Time to Make the Doughnuts

I suddenly have a HUGE obsession with baking...I just LOVE to do it!! Sometimes that is a good thing and other times, well let's just say not so good for the diet! However, I have been working hard to find healthy alternatives in my baking!   Well, I LOVE doughnuts! Who doesn't??? But...with the diet they are NOT my friend! Searching Pinterest I came across a baked doughnut recipe and just had to give it a try! Now they are a new fall favorite and my kids want me to look for more recipes! (You know it's serious when you go out and buy an actual doughnut pan!!)  

Apple Cider Doughnuts

 

Ingredients:

granulated sugar for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (I use unsweetend applesauce, which make them healthier!!)

 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray. Sprinkle with sugar, shaking out excess.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yogurt and oil. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Don't over mix! Divide batter among the cavities in the prepared pan. Don’t fill them to the top or your doughnuts will lose their holes when the batter puffs up while baking!

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly. Loosen edges and turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool. Clean the pan, re-coat it with oil and sugar. Repeat with remaining batter.

4. Ice your doughnuts, if desired. Sift 1 cup powdered sugar and mix w/ 2 ounces light cream cheese, a dash of cinnamon and enough nonfat milk to create a spreading or dipping consistency. Dip tops of doughnuts into the icing, then set right side up on a rack to let the icing set.

 

One batch goes a long way...I got about 18 large doughnuts per batch. You'll get LOTS more if you go mini!!

 

Recipe from Recipe Girl.

Royalty

Have you ever tried Royal Icing?? Its a ROYAL pain!! It's so picky and touchy and you have to do everything JUST right. I tried it for Emmah's birthday with some success...as in it looked okay, but you couldn't touch the frosting, it was weird tasting, and had a fluffy/over mixed look to it.

Well as you saw in my sugar cookie post I have a new best friend...Callye from Sweet Sugarbelle! Not only did she tell me how to make some SUPER delicious sugar cookies, but she also shares how to make Royal Icing!! The best part of her sharing...is her explanation!
The basic royal icing recipe stays the same, but its how you put the parts together that can really make the difference.

Here is her recipe for Royal Icing:
Ingredients:

2lbs confectioner’s sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp meringue powder

about 3/4 c. warm water

1-3 Tbsp. oil-free extract or flavoring

Instructions

1. Add the dry ingredients first. Use your mixer’s whisk attachment to incorporate the sugar and meringue powder.
2. Add the extract to the water and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while mixing. At first the icing will be very liquid-like.
3. Continue to mix it at medium-high speed until it is fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 7-10 minutes. Mixing times are approximate, keep your eye it icing and stop mixing as soon as it becomes stiff. Over mixing and oil-containing extracts can keep the icing from setting up, so keep this in mind as you work.

Be sure to head to her site and follow through the post as you make your frosting. I found that her descriptions as to what my icing should be looking like were perfect and easy to relate to.

I first got my ingredients together and started mixing:

Next I continued mixing until I got it got firm (As she says she makes it firm and then works backwards

Then I follow her lead again by measuring out some icing, adding the color, and then separating to make the piping icing and flooding icing. I used icing color, it tends to be more true then food coloring. (Want a certain color?? Callye has a color chart for you to use to get the perfect color!)

I personally used a ziplock for the piping...I know real "high tech" but it's what I had and it worked out great! {She does show you on her blog how to do it with a piping bag.}

{Your piping icing should be the consistency of toothpaste or soft scrub cleaner}

Once I had the color, I got to piping. In a nice smooth motion go around the outside of your shape. You will want to let this harden before moving on to the flooding.

Next you "flood" your cookies. This sounds exactly like what you are doing. With your thinned out frosting you basically "flood" the remaining cooking with the frosting. {The flooding frosting should be the consistency of shower gel.}

Let your cookies sit out...mine took a couple of hours to completely harden. You can then store your cookies for your event. Making these a few days ahead of time is perfectly acceptable. The cookies can easily be frozen and the frosting can be stored in your refrigerator or at room temperature for up to a month.

Sugar is Sweet

Since Emmah's party I have really wanted to give the whole sugar cookie and royal icing thing another go. In my searches for ideas for Jake's party I came across these really cute lego man cookies (We're doing a lego theme!!)

(photo cortesy of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle)   How cute are these?? And the best part is...she shows you how to make your own and shares her recipes!! My first goal was to master the cookies themselves. And although I didn't want to make the lego heads first I decided to make something that went with the holiday STARS!!   I followed her recipe and started with the confectioners sugar and butter.

I then mixed the flour, salt, and baking soda in a seperate bowl and slowly added it to the other mixture.

Rolled them out...and cut out my stars.

Here are the finished and tasty product!! They have an almond flavoring to them, which is soft and I just LOVE it!!

Next time you see these cookies...they will hopefully be iced ROYALLY!

I followed the recipe from Sweet SugarBelle.

Ingredients

• 1 c. {two sticks} of REAL unsalted BUTTER, softened
• 1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tsp flavoring {pick what you like, I prefer almond}
• 2 1/2-2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

1. Cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavoring. I use emulsions, but extract also works well. Add that to the butter sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the mixture. I can tell the dough is ready when most of it sticks to the paddle. When I touch it, it has a little give, but does not stick to my fingers. 

 

2. Roll out on parchment to about 1/4 an inch thick, use flour for dusting as necessary. Then, cut and bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. This version makes 2-2 1/2 dozen, doubled, it makes 4-5 dozen.

 

If you stop by her blog she includes lots of helpful tips and tricks!

Delicious

Since picking blueberries I have been looking for different recipes to try. I started with the normal muffins, to which my kids weren't really impressed! Oh well! I then was given the suggestion by my husband of trying to make this delicious blueberry recipe from Grandma.So I gave it a whirl...and SUCCESS!!Emmah helped me make these and helped eat them too! 

 Blueberry Delight1 1/2 cups flour1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp baking soda2 eggs3/4 cup butter1 cup butter2 cups blueberries5 1/2 oz butterscotch chips1/2 cup pecans (optional)2 Tbsp brown sugar Makes 2 round or 1 9x13Preheat oven to 350.Cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs. Add flour, salt, baking soda and mix in. Fold in blueberries. Lightly spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and add batter. Sprinkly top with butterscotch chips, pecans, and brown sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, check at 35 mins.

I hope you'll give this one a try!

Thankful Days #18

Today I am thankful for cupcake bites!!! They are so delicious and I love the joy they bring wherever they go! I am not the worlds best baker, but I have cornered the market on these, it is my specialty! They have all that is good in a cupcake in a bite size piece dipped in chocolate....does it get any better?? I think not!

Recently I picked up the book Cupcake Bites by Bakerella....oh the inspiration!! I can't wait to try all the fun designs she has in there. The tips are great too!! She makes it so easy!!