Category: Donuts

Wild Blueberry Donuts

A few years ago homemade baked donuts were all the rage. I definitely think it was due to the availability of donut pans. You no longer needed to roll out dough and cut it to make a donut shape that would then be fried. You could simply pipe batter into a pan and pop it in the oven and within 20 minutes you had delicious homemade donuts. Recipes were popping up everywhere. I definitely jumped on the bandwagon as well. Nowadays I don’t come across as many new recipes and I probably only use my donut pans 2 or 3 times a year. That doesn’t mean I don’t have recipe/flavor ideas swirling around in my head. One of my favorite donuts is a Blueberry Donut from The Doughnut Plant in NYC. This year in honor of National Donut Day I decided to create my own version, Wild Blueberry Donuts.

While using fresh blueberries would have probably given my donuts a nice blue hue I decided to go with dried wild blueberries since their flavor is consistent and they worked so well in my Blueberry Crumb Cookies last year. I didn’t want to have too many donuts, so I decided to make a small batch – only 6. It was the perfect amount. And once they cooled, I added a blueberry glaze that wasn’t too sweet and did give them a nice blue hue!

Happy National Donut Day!

Wild Blueberry Donuts

For the donuts:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup dried wild blueberries

For the glaze:

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 6-cavity donut pan with baking spray and set aside.

Sift together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt & nutmeg – into a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, buttermilk and egg until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until just combined. Fold in the dried blueberries.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag (or a resealable bag) and snip off the end. Pipe the batter into the donut pan about three-quarters full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the glaze: Place the blueberries in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30-45 seconds. Just to get them warm, but you don’t want them exploding. Transfer the blueberries to a fine mesh sieve and then mash them over a medium bowl to get the juices out. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar to the blueberry puree, stirring between each addition. Continue adding the sugar until the glaze is pourable but thick. Drizzle the glaze over the donuts or dip the top of the donuts in the glaze. Let set and then enjoy!

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Baked Peach Crumb Donuts

It’s the first Friday in June which means it’s National Donut Day! It’s been a while since I have shared a donut recipe on here. And to be honest, they are not something I bake all that often. My favorite donut that I have made are the Rainbow Cookie Donuts I posted a little over 4 years ago. I have made those a few times since then. And these Baked Peach Crumb Donuts I am sharing today are a very close second. If you are not a fan of peaches, you can swap out the peaches for blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. The base of the donut would work well with any of those fruits and crumb topping works well with any of those fruits and is always delish!

A few things to note… Whatever fruit you choose to use you don’t want to add it to the batter of your donuts. After making the batter pipe or spoon it into your donut pan and then sprinkle the fruit on top lightly pressing it into the batter.

Once your fruit is placed then sprinkle the top with the crumb topping and once again lightly press it into the batter to make sure it sticks while your donuts are baking and doesn’t end up falling off. 

And finally, once your donuts have cooled dust the top of them with Confectioners’ sugar. The added sweetness of the sugar is just what these donuts need since they aren’t too sweet to begin with. Which is perfect by me.

Baked Peach Crumb Donuts

For the donuts:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk*

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup diced peaches (can use fresh or frozen)

For the crumb topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

*Make your own by combining 1/2 cup whole milk with 3 teaspoons of white vinegar. Stir together and let sit for 15 minutes.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 2 6-welled donut pans with butter, or spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until well combined.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pans until 2/3 fill. You can also transfer the batter to a large piping bag or Ziploc bag and pipe the batter into the pan.

To make the crumb topping whisk together both sugars, cinnamon and flour. Using a fork, pastry cutter or your hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it’s pea sized and looks like coarse sand.

Divide the diced peaches among the donut batter, pressing it lightly into the batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each donut, once again pressing it lightly into the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven 10-11 minutes. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled dust the donuts with confectioners’ sugar.

Recipe from Katie Bird Bakes

Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts

Donuts are one of those treats that are perfect anytime of the day. They are go-to for many as a quick breakfast, but they are just as good as a midday snack or an after-dinner dessert. Now, I am not a coffee drinker at all. The closest I come is a Frappucino from Starbucks, but let’s face it, that’s more sugar than coffee. LOL! I am a tea drinker though, and one of my favorite teas is Chai tea. So, when I saw this recipe for Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts, I knew I had to try it and I wasn’t disappointed.

What is great about this recipe is that it doesn’t require you to use a hand mixer or stand mixer. You mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and the dry in another and then combine the two. Next, you transfer the batter to a piping bag (or resealable bag) and fill your donut pan.

After baking them for about 10 minutes, let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  And once they are cool enough to handle, brush melted butter on both sides and then dredge them in a chai sugar topping.

Final result… A donut that had a nice vanilla flavor with a coating of warm spices that made it extra delicious.

 

Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts

Ingredients:

For the Donuts:

1/2 cup milk*

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

For the Chai Sugar Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Pinch of black pepper

 

*I used whole milk

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a donut pan with baking spray and set aside. *

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, butter, sugar, egg, sour cream and vanilla extract until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.

To make filling the donut pan easy, transfer the batter to either a piping bag or a large Ziplock bag and fill the cavities of the donut pan halfway.

Bake for 9 – 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. To test for doneness, when you poke the donut it should bounce back. Cool the donuts for 2 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. If you don’t have a second donut pan, wipe the pan out and re-spray and fill with the remaining batter.

In a medium bowl combine the ingredients for the sugar coating, except the melted butter. Place the wire rack the donuts are on over a large baking sheet or a piece of wax paper. While the donuts are still warm, but, cool enough to handle, brush both sides with the melted butter and then toss in the chai-spice sugar.

*If you have 2 donut pans, prepare both of them.

Recipe from Mike Bakes NYC

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

It’s the first Friday in June and you know what means… Happy National Donut Day! A little history just in case you didn’t know, this food holiday started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a means to raise money during the Great Depression and to honor the WWI Salvation Army volunteers who helped prepare baked goods, including donuts, and coffee for soldiers. I wonder if this could possibly be the oldest “food holiday”, I tried to do some research but came up empty-handed. In honor of the day I am sharing with you a recipe for Lemon Ricotta Fritters.

I began by making the batter. In a large bowl I whisked together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Next, I added in lemon zest, eggs, whole milk ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continued whisking until the ingredients were well combined.

Meanwhile I heated vegetable oil in my Dutch oven over medium low heat to 350 F. I normally use my cast iron skillet to fry things, but, I already had my Dutch oven out and I like that the higher sides of the pot prevent the oil from splattering. Also, I find that the temperature of the oil remains consistent in the Dutch oven throughout the frying process. It’s important to keep the oil around 350 F, any hotter and you could end up with cooked fritters on the outside with raw dough in the middle. Once the batter was ready I used a cookie scoop to drop small amount of dough into the oil and fried them until they were golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

I then transferred them to a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain off the excess oil. Now, these were delicious on their own, they are incredibly light with just enough hint of lemon…

But, if you want a little extra sweetness, while they are still warm, dust them with confectioners’ sugar. I prefer to sift the sugar over them as opposed to rolling them in the sugar so it’s not too thick or clumpy.

 

If you love the combination of lemon and ricotta, check out these other lemon ricotta recipes:

Lemon Ricotta Bars

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

 

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

  • Servings: About 40 Fritters
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Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying*

2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

5 large eggs

1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese**

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar for coating

 

*Can sub with canola or corn oil

**I used whole milk ricotta cheese

 

Directions:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium low heat to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the fritters as they come out of the oil.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lemon zest, eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continue whisking until the ingredients are well combined.

Using a cookie scoop drop mounds of the batter into the hot oil. Add about 5 to 6 at a time, make sure not to crowd the pot. Fry until the fritters are golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. Check the temperature of the oil periodically. You don’t want the oil to get too hot because then the fritters will cook on the outside but be raw on the inside. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat until the dough is finished.

While the fritters still warm dust with the confectioners’ sugar. You can either roll them in a bowl of the sugar or use a sifter (or a fine mesh sieve) to dust the sugar over the fritters.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.

Recipe slightly modified from Domino Sugar

Disney Park Churros

How have you been spending your extra time at home? I have done my fair share of crafting and of course some baking and cooking. Granted, some of my baking and cooking has been limited to what I have on hand. I am definitely not running to the store to pick up any missing ingredients for recipes I want to try like I used to. Thankfully I always have a few bags of flour and sugar on hand as well as some other baking basics. There have been a few recipes that have made it to the top of my baking to-do lists. Specifically those from companies that are releasing recipes to their signature treats. With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, I decided to make Disney’s Churro Bites that they recently released the recipe to on their blog.

I began by prepping the dough. In a medium saucepan I combined water, butter, salt and cinnamon and brought the mixture to a boil over medium heat. I then reduced the heat to low and added in flour and stirred it until the mixture formed into a ball. Next, I removed the pot from the heat and let it cool for about 7 minutes. Once the dough was cooled I added in three eggs one at a time. It’s important to let the dough cool before adding the eggs so the eggs don’t cook.

After the eggs were well incorporated into the dough I transferred it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip – I used a Wilton 1M Tip.

Finally it was time to fry the churros. I heated oil in a cast iron skillet and once it reached 350 F I began piping the dough into the hot oil and used a knife to cut the dough. Once they were golden brown I removed them from the oil using a slotted spoon and drained them on a baking sheet I lined with paper towels. After letting them drain for a few minutes I then tossed them in a cinnamon sugar mixture.

And while the churros can be enjoyed on their own thanks to their cinnamon sugar coating, they are even better with dipping sauces. I made a quick and easy raspberry sauce (I simply melted raspberry jam with fresh lemon juice) and a milk chocolate sauce to dip them in.

Disney Park Churros

Ingredients:

1 cup water

8 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

1 1/4 cups flour

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

 

Directions:

Prep a large baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon and set aside.

Combine the water, butter, salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat the ingredients over medium heat, bringing the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and add in the flour and stir until the mixture forms a ball. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5-7 minutes.

While the dough is cooling, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until it reaches 350 F.

Add the eggs one at a time to the dough and stir until combined.

Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the dough into 1-inch strips into the hot oil. Cutting the dough with a knife. Repeat this until the churros have filled the pot, but, they still have enough room to fry in the oil. The churros will be done once they are a golden brown. Remove the churros from the hot oil using a slotted spoon and drain on the prepared baking sheet.

While the churros are still warm toss them in the cinnamon sugar.

Enjoy the churros on their own or dipped in your favorite sauce.

Recipe from Disney

 

 

Raspberry Sauce

  • Servings: About 1 cup
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Ingredients:

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine the jam and lemon juice in small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir to combine and continue stirring until the jam has melted and the two ingredients have combined.

 

 

Milk Chocolate Sauce

  • Servings: About 2 Cups
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Ingredients:

3/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cups evaporated milk

Directions:

Place the chocolate chips, butter and cinnamon in small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the chocolate chips and butter has melted. Stir in the sugar.

Slowly add in the evaporated milk and then bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer the chocolate sauce for about 8-10 minutes, constantly stirring. The sauce will thicken as it simmers.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

I remember that the only time I was able to get Apple Cider Donuts was when I would go apple picking in upstate NY. I used to look forward to that 2-hour car trip, not only for the apples, but because I knew on the 2+ – hour (thanks to the inevitable traffic) car ride home I would be enjoying some freshly made warm donuts. Nowadays, it seems like you can get Apple Cider Donuts just about anywhere. Practically every apple orchard and farm I have visited sells them. Thankfully there are two places not terribly far from me that sell them year-round and both are quite delicious. There are some other places that sell them and they are, well, to be kind, I will say not so delicious.

While the Apple Cider Donuts I have had are deep-fried, I have attempted to make my own baked Apple Cider Donuts at home and until recently haven’t been that successful. The recipes I tried usually involved reducing the apple cider and I am not sure if I wasn’t reducing it enough or what, but, they were always a fail. Recently though I came across a recipe that didn’t involve reducing the apple cider and included olive oil that produced a delicious donut that actually stayed fresh & moist for a few days – thanks to said olive oil. I wouldn’t say that these are a perfect substitution to the delicious ones I get upstate, but, they are pretty close.

If you are looking for something bite-sized so you don’t feel as guilty (granted, they are fried though!), check out these Apple Cider Fritters I posted last year.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

  • Servings: 18-21 Donuts
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Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice*

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup apple cider

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar**

2 tablespoons cinnamon**

 

*If you have apple spice, use 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon & 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice and omit the nutmeg & allspice.

**If you have cinnamon sugar you can use that in place of mixing together cinnamon & sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray donut pans with baking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a second large bowl whisk together the sugar, apple cider, olive oil, applesauce, vanilla and eggs. Once well combined, add in the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer the batter to the prepared donut pan, filling each cavity three-quarters full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

Let the donuts cool for a few minutes in the pan and then invert onto a wire rack.

In a small bowl whisk together the sugar & cinnamon. Brush each donut with the melted butter and the sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on to the donut.

Store the donuts in an air tight container.

Recipe from Inspired By Charm

Rainbow Cookie Donuts

Happy National Donut Day! In honor of the day I decided to make Rainbow Cookie Donuts.

If you do a Google search for Rainbow Cookie Donuts you normally see a rainbow cookie – the tri-color cookie separated by raspberry jam and then covered in chocolate – shaped like a donut. A bit much if you ask me. I really wanted to make one similar to the one a coworker brought me from a local donut shop by her – Honey Pig Donuts. Instead of the donut being layered the colors were marbled together.

I knew that my go-to Rainbow Cookie recipe wouldn’t be right for these cookies… It’s not light enough and I would end up with a donut that would be quite dense. I was going to try and tweak the recipe to get the right texture, but, then I came across a Rainbow Cookie Cake recipe that would be perfect, once I halved the recipe.

Once I made the batter I divided it in three and tinted each of them. I normally only tint the green and pink layer when I make the cookies, but, since I was making them in donut form I decided to tint the natural color layer with a bit of yellow so each part of the rainbow donut could stand out. Next, I transferred the batter to piping bags and snipped a small portion of the tip off and then piped the batter into donut pans that I sprayed with baking spray. I filled the cavities about 3/4 full and then baked them in a 350 F preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

After the donuts had cooled I melted a few tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam in a small saucepan over medium-low heat to melt it. Once melted I used a brush to brush the tops of the donuts with the melted jam.

While the jam settled I made the chocolate glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat I combined chopped semisweet chocolate with heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt and stirred the mixture until it melted. Once melted and smooth I removed it from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. I gave it a few more stirs and then dipped the tops of the donuts into the melted chocolate. After dipping them I placed them on a cooling rack that I set on a wax paper lined cookie sheet so the chocolate could set.

And there you have it… Rainbow Cookie Donuts. While I enjoy the cookie version, I really love the lightness of these donut versions. The almond flavor really shines through as opposed to the cookies where the raspberry jam flavor stands out more for me. Truth be told, the donuts are delicious on their own without the melted raspberry and chocolate glaze. I kept the sans raspberry and chocolate glaze version in an airtight container at room temperature for three days and they still tasted delicious and I kept the raspberry chocolate glaze versions in the fridge for a day or two longer and they still tasted good – I let them come to room temperature before enjoying.

Rainbow Cookie Donuts

Ingredients:

Donuts:

1 1/2 (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

7 oz. almond paste, grated

1/2 tablespoon almond extract

1/2 cup while milk

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

red, green & yellow food coloring

Raspberry Glaze:

4-5 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Directions:

Spray two donut pans with baking spray and preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and continue beating for a few more minutes until combined. Add in the grated almond paste, almond extract and milk and beat well until combined, making sure the almond paste is completely incorporated.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour and baking powder and gradually add it to the butter batter while mixing on low. Continue mixing until the two mixtures are well combined.

Divide the batter among three bowl and tint it with the food coloring. Transfer the batter to three piping bags and snip the ends off. You could also use Ziploc bags and snip one of the corners off. Pipe the batter into the cavities of the donut pan haphazardly to create a marbled effect. Fill the cavities about 3/4 full. Tap the pans down before placing the oven to even the batter down. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

Let the donuts cool in the pans for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Rinse and spray the pans again before piping in the next batch of batter.

Once the donuts have cooled, melt the raspberry in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, do not let it boil. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the donuts with the raspberry jam.

As the jam settles make the glaze by heating the chocolate, cream, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Give the mixture a few good stirs. Place a cooling rack on a wax-lined cookie sheet and then dip the tops of the donuts into the melted chocolate and place on the cooling rack so the chocolate can cool and set.

Recipe for Donuts adapted from Always Order Dessert

Apple Cider Fritters

I love Apple Cider Donuts! I first had them years ago when I went apple picking in upstate NY and now you can find them anywhere and everywhere. The best one’s I’ve had are from Wilklow Orchards in upstate NY and from Wooside Orchards out on the North Fork- their hard cider is good as well. I’ve also had some bad ones, but, we won’t get into that.  I did try to recreate them at home last year, but, it was a fail. I tried again this year, but, instead of donuts I made fritters and they were DELISH! The only problem… It’s easier to mindlessly eat a ridiculous amount of fritters than it is donuts.

Apple Cider Fritters

  • Servings: 24 Fritters
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Ingredients:

Fritters:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg*

1/8 teaspoon cardamom*

1/8 teaspoon all spice*

3/4 cup apple cider

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled**

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon

*Instead of all 4 spices, you could sub 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon apple pie spice for them

**Can use salted or unsalted, I used unsalted

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and all spice in a large bowl. In another bowl stir together the apple cider, eggs, butter and vanilla. Add the apple cider mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow bowl.

Pour the oil in a Dutch oven or another heavy bottom deep pot and heat over medium heat to 360 to 370 F. Using a cookie scoop, drop the batter in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

While still warm roll the fritters in the cinnamon sugar and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from My Recipes

Pumpkin Churros

Initially I was planning on making a Pumpkin Spice Latte with some leftover pumpkin puree, but, then I came across a recipe for Baked Pumpkin Churros and I decided that my puree would be put to better use making them.

The batter came together quickly – less than fifteen minutes – and it was easy to pipe it on a parchment lined baking sheet to pop in the oven. While I didn’t try it, I am sure you could fry these if you want a more traditional churro, the downfall of that of course is that frying them means they won’t keep as well as baking them.

Once baked I sprayed them with cooking spray and rolled them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture to give them the traditional churros coating.

And finally I made hot fudge for dipping… YUM!

Baked Pumpkin Churros

Ingredients:

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

6 tablespoons butter, sliced into 1 tablespoon pieces

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Cooking spray, to spray baked churros

Hot fudge sauce, for serving (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lay 2 same-sized baking sheets on top of one another and line the top sheet with parchment paper. Using 2 baking sheets will prevent the bottom of the churros from burning.

In a medium saucepan combine the water, pumpkin, butter, brown sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the mixture boils.

Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla extract and flour and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together and forms a smooth dough.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and let it rest for 2 minutes.

On low speed add in one egg and mix until well combined, increasing the speed if necessary. Repeat with the second egg.

Transfer the dough to a large piping bag with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 6B tip).

Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. I ended up piping churros that were about 4 to 5 inches in length. You could pipe them smaller or larger.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 35 minutes. The length of time will depend on the tip used and the length of your churros.

In a shallow dish combine the sugar and remaining cinnamon.

Once out of the oven, spray the churros with the cooking spray (top and bottom) and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Transfer to a wire rack. Eat them alone or with hot fudge sauce.

Recipe from Cooking Classy

 

Hot Fudge Sauce*

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 stick unsalted butter**, cut into pieces

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder.

Whisk in the cream, then turn the heat to medium and continue whisking as the mixture warms up.

Once the mixture is warm add the butter and stir to melt.

Once hot, add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a heat-proof container.

Store in the refrigerator. It will become solid as it cools. When using, just spoon out your desired amount and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds, stir and then heat for an additional 10 seconds or until your desired temperature.

*This recipe can easily be halved

**The original recipe called for salted butter

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Brioche Donuts with Mango Cream Filling

I’ve been on a bit of a donut kick. It started about 2 months ago when I heard about a new donut shop not far from me… East Main & Main. They make gourmet donuts with flavors like key lime, lemon blueberry, pumpkin and red velvet just to name a few. And then I read about another donut shop, also not far from me, Dough Me A Flavor. Let’s just say I wasn’t impressed with their donuts. The ones I got all tasted the same sans the topping and when I walked in I wasn’t hit with that lovely sweet bakery smell. So, next time I’m in the mood for a not-so-typical donut flavor I’ll be heading back to East Main & Main. Or, I can just fry up another batch of these Brioche Donuts.

Now, I have made donuts before, but, they were baked and not filled. And didn’t involve me using yeast. I’m always apprehensive when I have to work with yeast. Usually my dough doesn’t rise, or it somehow doesn’t rise enough. Thankfully this time all worked well. I made dough and let it rest for about 2 hours…

And it did rise about 2x its size. It was a little sticky so I refrigerated it for about 15 minutes so that it was manageable.

Next, I formed the dough into 9 balls and placed it on a parchment lined baking sheet.

I covered it with plastic wrap and after an hour the dough had almost doubled.

While I waited for the dough to rise again I started on the mango filling. I peeled and sliced a mango and pureed the pulp in a blender until smooth. In a chilled bowl I beat heavy cream with chilled beaters until soft peaks formed. I then folded in the mango puree and then refrigerated the cream until I was ready to fill my donuts so that the cream could firm up since adding the puree will thin it out. If you’re not a fan of mangoes, use this method to make the cream filling with your favorite fruit, or you could fill the donuts with your favorite flavor of jelly

Once the dough was ready, I fried them and then let them cool on paper towels.

And once they were cooled I used the end of a fork to poke a hole in the side of the donuts and then filled them with the mango cream using Wilton Tip 230.

And finally, I sprinkled them with confectioners’ sugar.

These were delicious! And were still good a day or two later after being stored in the refrigerator.

 

Brioche Donuts with Mango Cream Filling

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water, plus 1 tablespoon

1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) superfine (caster) sugar

1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon rum

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, cubed and at room temperature

1 ripe mango

1 cup cold whipping cream

Vegetable oil, for frying

Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Heat the water in a bowl until it’s warm, but not hot enough that you wouldn’t be able to test it with your finger comfortably. Stir in the sugar and yeast until both are dissolved. Cover and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast mixture, egg, rum and vanilla. Mix together and then add in the flour and salt. Knead on low speed until a shaggy dough begins to form.

Add the butter, one cube at a time and mix on medium speed. Waiting to add the next cube until the previous one has been incorporated into the dough.

Knead for 6 to 8 minutes in the mixer until the dough is smooth and glossy – if doing this by hand it will take about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for an hour or two until it has doubled in size.

Form the dough into 9 small rounds, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to double in size, about an hour more. If you find that the dough is too sticky to form the rounds place the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

While the dough is resting make the filling. Peel and slice the mango and puree the pulp in a blender until smooth. Using a chilled bowl and beaters (place both in the freezer for about 20 minutes before making the cream) whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the mango puree into the heavy cream until completely incorporated. Place in the fridge until ready to use so that the cream can firm up.

When the dough is ready, fill a pot about 2/3 of the way with the oil and heat on medium low heat. When the oil is ready lift the balls and slide them in the oil and cook for two to three minutes on each side, until golden-brown. Drain on paper towels.

Once the donuts are cool use the end of a fork to poke a hole in the sides of the donuts and then fill them with the heavy cream using a piping bag or bottle.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve. Store remaining donuts in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe from The Desserted Girl

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