Pumpkin Bacon Doughnuts

These pumpkin bacon doughnuts combine two of my favorite flavors, pumpkin and bacon……..mmmmmm, together at last and in a doughnut. YES! Ingredients
Dry
3 1/2 cups Self- Rising Flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
(For the salt, I used 1/4 teaspoon smoked sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon iodized. For a more traditional doughnut, use all iodized).
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Wet Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup bacon grease
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
15 ounces pumpkin puree

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
milk, buttermilk, or cream to desired consistancy

Sugar Topping
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Garnish
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions
1. Mix all of your dry ingredients into a small bowl and stir until well combined.
2. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and bacon grease. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stop and scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.
3. Mix in the sour cream. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Only mix this until the flour is barely combined. Overmixing will cause tough doughnuts. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix. Continue to alternate the flour mixture and buttermilk until all of the ingredients are used.
5. Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
6. Once the dough has rested you can either fry it as is and make fritters or you can make the doughnuts. To make the fritters, simply drop large spoons of the dough into hot oil and turn them half way through cooking. When they are done, place them on paper towels for a minute to drain and then roll them in the sugar mixture while they’re still hot.
If you want to make the doughnuts…..
7. Place the dough onto a well floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top. Work additional flour into the dough until it is stiffer (see video).
8. Cut out the doughnut shapes and fry them in the hot oil. Turn them half-way through cooking.
9. Let them cool enough to handle them. Dip one side into the glaze and then into the crumbled bacon.
Enjoy!