Hello guys!!

I went to Greece for twenty days, and wanted to blog my journey but barely had any internet throughout my trip which was a bummer. I am back in California, and ready to share some wonderful Greek recipes with you.

Now I am sharing a delicious recipe with you, that I made in Mani, Greece. My Cypriot friend told me to add mashed potatoes to this recipe, and it came out perfect!! I do hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

**The potatoes added a lovely crunch to these yummy Greek doughnuts.

Cypriot Loukoumades Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tsp of thyme honey
• 1 cup of mashed potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 4.5  cups of flour, hard
• 2 cups lukewarm water~ add more if you need
• 2 1/2 cups Sunflower oil

Syrup:

• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Method:

1. In a bowl dissolve the yeast with water and honey. Let it sit until bubbly.
2. Prepare the mashed potatoes.
3. Add the flour, salt, and the potatoes to the yeast mixture. Mix with hands, until combined. Place a damp towel over the top of the bowl, and let rest until doubled in size.
4. Prepare the oil in a large pot.
5. To fry the loukoumades, make sure you have a glass of cold water with a spoon inside. Use 2 teaspoons of dough and drop into the oil. (I use 1 spoon with cold water, to prevent the dough from sticking on the spoon.)
6. Prepare the syrup. In a medium pot, add all ingredients over medium heat. Simmer for ten minutes, then remove from heat.
7. Once loukoumades are ready, ladle them over a plate lined with a paper towel, to drain the oil.
8. Add the syrup over the loukoumades, and dust with cinnamon and toasted almonds. Serve warm!!

Kali Orexi!