Baked Chocolate Donuts

If you know me well, you probably know I love donuts.  This past weekend Sean and I went to go see The 5 Year Engagement, which was entertaining and a good laugh, and part of the story has to do with people eating old donuts instead of waiting for new ones to arrive and what this says about their emotional well-being.  Anytime this plot point came up all I could think was I would probably eat both, especially if they were Dunkin Donuts with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  Just saying.

I try not to eat donuts too often,  being that they’re not the most healthy of foods, but a little while ago I got a donut baking pan and I came up with this baked chocolate donut recipe.  It’s still not the most healthy of foods, but they’re baked and not fried, so that’s a plus.  They are also easy to make and taste delicious, so give them a try.  I’m sure mom would like them for Mother’s Day!

Adapted from Camille Styles

Makes 12 Donuts

For the Donuts 

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup and 2 tablespoons milk ( I used almond milk)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted semi sweet chocolate chips

For the Icing

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
½ cup coconut milk
sprinkles (optional)
 

To make the donuts, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease your donut pans.

In a bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  In a separate bowl mix together the milk, olive oil, applesauce, vanilla and melted chocolate until well combined.

Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.  Spoon the batter into the donut pans.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before cooling on wire racks.

For the icing, place the chocolate chips and coconut milk in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for about 25 seconds and then stir.  Continue to heat the mixture in 10 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  You can also do this over a double boiler.  Dip each cooled donut into the icing and let set on a wire rack.  Add sprinkles while the icing is still wet if desired.

Enjoy!

 

Weekend Brunch: Cheesy Herb Waffles Florentine Style

Lazy Saturday mornings are one of my favorite things. Sean usually makes me coffee and eggs and we can both relax for a bit before starting our weekend to do lists. This morning breakfast was a combined effort and we made cheesy herb waffles with sautéed spinach and poached eggs. Delicious!

I have poached eggs before, but they have never turned out as pretty as they did on this day. I recently read an article about poaching eggs were they recommended putting some white vinegar in the tea cup with your egg and letting them sit for a few minutes before you cooked the egg. The vinegar helps the white of the egg stay together better. I also created a whirlpool in the pot of simmering water before I put the egg in the middle, which also helps to keep the egg together. After two minutes I had a beautiful egg, yumm!

Cheesy Herb Waffles with Sautéed Spinach and a Poached Egg

For the Waffles (Makes 4)

2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
4 scallions, whites and light green parts minced
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy and then stir in the oil. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, herbs, scallions, and cheese. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just smooth and let sit for a while, or even overnight if you wish. When your ready preheat your waffle iron and make the waffles.

For the Spinach

1/2 tablespoon butter
A large container of fresh spinach
2 cloves of garlic minced

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add handfuls of spinach to the skillet and using tongs toss until the spinach starts to wilt and you can add more spinach. Keep doing this until almost all of the spinach in totally wilted. Add in the garlic and let cook for about a minute or two more. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Poached Egg

4 eggs
1 cup white vinegar

In four tea cups place 1/4 cup of vinegar each. Crack open one egg into each cup and let sit for about five minutes. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a simmer. When you’re ready stir the water to create a whirlpool and gently poor the vinegar and egg into the middle of the pot. Cook for two minutes and then scoop the egg out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Repeat for each of the other eggs.

Assemble the waffle, spinach and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Add extra cheese on top if you’d like and enjoy!

Orange Marmalade Muffins

Earlier in the year my uncle sent me two delicious jars of orange marmalade he made from the oranges that grow in his yard. It’s great on scones and toast but I was trying to think of some other ways I could use it when I found this recipe. I had never thought to put the marmalade in the muffins! It is a delicious combination and they are fast and easy to throw together. I’m pretty sure you could also swap out the marmalade for other preserves if you have a surplus sitting around this summer and they would taste great too.

Marmalade Muffins
(Makes 12)

Adopted from Poppytalk

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup marmalade or jam

Pre heat your oven to 375F and grease your muffin tins or line them. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl add the milk, oil, vanilla, apple sauce, and honey and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined, no more, so that the muffins stay tender. Gently swirl the marmalade into the batter and then fill your muffin tins. Bake until the muffins are just lightly golden on top, about 20 minutes. When the muffins have cool enough to handle take them out of the tins and let them cool the rest of the way on wire racks. Enjoy with a cup of tea and have a delicious breakfast!

Recipe of the Week: Oatmeal Muffins!

This is a three for one special! Well, really it’s a endless possibilities special because these muffins have so many different and delicious possible add-ins. I selected Blueberry Strudel, Raspberry Dark Chocolate, and Banana Chocolate Butterscotch as my launching pad, but if you think it would be good in oatmeal, it would probably be pretty great in these muffins. Here’s the base recipe and then the flavor add-in combinations are underneath. They’re all easy to make and are a great filling breakfast. The oats do need to soak for about an hour before hand, just so you can plan accordingly.

Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 24

Adapted from Simple Bites

2 cups Almond Milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups Rolled Oats (not the quick kind)

2 eggs room temperature
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup coconut oil or butter, melted and cooled
½ cup apple sauce
splash of vanilla
2 cups 4 tbs flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Mix the oats, almond milk, and vinegar in a bowl and let sit for an hour before assembling the rest. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees and line or grease muffin tins. After an hour mix the eggs, sugar, oil/butter, apple sauce and splash of vanilla into the oats. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined, making sure not to over mix. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. It will be closer to 20 if you add frozen fruit.

Blueberry Strudel Oatmeal Muffins

Gently fold in blueberries after all of the other ingredients have been combined.
For the Strudel topping combine the following ingredients in a bowl and evenly sprinkle on top of each muffin.
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tbs melted butter/coconut oil
pinch of salt

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

Gently fold in 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, 2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen) after the other ingredients have been combined.

Banana Butterscotch Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

Substitute 2 ripe, mashed bananas for the 1/2 cup of apple sauce. Stir in 1/2 of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butterscotch chips to the dry ingredients.

Recipe of the Week: Fluffy Spiced Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples

I love cinnamon, especially in breakfast foods. So given the chance, I often like to spice up my pancakes. This pancake recipe is light and fluffy with just a hint of spice and when you top them off with cinnamon apples and a little dollop of sweetened cream cheese you have a dream team combination.

Fluffy Spiced Pancakes

Makes 8, 4 inch pancakes

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
3 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Grated Nutmeg
1 1/4 cups Milk
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the milk, egg and melted butter. Stir until just combined and still a little lumpy.

Pour a quarter cup of batter on a griddle at medium heat. Flip over when bubbles have appeared all over the pancake.

Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

Makes 4 servings

2 Apples, such as Honey Crisp or Granny Smith
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon Butter
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/3 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Peel and cut the apples into about half inch cubes and toss with lemon juice. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the apples and saute for about 5 minutes or until softened, but not mushy.

Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to the apples and simmer for about 5 more minutes. The sauce will be a little runny, but I like it that way so it soaks into my pancakes. If you want a thicker sauce mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tsp of cornstarch and add with the cinnamon and sugar.

Sweetened Cream Cheese

1/2 package of Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons Confection Sugar

Cut up the cream cheese into smaller cubes and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for about 20 seconds until just warm and soft. Mix in the sugar until smooth.

Assemble the three parts how you like. A warm mug of Chai tea goes very well with this, if you were wondering. Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Blueberry Cream Scones

Yep, you read right, recipe of the week. One of my goals for this year is post at least one recipe I have cooked each week. I’m pretty excited about it and hope you are too!

This scone recipe is one of my favorite weekend breakfasts. It’s super fast with a food processor and they turn out so light and fluffy. Add a little dollop of clotted cream and a cup of tea and I can almost believe I’m back in England. You can also substitute a half cup of dried currants for the blueberries for a more traditional taste. It’s super tempting to eat them right out of the oven, but waiting ten minutes is well worth it so that they don’t fall apart on you. Also, don’t be tempted to use fresh blueberries, they will turn the dough into a gooey mess. Frozen berries will hold their shaped much better until baked. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Blueberry Cream Scones

Makes 8 scones.

Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into quarter inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream, plus 1 Tbsp
1/2 frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp coarse sugar

Heat oven to 425 degrees and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and mix for about 6 seconds, or whisk in a large bowl. Lay butter evenly over the flour mixture and then process for 12 one second pulses, or if mixing by hand, cut in butter until it looks like corse corn meal. If using a food processor, transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the heavy cream and frozen blueberries for about 30 seconds, or until dough begins to form. Place dough on a floured surface and kneed for a few seconds until all of the little floury bits come together. Pat out into three quarter inch think circle and then use a large chefs knife to cut into 8 pieces. Place the wedges on the parchment paper and brush with extra Tablespoon of cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before eating.