ingredients:
3 1/2 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon or 1 packet yeast
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (250ml) lukewarm milk
3 egg yolks
1 stick or 4 oz (100g) melted butter, lukewarm
a pinch of salt
3-6 cups Oil for frying ( Canola or vegetable oil)
it should be at least 2 inches in the pan
1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting the pastry

Directions:

1. Gather your ingredients together

2. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour the milk in. Sprinkle in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar on top of the milk and mix in with a little bit of the flour. Cover and let this sit 15 minutes or until you see it froth up.

3. Mix in the egg yolks, the rest of the sugar, the salt and the butter.

4. Take the mixed dough now and knead it for a minute till it is smooth and elastic. if you need to sprinkle on a little flour because it is too sticky that is fine.

5. 5. Cover the dough and let it rise till double in a warm area.

6. Divide the dough into small peices.I like to weigh them out at 1.7 ounces. Now is a good time to heat your oil up to about 350 degrees. Use a pot to give you a lot of room but not too big. You should have several inches of fat.

7. To form the dough the idea traditionally is to stretch the dough over a knee so you have a nice round rim and the center is as thin as skin. A legend was that it should be thin enough to read a love letter through. I didn't think that was a good idea for me, so I used a ladle.

8. Place the kniekuchle on the pan to rest.

9. When you are ready to fry make sure the oil to 350 degrees or you can cook a small piece of dough to see if it is browning correctly.

10. If the dough has contracted back while resting I stretch it one more time before going right into the hot oil. Put the dough in the oil gently, I use a "skimmer".

11. Fry the dough on one side until brown then flip it over and cook for a few more seconds on the other side. It shouldn't take long on the second side. I only do one at a time. If you crowd the pan too much it lowers the heat of the oil and they can get soggy.

12. When done drain on a paper towel. The Knieküchle should have a brown rim and a very light brown center. You can serve the Knieküchle plain Or with powdered sugar.