Picarones
Golden-fried Peruvian pumpkin and sweet potato dough donuts, crispy outside and tender within. Served warm with spiced chancaca syrup for dipping.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 3g
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup sweet potato, peeled and finely grated
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- 1
Pour 0.5 cup water into a small saucepan and add 1 cup brown sugar, 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, and 0.125 teaspoon cloves.
- 2
Set the heat to medium and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves completely and the syrup turns amber-brown, about 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- 3
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1.25 cups flour, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, 0.25 teaspoon nutmeg, and 0.25 teaspoon salt until evenly mixed.
- 4
In a separate large bowl, combine 0.75 cup pumpkin puree and 0.5 cup grated sweet potato, then stir until fully blended.
- 5
Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until a thick, sticky dough forms with no dry flour visible, about 1 minute.
- 6
Pour 3 cups vegetable oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet, then heat over medium-high heat until a wooden spoon handle inserted into the oil produces steady, vigorous bubbles, about 3–4 minutes.
- 7
Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, carefully drop walnut-sized balls of dough into the hot oil, working in batches to avoid crowding the pan—fry 5–6 picarones at a time.
- 8
Fry each batch for 2–3 minutes until the picarones turn deep golden brown on the bottom, then flip them over with a slotted spoon.
- 9
Fry the second side for another 1–2 minutes until golden brown all over, then lift them out with the slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- 10
Repeat steps 7–9 with the remaining dough until all picarones are fried.
- 11
Arrange the warm picarones on a serving plate and drizzle the cooled chancaca syrup over them in a steady stream, or serve the syrup in a small bowl for dunking.
Tools you’ll need
- medium bowl
- whisk
- large bowl
- wooden spoon
- large heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet (at least 10-inch diameter)
- candy or deep-fry thermometer (optional but helpful)
- slotted spoon
- paper towels
- small saucepan
- small ice cream scoop or two spoons
- serving plate
Cook smarter
Get matched recipes for what’s in your fridge
CookSnap is a free iOS app that finds real recipes from the ingredients you already have. No more grocery-list aspirations.
