Sonhos – Portuguese Choux Pastry Dreams!

Sonhos, are light and fluffy doughnut like pastries that melt in your mouth! Generally, they’re served around the Holidays but this popular fried pastry is a favorite at almost every Portuguese celebration. They are quite easy to make unlike filhos which are made out of risen dough and have a much longer process time.

Good luck to those of you are making these for the first time! Enjoy!

Sonhos

Ingredients:

6 extra large eggs

2 cups flour

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2  stick butter or margarine

1 slice lemon rind

Sugar and Cinnamon for topping

Instructions:

In a large heavy pan, place the water, milk, butter, lemon rind,  and salt over medium heat and bring to boiling point. Stir in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour becomes a soft dough which turns into a ball shape that separates from the sides of the pan. This is similar to a basic Choux paste that is used for baking eclairs and cream puffs.

Remove the dough from heat and place into a medium bowl. Let the dough cool for a few minutes. Beat in one egg at a time making a smooth batter.

Heat the oil to 365 degrees. Shape the dough into round doughnuts by using 2 large tablespoons.  Fry the dough by 4 or 5 pieces at time until golden brown while keeping the heat at a steady temperature. * NOTE. If you find the dough is turning brown too quickly reduce the heat to a lower setting. They should cook slowly.

**IMPORTANT**Pierce sonhos slightly with a fork all around as they cook. NOTE: If you find they are too dark and still raw in the middle, lower the heat so they cook through at a slower temperature.

Drain on a new clean brown paper lunch bags or on paper towels.

While still hot, roll sonhos in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Watch this video for the demonstration. The recipe varies from mine.