Runs on Coffee and Cream

Last fall and winter I was pregnant which meant I avoided a lot of treats that could be bad for a pregnant lady (deli meats, unpasteurized treats, highly caffeinated drinks). I avoided apple cider for the most part because typically fresh apple cider is unpasteurized. Now, not all apple cider is unpasteurized; a lot sold in grocery stores actually have the word 'pasteurized' on their jugs. But I just avoided buying it out of the convenience of not having to look for that word on the packaging when grocery shopping.

Leading up to Valentine's Day I made a couple of Valentine treats for Adam. First up was his request, butter spritz cookies. They always turn out adorable and the recipe I use makes a ton of them (close to 100 little cookies) but it's incredibly time consuming and a bit of a pain to load the cookie press. So I had Adam help me with them. We ended up using the last bit of dough to make some heart cookie cutter cookies too.



Next up was a recipe I wanted to make. After having so much success with the donut recipe I used recently, I wanted to make some glazed donuts with sprinkles. On Sally's Baking Addiction she recommends double dipping the donuts into the glaze which gave a good thick coating to the donuts. I followed her recipe here.

Glaze Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
sprinkles

Directions:

1. Combine glaze ingredients in a small pot over low heat.

2. Whisk until the glaze is smooth.

3. Drop each donut into glaze and place on wire rack. Once you've dipped all the donuts, dip them again starting from the first one.

4. Add sprinkles!

I absolutely love how they turned out. And they didn't last too long either since donuts for breakfast or dessert are hard to pass up.



With Valentine's Day over, I have my mind set on spring baking which definitely includes some Easter ideas. So get ready for Mini Eggs treats!

xo Jen

I bought myself a large donut pan last year but never got around to using it. I guess I was lacking inspiration? Well, I found a new recipe recently and got around to making a batch of homemade baked donuts. And now I'm hooked.

I'm a huge fan of Sally's Baking Addiction for recipes. I've loved every recipe I've tried through her site. So when I came across her recipe for Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts I knew I had to try it. The ingredient list isn't scary, the process sounded easy, and the recipe only makes 7-8 donuts which is the perfect amount for us.


Now let me tell you, this recipe is amazing! It was super easy, the donuts were incredibly good, and I now want to manipulate this recipe to make different variations. Be warned, donut pictures and recipes are going to be happening this year.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup yogurt (I used vanilla flavoured yogurt)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Donuts fresh out of the oven.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray your donut pan with a non-stick spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk egg, brown sugar, milk, and yogurt together until smooth. Add the melted butter and vanilla and whisk until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

3. Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or spoon the batter into a large ziploc bag. Then cut a corner of the bag and pipe the batter into the donut pan. This is so much easier and less messy! Fill each donut spot 3/4 of the way full.

4. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Cinnamon Sugar coating added.

5. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl for the topping. Melt the butter in a separate bowl. Dip the donuts in the melted butter and then dunk into the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating all sides. Place on wire rack to dry.

I ate a donut with fresh topping and then hours later when the topping had dried a bit. I preferred them after a few hours. But you might like them better with the slightly sticky fresh coating.

Finished donuts!

I love how they look! And I promise they taste as good as they look too, I swear! Definitely try out the recipe if you've been wanting to make baked donuts at home.

xo Jen