I think the oil was too hot at first. They were cooking really fast and got too dark. (I had no way to measure if it was the 350 it called for). So I turned it down and waited a few minutes before doing any more. That seemed to do the trick.
I used a spatula to slide them in the oil, but ended up just using a fork to flip them and pull them out.
I had one cookie sheet with cookie rack to place them on right out of the oil. Then I would dip them- still hot- into the glaze and on another cookie sheet w/ rack:
I kept the glaze on the stove. It needed to be reheated often as the surface cooled and started to crust over. When there was a lot of glaze that had dripped off on the cookie sheet I just scrapped it back into the pot on the stove.
Maybe next time I'll try a chocolate glaze. Mmm
Anyone else have have a good recipe or idea for donuts?