Donuts – Page 2 – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Happy National Doughnut Day!

It’s the first Friday of June, also known as National Doughnut Day! It began back in 1938 when The Salvation Army wanted to recognize the men and women who served doughnuts to soldiers in World War I. For a little more history on the day check out the following link. So, if you are in the mood for a free doughnut today head on over to your local Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kreme, as for me, I decided to bake up a batch. While I did enjoy the Pumpkin Doughnuts and Cinnamon Sugar Apple Doughnuts I baked up last year soon after I got my doughnut pan I decided that today I would bake my favorite doughnut… A Chocolate Frosted Doughnut. A basic one, but always a good one! I found a great recipe on the daily web magazine The Kitchn that could easily be halved (6 vs. 12), which was the exact amount I was looking to make.

I began by mixing active dry yeast with warm water and setting it aside. While the directions didn’t state it, I also added a little sugar as well, per the directions on the yeast packaging. I made the mistake of not adding sugar the first time I worked with yeast – for cinnamon rolls – and needless to say they didn’t come out as well as I was hoping they would.

Next I sifted together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt and set that aside as well.

And then I whisked together an egg, vanilla yogurt (I used Greek yogurt), melted butter, vanilla paste (I actually had this in my spice collection after picking up a bottle of it from my local Home Goods. Pure Vanilla Extract is good, but the paste is excellent!), and the yeast mixture.

Once that was well combined I whisked in the sifted flour mixture.

Now it was time to pipe the batter into my greased doughnut pan.

Following that I baked the doughnuts in a preheated 350 F oven for about 15 minutes. After letting them cool in the pan for 5 minutes I transferred them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Once they were completely cooled I made the chocolate glaze and got the sprinkles ready.

I then dipped the doughnuts in the glaze and sprinkled them with rainbow sprinkles.

Baked Doughnuts

Makes 12 Doughnuts (I halved the recipe and it more than enough for 6 doughnuts)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

1 cup vanilla yogurt, whole or low fat

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the doughnuts, preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two (6-count) doughnut pans with a flour-based baking spray, such as Baker’s Joy. Arrange a wire cooling rack over a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, melted butter, vanilla paste, and yeast mixture until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer the batter to a disposable piping bag (or zip top bag, snipping off one corner for piping) and pipe into the prepared pan, filling each well a little over half full.

Bake the doughnuts until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the doughnuts in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the doughnuts from the pan to the wire rack.

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tablespoon butter, melted

3 to 4 teaspoons milk

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a whisk until smooth.

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Doughnuts

There are a few great things about going apple picking… The scenery, the apples (of course) and the freshly made apple cider doughnuts. The doughnuts are amazing but unfortunately they don’t stay fresh very long. By the following day they are quite hard. Hoping to get that yummy goodness at home I decided to bake my own Apple Doughnuts by tweaking the recipe for the Pumpkin Doughnuts that I made last month that.

The scenery…

To begin I whisked together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda and set it aside.

I then peeled and cored three apples – I used the Golden Delicious apples I got while picking – and pureed them in a food processor. While the original pumpkin recipe called for 1 cup of pumpkin puree I decided to use only 1/2 cup of the fresh apple puree (it was essentially applesauce) since it wasn’t as thick as the pumpkin puree and I didn’t want my batter to be too watery.

To continue with the batter I mixed the apples with sugar, brown sugar, oil, an egg and vanilla extract and then added in the dry ingredients.

It was then time to fill up my doughnut pans. I filled in each doughnut crevice with a 1/4 cup of the batter.

I baked them for about thirteen minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven and they were done to perfection. I recently bought a second doughnut pan so I wouldn’t have to wait for my first batch of doughnuts to cool in the pan before using it again.

And finally I melted 3 tbsp. of butter in one bowl and combined 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon in another bowl so I could coat the doughnuts in cinnamon sugar. I dipped each doughnut in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar.

Final verdict… They were delicious! Doughnuts have quickly become one of my favorite things to bake!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Doughnuts

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. fine salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup fresh applesauce

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

3 tbsp. melted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spray two 6-compartment doughnut pans with baking spray. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Peel, core & puree three apples. Whisk the pureed apples with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not over mix).

3. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each compartment of the prepared pans. Bake until the doughnuts are golden brown and spring back lightly when touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

4. Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a shallow bowl. Dip each doughnut into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place each doughnut on a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Doughtnuts

I recently purchased a Wilton Doughnut Pan and had every intention of making cinnamon doughnuts to try it out but then some other recipes got in the way of that and I kept putting the doughnuts on the back-burner. But then last week I made Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce (which was super simple and quite delicious) and I had leftover canned pumpkin and it was only a day or two before that I had come across a recipe for Pumpkin Doughnuts in the recent issue (October 2013) of Real Simple magazine… It was pretty much kismet. I scratched the cinnamon doughnuts and opted for the pumpkin doughnuts instead.

The pan and the leftover canned pumpkin…

To begin I whisked all of my dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves. (The recipe actually called for pumpkin pie spice which I didn’t have on hand, hence me using cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves.)

In another bowl I whisked together pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract.

Next up I mixed the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.

Then it was time to scoop it into my prepared doughnut pan.

Per the directions I scooped a 1/4 of a cup of the batter into each doughnut crevice.

I then baked them in a 350 degree preheated oven for 13 minutes.

After letting them cool in the pan for 15 minutes I prepped my second batch of doughnuts to be baked. I ran a little short on batter so as you can see one of the crevices was barely filled.

That small doughnut ended up being my tester and I was quite pleased with how they came out. I let the remaining 11 doughnuts cool properly before trying another one.

The doughnuts were a hit among my friends and I already received requests to make them again!

Pumpkin Doughnuts*

Makes 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil two 6-compartment doughnut pans* (or use 1 pan and bake in batches). Whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not overmix).

3. Spoon ¼ cup batter into each compartment of the prepared pans. Bake until the doughnuts are golden brown and spring back lightly when touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*The original recipe included a Sour Cream Icing which I opted not to put on the doughnuts.

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