Schneeballen

1 3 / 4 cups all purpose flour
(more if needed)
2 tablespoons butter
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoon milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 / 4 cup sour cream
Dash of rum

There are many different recipes for doughs for these kinds of donuts

Here I blended the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.
Then I mixed the eggs in
I softened the butter in a bowl.

I worked the butter in with my fingers, but you can use a fork and blend in like you would for pie dough.

Next I blended in the sour cream and the milk and a dash of rum.

I blended in a bit more flour to make a nice firm dough.

Then I chilled the dough for a few hours.

I also used the yeast dough that I used to make Berliners and it works very well also.

I rolled out the dough into a 6 inch circle.

I used a crinkle roller to make slits about 1 / 2 inch wide. You could just use a knife also.

I used a metal skewer and threaded the strands, inbetween each other. this helps so they don't unravel during the frying process.

another view of threading the strands.

Form a ball in your hands.

I used a metal pasta fork here.
In Rothenburg they use a special tool that holds it together. You just need to be creative, a ladel or large spoon could work too.

My oil is preheated here to 350 degrees. Test it first to make sure it is hot enough and just cooks it a light brown.

Lower the dough in the oil.

I am using a pair of tongs to hold it together.

Also pushing the dough to the side of the pot helps to keep it from unraveling.

Flip it over to cook the other side.

Lift it out and drain on a paper towel.

Dust it with powdered sugar before serving.