Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts

 One of the several important and exciting cookbooks I got for Christmas was Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.  As you might guess, Ina and her team have put together a gorgeously laid out, impeccably photographed collection of edibles that I can only look forward to delving among.  Although I can hardly stand to watch her show, with her massive estate, sprawling herb garden, nonstop collection of stylish friends and charming shops, and not to mention her stickly sweet adoration for husband Jeffrey, I will gladly give Ina Garten this: her food rocks. 

As do her "10 foolproof tips for cooking", on page 21.  In fact, most of her tips were already my tips, learned the hard way of course.  Like #9 Don't walk away from something simmering on the stove.  While you're not looking, liquids can boil over or evaporate and ruin a perfectly good dish.  Don't I know it.  Or #1 Read the entire recipe before you start cooking.  You don't want to discover the beans need to soak overnight when guests are due to arrive in an hour.  Do people really still soak beans?  Anyway. 

Luckily, what we have here is a straightforward (dare I say foolproof?) baked doughnut recipe, that requires neither stove simmering nor bean soaking.  You don't even really have to read it ahead...though don't tell Ina I said so!

Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts (print recipe)
Makes 18 doughnuts

Doughnuts:
Baking spray with flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten (seriously Ina?  I used a large egg)
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 T unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping:
8 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 doughnut pans well.

2.  Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. 

3.  You can spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each a little more than three-quarters full, but I find it much easier to pipe it into the doughnut wells, using either a piping bag or a gallon Ziploc with the corner snipped off.  Better batter control.  Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.

4.  For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan or in a wide mouth bowl in the microwave.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

1 year ago:  Frozen Pistachio Pie
2 years ago:  Chocolate Swirl Babka Bread
3 years ago:  Rainbow Cake

A Study in Blue

Is anyone else head over heels for the new Sherlock series?  I'm mad for it, dangling from the Season 2 cliffhanger by my fingernails.  The first episode of Season 1 is called "A Study in Pink", so I'm paying all geniuses involved  a little homage here as I wade through last month's efforts to come up with something blue for Dessert Club.

After realizing I'd just drawn the worst possible color, I set to brainstorming every possible way I could interpret "blue" into a dessert.  Bleu cheese.  Blue cornmeal/corn chip.  Blueberries.  Dried blueberries.  Blueberry preserves.  Blue raspberry.  Blue Jell-o (whatever flavor that is.)  Blue cotton candy.  "Blue ribbon ______." 

I first thought of some kind of blue corn muffin with a sweet blue cheese spread.  I ordered some blue cornmeal and collected recipes, intent on avoiding the "easy" route of just making something with blueberries, in favor of a more creative, and, if I was lucky, pleasantly surprising creation.  So I made some blue corn muffins.  A few kinds in fact.      

But they weren't very blue.  And they weren't very good.  Not when I would be competing with colors like white, pink, and brown.  Next I tried a blue corn biscotti with dried blueberries and pine nuts.  Sounded promising.  But even a dip in blueberry syrup or blue-white chocolate coating couldn't redeem them.  Where was Sherlock when I needed him?!

I looked at recipes I could make with blue Jell-o - poke cupcakes and the like, but I just couldn't bring myself to avoid natural foods that were at least close to the color blue, or blue in name.  So I reluctantly but resignedly turned to the blueberry.

I wasn't down about it for too long, though, because there are some amazing blueberry recipes out there.  I looked at blueberry crisp marshmallows, blueberry pie pops, and even considered trying to make a blueberry bagel (still might.)  In the end, I settled on a blueberry doughnut, because I simply love my doughnut pans and don't use them enough.  When my test batch came out of the oven, I started to look around the kitchen to see what on earth I could use to crank up the blue factor.  

I mashed blueberries to make the glaze, but it was really a bright pink more than a blue or purple, so I did add a few drops of blue food coloring.  Then I found a genius discovery in the back of my baking cupboard - a jar of lavender sugar my sister-in-law sent me from England, which I cherished but hadn't really known what to do with.

I glazed, sprinkled, took notes for next time, and I had my recipe.

The night of Dessert Club, I added dried lavender to the batter as well as the topping, just a little for some essence.  I took out the cinnamon and added a hint of nutmeg and ginger. 

And I stacked them all up on a bed of blue rock candy from World Market.

I didn't win Dessert Club this time around.  But I had quite a journey getting there.  It was good for me, having to think and improvise, push past my comfort zone, and risk making a mistake that would be all mine.  Kinda like a certain detective I know. 


Lavender-Blueberry Doughnuts (print recipe)
Makes about 24 doughnuts

Doughnuts:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp dried lavender buds
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed, picked over, and dried

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Scant 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, mashed
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 to 3 drops blue food coloring, optional
Lavender sugar, for sprinkling

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 an position an oven rack in the center.  Lightly coat the doughnut pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  To make the doughnuts, in a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger and lavender with a whisk. 

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes.  Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large wooden spoon until completely combined.  Gently fold in the blueberries until just combined.  Do not overmix.

4.  Using a pastry bag with a hole cut in the tip just larger than a blueberry, divide the batter equally among the doughnut wells.  Bake the doughnuts for 8 to 10 minutes, until they spring back when lightly touched.  Remove them from the oven, invert the doughnuts on a wire rack, and allow them to cool completely.

5.  To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, mashed blueberries, lemon zest, and as much lemon juice as needed to make the right consistency.  Dip the top of each doughnut in the glaze and lift, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl.  Alternatively, use a pastry brush to "paint" the glaze over each warm doughnut.  Sprinkle with lavender sugar and serve.

Recipe adapted from So Sweet: Cookies, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies and More from Sur La Table

1 year ago: Pistachio-Cardamom Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (my Frosting for the Cause post)
2 years ago: Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet (so good)
3 years ago: Double Chocolate Mall Muffins

Doughnut Upside Down Cake

 If any of you know my brother, it will not surprise you he had a hand in this.  He sent me this recipe from his Google Reader eons ago.  It's a special recipe; possibly considered kitschy if not in the right setting, with the right audience.  Plus it is like Over-Indulgence Central.  But really, when you're in a I-Can-Do-A-Little-Better-Than-7-Eleven treats kind of mood, whip this up.  The original author just took a Betty Crocker Pineapple Upside Down cake recipe and substituted "doughnut" for "pineapple" wherever it occurred. 

I have to say, that's how cake greatness is born.

Doughnut Upside Down Cake (print recipe)
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
16 mini doughnuts
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 350.

2.  In a 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven.  Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter.  Arrange mini doughnuts over brown sugar in rows.

3.  In a medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat on high 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Pour batter gently over doughnuts.

4.  Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over.  Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan.  Serve warm; this cake is best when served the same day.  Store cake loosely covered.

Recipe from Jessie Oleson of Cakespy, via Dave

Baked Buttermilk Donuts

So a few months ago I gave you baked donuts. Here I am trying another recipe, this time the one that came from Wilton, on the back of the pan. These are also delicious, but with the hint of nutmeg, I recommend sticking with a sugar coating or vanilla/maple glaze. My kids insisted on chocolate, so I did it for them, but it clashed with the nutmeg and did neither of them a favor. However, the ones tossed with cinnamon and powdered sugar knocked my socks off.

Baked Buttermilk Donuts
2 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Beat until just combined. Spoon batter into a large plastic bag. Snip off the corner and pipe batter into donut pan cavities, filling each about 2/3 full.

3. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until the top of the donuts springs back when touched. Let cool in pan for 4 to 5 minutes before removing. Finish donuts with glaze, cinnamon sugar or confectioner's sugar. Best served fresh. Makes 12 donuts.

For vanilla or maple glaze, see this post.

Recipe from Donut Pan package by Wilton

Baked Cake Donuts

I am the SUPER DUPER PROUD new owner of two Wilton Doughnut pans. I've had them on my wishlist for ages and finally took the plunge. I've tried my hand at homemade fried doughnuts, with high frustration and marginal results. It's really hard to control the oil temperature on my stove, plus it's messy and of course fattening although that doesn't usually stop me. But with these new pans I feel like a new world of possibilities has opened up. I've started basic, with a vanilla and a chocolate, just to try things out. Yum. And yum. According to Family Circle, from whence these recipes hail, one of these saves 12 g fat over a store-bought doughnut. A frosted vanilla or chocolate donut has approximately 220 calories, 4g fat, 5g protein and 1g fiber.
Not that I'm knocking regular doughnuts, or even saying these are better. But they are easier to make at home - as simple as cupcakes or muffins. And they do cut some of the bad-for-you stuff. Now that I've tried these, and know they work, I'm excited to try other possibilities, like a favorite muffin batter - does it transfer? Or a doughnut recipe that is usually fried - can I just pipe it in a pan and bake it? Or can I make something super healthy, like a bran muffin, bake it in doughnut shape and put sprinkles on it and my kids will eat it? Will I eat it? All in good time; we shall see.Vanilla Cake Donuts
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

4 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Cake Donuts

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

4 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 325. Coat a 6-indentation donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, (cocoa powder if making chocolate), baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl whisk buttermilk, sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla until smooth. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; whisk until smooth.

3. Spoon batter into a large resealable plastic bag (make sure it doesn't have a pleated bottom - what a mess!) Cut off a corner and squeeze/pipe batter into prepared indents, about 2/3 full. Smooth tops. Bake at 325 for 13 minutes, until donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan on rack 3 minutes, then carefully turn out onto rack to cool. Each recipe makes 6 donuts.

Toppings

• For powdered donuts, place 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a sifter and gently sift over cooled vanilla donuts. Flip and cover the other side with sugar.
• For cinnamon sugar donuts, toss still-warm vanilla donuts in cinnamon-sugar to coat.
• For white-frosted donuts, in a small bowl combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 T of milk. (I also add vanilla extract but that will make it beige. You could flavor it with orange, lemon, coconut, peppermint, maple extract or anything your heart desires. Even food coloring for a holiday or for fun.) Add a little more milk if it's too thick to stir. Dip cooled donuts into bowl and allow excess frosting to drip back into bowl. Transfer to rack. Top with sprinkles, coconut, or mini chocolate chips.
• For chocolate-frosted donuts, combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder and about 2 T milk. Stir until smooth. Dip cooled donuts into bowl and allow excess frosting to drip back into bowl. Transfer to rack. Top with sprinkles, coconut or mini chocolate chips.

Recipe from Family Circle, April 2010

Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts

Yay, doughnuts! This was one of the recipes that re-motivated Pumpkin Week. I figured fresh doughnuts with some pumpkin and fall spices could be enough to convert anyone, so I gave it a shot. Super exciting since it was my first time making doughnuts.

Not bad at all for my first time. The dough was perfect and delicious and so were the fried results. I had a heck of a time keeping the oil the right temperature, though. It's that darn electric heat - so hard to control, plus the fluctuations with new dough going in. I tried, I did, but my electric stove sucks. I understand deep electric skillets are good for a job like this, with their heat dials that hold steady. Naturally I used to have one, but didn't use it much so I got rid of it in one of the moves. Maddening!
So considering the fact that my oil was too hot or too cold two-thirds of the time, the doughnuts really turned out great. I think the dough must be quite forgiving because all the ones I tasted were neither too doughy nor too greasy. Really, really good.

I doubled the recipe. I figured, if I'm making doughnuts, let's GO THERE. I rolled half in cinnamon sugar hot from the oil, and glazed the other half with a made-up cinnamon glaze. Then I realized we could NEVER eat them all so we loaded up paper plates and went out to make deliveries. I think they were enjoyed by all.

In fact, here are direct quotes from my girls:

Ginger (age 2 1/2): "Too much yummy!"

Hazel (age 4 1/2): "Mom, these are g-g-g-g-g-g-g-good!" (a supreme compliment indeed.) "There's only one problem - " (very seriously) - "I want another."
On a side note, this post supports my case of needing a Lowel EGO light. These days it is almost always dark or darkening when I finish baking (especially when there's a 3-hour chill like in this recipe), so I can't use the natural light by my window for pictures. So we're stuck with the crappy-to-tolerable pictures we can get from my kitchen lights. So much for close-ups and macro details. So if anyone is feeling generous, the Lowel would really make my winter. Now, back to doughnuts!

Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts
2 T butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil for frying
Spiced sugar (1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg)

1. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in pumpkin, buttermilk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined. Cover and chill 3 hours.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured 2 1/2 inch doughnut cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Reroll as necessary.

3. Fry doughnuts, two or three at a time, in deep hot oil (365 degrees) about 2 1/2 minutes or until golden (mine were quicker), turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove doughnuts; drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. Coat warm doughnuts in Spiced Sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 15 doughnuts and holes.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Baking magazine, December 2009

Brigham Young's Buttermilk Donuts

Yesterday was Pioneer Day. It was, you ask?

It's a state holiday in Utah, commemorating the arrival of the first pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, led by Brigham Young. It's celebrated with parades, picnics, plays and parties in the west, and sometimes in Mormon communities throughout the country and world. Click here to learn more.As a Mormon growing up in the east, I was always a little ambivalent about Pioneer Day. It's part of the history and cultural heritage of my Church, but not really my family or home. I do have one grandmother descended from pioneers but the rest of my family are from other places, and I always considered Scandinavia and historical Virginia bigger players in my personal heritage.

However, I can always appreciate a reason to party, and the pioneer trek is full of incredible stories of sacrifice and miracles. Worth knowing, worth commemorating. My friend Shanna from Idaho always celebrated it with her family growing up. They would invite some other families over, dress up in pioneer clothes, and have a true Pioneer Day. Stations for the kids included shaking cream into butter, sawing a log, sewing a button, hammering nails, and going on a mini pioneer trek through the "wilderness" (their farm.) She said it gave her an appreciation and love for her pioneer ancestors. And they always finished the day with "Brigham Young's Buttermilk Donuts" from a pioneer cookbook her mom had.
But now Shanna lives in Arlington, so for Pioneer Day this year she and our friend Genevieve (from Utah) invited some friends to play in the back yard and have the homemade donuts. I'd been really looking forward to it, but Ginger was sick so we had to stay home. Darn delicate 2-year-old. Luckily, Shanna dropped by later with a plate of sweet-smelling pioneer puffs for us, so we wouldn't totally miss out.

Little circles of love, that's what these are. I almost cried when I smelled the maple icing, wondering how fast I could eat dinner so I could have one for dessert. I have almost no donut-making experience myself - why try when Krispy Kreme is already perfect? But these have made me reconsider, and I just may be trying my hand at it sooner than expected.

After all, it's never too late to become a pioneer.
Brigham Young's Buttermilk Donuts

2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten

1 c. sugar

5 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 c. melted butter

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or deep skillet so that it's deep enough for the donuts to not touch the bottom. Use a candy thermometer to monitor heat - you want to get to 375.

2. In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs and sugar. Blend well. Stir in melted butter.

3. Sift together dry ingredients and beat into buttermilk mixture.

4. Roll or pat out dough onto floured surface to about 1/4 inch. Cut with 2 1/2 in. cutter (make sure to flour the cutter so it doesn't stick). A donut cutter is ideal, but if you don't have one, use a biscuit cutter or glass and whatever you can figure out to cut out the hole (like a lid or tiny jar.)

5. Fry donuts and holes in vegetable oil that is 375 degrees - monitor heat between batches. If it is too cool the donuts will get too greasey while cooking; if it's too hot they won't cook all the way through. Add oil as needed so donuts don't touch bottom of pan. Flip when golden brown to cook other side. Lay cooked donuts on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. Cool slightly. Dip in glaze, then lay glaze side up on wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.

Glaze

1/2 c. boiling water

1 lb. powdered sugar
2 tsp. either vanilla or maple flavoring

Mix a little of the water into the powdered sugar to make a paste. Add the rest of the water. This should be a glaze, not a thick frosting. Add 2 tsp. of either vanilla or maple flavoring. Glaze only 1 size of the donut.