work surface. If you poke the top of the dough, the indent from your finger should slowly spring back. If the indent remains, knead the dough a bit more.
Cover the dough and let rest for 20 minutes just to make it easier to roll out. It will puff up a little bit but won't quite double in size.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Place the rested dough on a floured work surface and lightly flour the top. Roll it out into a roughly 9x13 inch rectangle. Continue sprinkling flour on the dough as needed to keep it from sticking. Try to get the rectangle as even as possible but it doesn't have to be perfect!
Spread the softened butter on top of the dough leaving a roughly 1/2 inch border along the edges.
Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter and spread it with your fingers to even it out. Finally, sprinkle the cinnamon evenly on top.
Working on the longer side of the dough, tightly roll it up into a log and then pinch the seam to seal. A tightly rolled up log will cause less filling to leak out as the donuts fry! Also make sure to pinch the seam well to ensure the rolls don't unravel as they cook.
Use a sharp serrated knife or unflavored floss to cut about 1 inch off of each end of the log (you can fry those as well, but they'll look a little wonky and the filling will be uneven - they're a perfect chef's treat though!)
Cut the remaining log into 12 rolls that are about 1 inch thick.
Arrange the rolls on your parchment lined baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches of space between each one. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for 45 to 60 minutes or until they've puffed up to a little under double in size.
Once they've puffed up, use scissors to cut the parchment paper around each cinnamon roll so you can easily lift them up with the paper one by one (see above post for visual).
Pick out a large pot with high sides. The pot should have at least 4 inch high sides, but the taller the sides, the better and safer it is. Fill the large pot with about 2 inches of vegetable oil (or any neutral flavored frying oil).
Place the pot over medium heat and heat the oil until it's about 350F. To test if the oil is ready, drop a little ball of dough into the pot and wait for it to start bubbling around the edges and rise to the top.
Pick up 3 to 4 cinnamon rolls using the parchment paper cutouts and carefully drop them into the pot of oil one by one. Take care not to overcrowd the pan or it may cool the oil down and cause the donuts to soak up more oil.
Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Adjust the heat as needed if the donuts are taking too long or browning too quickly.
Place the fried donuts on a wire rack and continue frying the remaining donuts.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon) until smooth and combined. If the glaze is too thick, you can thin it out with more maple syrup. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Dip the face of each donut into the glaze and gently shake off any excess.
Place the glazed donuts back onto the wire rack and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the glaze to set before digging in!