Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Image courtesy of Stonewall Kitchen

I made these this morning from a recipe I found on Pinterest. The butter topping was too buttery for our taste, so I modified the last batch to exclude the butter, which made for a much lighter doughnut. 

INGREDIENTS:

Doughnuts:
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten (must be room temperature!)
1-1/4 cups whole milk (must be room temperature!)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray doughnut pans with cooking spray or grease lightly.

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Wisk together until well combined. In order to NOT make scrambled eggs, make sure your milk, butter, and eggs are about the same temperature. When you melt the butter, make sure it cools a bit, and bring your egg and milk to about room temperature. Otherwise you get a lumpy mess. 

Stir wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Spoon batter into baking pans and fill each one to 3/4 full. Don't overfill.

Bake for 17 minutes or until toothpick comes out easily.

While doughnuts are baking, create the topping. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. 

Let cool for a minute to two, then place doughnuts on a cooling rack.

While doughnuts are still warm, dip them in the topping mix. If you let them cool completely before you dip, the cinnamon sugar won't stick to the doughnut.

RECIPE ADAPTED FROM: Redefined Mom

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Wow, these are tasty. Like crazy delicious. I used frozen blueberries and just thawed them for a bit before I started making these, and they turned out fine. I also had to up the amount of time they bake to about 17 minutes (I think I need an oven thermometer!). 

I also only drizzled the lemon glaze on half of them. The glaze was a bit too lemony for me, but for others that tried it, they liked it. So I'm cutting the glaze ingredients by half. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• juice of half a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, adjust the oven racks to the middle position and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula, then stir in the oats and blueberries. Be careful not to break the blueberries while stirring.

Using 2 heaping tablespoons per cookie, roll the dough into balls and place them onto a cookie sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookie edges are just turning golden brown but the middles are still quite pale, about 15-17 minutes (original recipe says 12-14, so check them earlier and cook longer as needed).

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Once cookies are cool, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. Depending on your desired consistency, you can add more or less powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze on top of cookies and let sit until glaze has hardened.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Original Recipe: A Happy Food Dance

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

I found this on Pinterest and had to make it, as I was having a serious peanut butter craving. Let me say, that this is so simple but SO DELICIOUS. I didn't use honey, and I don't think it needs it. It was a little more liquidy than I prefer (I like milkshake consistency), so the next time I made it, I used about a third of the milk. I also ran out of yogurt, and it was just as tasty. So here's my slimmed down version of the original:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of natural creamy peanut butter (you can use more or less to taste)
• 1 very ripe banana, sliced, and frozen (I always keep a bunch of cut up frozen bananas in the freezer)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put ingredients in blender in order given, and blend til smooth. 

Original Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction

Berry Crumb Cake

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I have made this using just blueberries (like the original recipe), as well as mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Both ways are scrumptuous!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 stick Butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries (or a combo of berries)

  FOR THE TOPPING:

• 3/4 sticks Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Pour in batter.

In a separate large bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using a fork or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took 42 minutes).

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Malted Hazelnut & Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just made these this weekend....sooooo good. No need to deviate from the original recipe (though I'm adjusting instructions since I don't have an electric mixer, boo).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup malted milk powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, such as nutella
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, skinned and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended in a medium-sized bowl.

Cream together the butter and both sugars in a large bowl. Add the hazelnut chocolate spread and mix until combined. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until incorporated. 

Add 1/2 the flour mixture and stir then add the other 1/2 and stir until just combined. Don't overmix.

Stir in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts until evenly distributed (a couple stirs). Take tablespoons of dough and drop them onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them out about 2 inches from each other, until the sheets are full.

Bake in the oven for 13 minutes for a softer cookie, and 15 minutes for a crisper cookie. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Kept in an airtight container at room temperature, the cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days.

Original Recipe: Adventures in Cooking

Apple Cobbler

If you love crumb topping, this is the cobbler for you. I only made a slight variation from the original, where I coat the apples in the mix, instead of just sprinkling on top. I also cut the sugar a bit.

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 to 8 large (9 cups) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4-inch
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

CRUMB TOPPING:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in large bowl. Place sliced apples in bowl and toss until the apples are coated with the cinnamon sugar mix. 

Place sliced apples in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. 

Combine crumb topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake 45-55 minutes or until lightly browned and apples are tender.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. YUM. 

Original recipe: Land O' Lakes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Image courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe

This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, no need for any alterations.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (my oven needs all 12 minutes, sometimes 13). Don't overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard. 

If baking frozen cookie dough, add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container (or baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months).

Original Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe