My boys are donut fanatics. Who am I kidding...I love them too. I received donut pans last Christmas and have had the opportunity to use them a few times. I've tried a few different recipes and found that the two that I used most recently were wonderful. If you are a chocoholic..you'll enjoy the chocolate donut with chocolate glaze and sprinkles. I had the boys help me with the sprinkling portion of the creating. The second is a pumpkin spice donut with a vanilla glaze. Both recipes are baked. The only suggestion I have is to be sure not to overbake the chocolate donuts. Err on the side of caution and bake for the lower amount of time and add if needed. Here are a few pics of the yummy donuts from my morning with my boys.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons canola oil
Chocolate glaze (recipe follows)
Colored or chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and coat a donut pan liberally with cooking spray.
Stir together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk and stir together for 1 minute. Add the oil and continue to whisk until just combined. Transfer the batter to a large measuring cup (or a bowl with a spout) for easy pouring.
Fill each cavity in the pan 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until the donuts spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely before icing. Yields 10 to 12 donuts.
Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the glaze: combine the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and vanilla extract in a double boiler (or in a stainless steel or glass bowl over some simmering water). Stir until the chocolate is melted and everything is incorporated. Use immediately.
The recipe for the pumpkin spice donuts. I didn't include a recipe for the icing. You can make any simple icing or glaze and pour over the donuts when they are still warm.
Pumpkin Spice DonutsMakes 12-14 donuts
For Donuts:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)
Preheat oven 350 F. Spray the pans with baking spray and set aside.
In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.
Using a pastry bag or a steady hand and a spoon, fill each donut cup with the batter. The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.
As I stated previously, soups are one of my favorite things to make during this time of year. A hot, steaming bowl of soup (of any kind) with a big slice of buttered, crusty bread....there is ALMOST nothing better. We had a couple of really cold nights here in Michigan recently and I was inspired. I made my Polish Chicken & Dumplings on one night...Giada's Winter Minestrone on another.
The Polish Chicken & Dumplings...well...if this type of meal floats your boat...look no further. The is a very inexpensive recipe that is worth every bit of the time it takes to make. Here is a pic of this hearty dish along with the recipe:
.jpg)
.jpg)
Polish Chicken
and Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 (3 lb) whole chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, w/ leaves
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
Dumplings:
4 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt1 tsp black pepper
2 c water
4 c all-purpose flour
Directions:
Place chicken, onion and celery in a large pot, and then top
with water. Season with poultry
seasoning, whole allspice, basil, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and seasoning
salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and
simmer for approximately 2 hours, or until chicken is done.
Remove chicken from broth, and strain broth to remove
seasonings and any bone. Return broth to
pant, stir in cream of chicken soup, and continue simmering. Set chicken aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, stir together eggs, olive oil, 1 tbsp salt
and 1 tsp pepper with 2 cups water.
Gradually add flour, and stir until thick.
Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and drop into the broth. Repeat until all the dough has been used. Stir, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, skin and debone the chicken. Cut the meat into small pieces, add to the
broth, and heat through. Serve.
The Winter Minestrone soup is just as hearty but with a totally different flavor profile. Tomato based broth thickened slightly by the partially pureed white beans. Here is a pic of our end product along with the recipe.
Ingredients:
2
tablespoons olive oil
1
onion, chopped
2
carrots, peeled and chopped
2
celery stalks, chopped
3
ounces thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
2
cloves garlic, crushed
1
pound Swiss chard, stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
1
russet potato, peeled and cubed
Kosher
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1
(14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
2
fresh rosemary sprigs
1
(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, divided
2
(14-ounce) cans low-sodium beef broth, divided
1
(1-ounce) Parmesan rind
1/4
cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
In a large, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over
medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and garlic. Cook,
stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the
Swiss chard and potato. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes and rosemary sprigs. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce
the heat and simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes are very soft,
about 10 minutes.
In a food processor or blender, combine 3/4 of the beans with
1/2 cup of broth. Blend until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture,
remaining broth, and Parmesan rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer, stirring
occasionally, until the potato pieces are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the
remaining beans and the parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and
the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Discard the rosemary stems (the leaves will
have fallen off) and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into
bowls and serve.
Finally, nothing is more important than my favorite..DESSERT!! Fall...cold and crisp weather...what could be better than a warm apple crisp with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream?? Not much. Here is my fave recipe for this delightful (and VERY easy) dish. Yep...all photos were contributed by my wonderful husband.
.jpg)
My Fave Apple Crisp
Ingredients:
10 cups apples (Honeycrisp and Granny Smith), peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup water
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4/ Tsp baking powder
¼ Tsp baking soda
½ cup melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Place the sliced apples in a large bowl. Combine white sugar, 1
tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together. Sprinkle over apples and pour
water evenly all over. Mix with hands to
ensure apples are evenly covered; pour apples into prepared cooking dish.
Combine the oats, 1 cup of flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking
soda and melted butter. Crumble evenly
over the top of the apple mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm
with vanilla ice cream.
Well...that's it for now. I hope you decide to try some of these recipes. Please feel free to post any questions that you may have regarding the recipes or any topic. Also, as always I welcome any questions or comments regarding the blog. If there are any topics or types of recipes that you'd like me to try...feel free to post and I'll see what I can do :) Also, please subscribe to your email account and you will be sent the blogs with a day of it posting. Happy Cooking!
No comments:
Post a Comment