breakfast

Mmm…Doughnuts

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Once it is baked, dough of any kind results in a happy dance inside my mouth.  I can’t help it.  Breads, pastries, you know the drill.  Baked goods are just that.  Good. 

Of course, there are varying degrees of good. 

  • Amazingly good. 
  • Melt-in-your-mouth good. 
  • Are you kidding me with these?  These are damn good. 
  • I-think-I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven good.  (This last one results in symptoms of not knowing where you are, not knowing what you are doing, trouble remembering your name, and difficulty forming coherent sentences.)

Speaking of good…well, today I surprised even myself.  I made doughnuts.  I made this. 

Do you want to know the greatest part?  I did not fry them.  I baked them.  This is thrilling because it allows me to convince myself that these are actually healthy due to the baked, not fried, method.  Doughnuts that are actually good for you.  Who knew?  Okay, I know it’s still technically a doughnut but it is also technically healthier.

I bought this baking pan which allowed me to make these sweet little doughnuts on this St. Patty’s day morn.  I had good intentions of trying to make these doughnuts leprechaun friendly.  I thought I would decorate with white frosting and green sugar sprinkles.  However, I also found this recipe for glaze.  Chocolate of course.  Because the kids saw the doughnuts pictured on the Nordic Ware packaging and set their hearts on the version with chocolate icing.  They are my children through and through.  At least for today, when they are well-behaved and eating donuts with chocolate glaze and sprinkles. 

Lucky for them, I was in a good mood this morning.  It was “ask and you shall receive” at the Anderson household.  There is some serious perfection in this beautiful glaze.

Mmm…I have determined that the rainbow sprinkles signify our nod to the little green men.

For the last batch, I added cocoa powder to the dough for chocolate doughnuts with chocolate glaze.  Because I am a firm believer that one simply cannot get enough chocolate in their lifetime.  Here are the chocolate babes.

You can count on me to share more doughnut baking recipes as I discover them.  I also think I might need to purchase an additional pan so I can do twelve at a time instead of the dubious six.  Here is the Baked Buttermilk Donuts recipe straight from Nordic Ware.

One Year Ago

Happy Doughnut Baking & Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Love,

The Doughnut Leprechaun

Almond Cranberry Scones

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I have a strong affinity for Almond Extract. If I had to choose an extract to live out my existence as, it would be almond. I am considering bathing in it or possibly putting some in a vial that I can wear around my neck so I can smell it whenever I like. So, it goes without saying that I also have a strong affinity for anything containing Almond Extract. This comes from being blessed with Kringler each Christmas morn, made by mother and also blessed with the wonderful and beyond compare Almond Extract. Apparently, I love Almond Extract so much that I am willing to give my favorite flavor its very own photo shoot. You see, it has even been awarded Royalty, Cupid Arrow and Blue Ribbon accolades as indicated by photo above.

I printed off this recipe last September for Almond Cranberry Scones. I know this because the date is listed at the bottom of the paper. I just had to wait patiently for my heavy cream and cranberry stars to align. You see, I don’t always have heavy cream in the house. My waistline considers this a very good thing. The few times I found myself with heavy cream…alas, no dried cranberries.

The other day, I realized the two elusive ingredients had snuck into my kitchen and caught me unaware. In addition to discovering cream and cranberries together at last, I found I also had the rare ingredient of time. So, I decided to make these scones and I am so glad I did. The kids and hubby both really loved them and thankfully, since I was heading out-of-town, I was able to divulge in just one of these sweet treats.

That will be my new plan. Make treats. Leave town.

Oh. And purchase more Almond Extract.

If you get the chance to make these, I encourage you to bless yourself with the Almond Extract joy that I have found.

Almond Cranberry Scones

Ingredients

  • FOR THE SCONES:
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • ½ cups Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Small Cubes And Kept Cold
  • 2 whole Large Eggs
  • ½ cups Heavy Cream
  • 1-½ teaspoon Almond Extract
  • ½ cups Dried Cranberries
  • FOR THE GLAZE:
  • ¼ cups Powdered Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Milk
  • ½ teaspoons Almond Extract
  • ¼ cups Slivered Or Crushed Almonds (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add butter and combine with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles sand. Add eggs, heavy cream and almond extract and stir until well combined. Add in dried cranberries and stir.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out until the dough is 1/2 inch thick. Shape the dough into a circle and cut in a similar fashion to a pizza, creating 8 wedge-shaped scones. You could cut them smaller if you wish or use a cookie cutter to cut specific shapes.

Transfer the scones to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 16-17 minutes. The tops will be slightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and the remaining almond extract for the glaze. Glaze the cooled scones and top with almonds, if desired.

Recipe Courtesy of Tasty Kitchen by BakeYourDay

Banana Bread

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Our family is a bit into bananas. My husband enjoys eating the heck out of them. My children enjoy them now and again. I, myself, do not enjoy eating them. I find the texture a bit off putting. Due to the husband factor, finding two overly ripe bananas in my kitchen is truly a rare encounter. But it happened just last week. You may be thinking ‘if she doesn’t like bananas, why would she be interested in brown bananas?’. Well, dear friends, this means I get to bake. I don’t always bake. Only when the mood strikes and the conditions are right. In this case, the two ripe bananas and the autumn weather got the best of me.

Here she is in all her golden glory. Isn’t she gorgeous? I think one of her best assets is the smell she evokes while baking in the oven. My whole house smelled amazing. Banana bread in the oven and a gorgeous fall day. Just what nature intended.

I am pretty sure we all have recipes for the ever-delightful banana bread but this one is worth a try, if you are willing to deviate from your usual recipe. I skip the nuts because to be honest, my kids are not nutty about nuts. (That was a test to see how maybe times I could make reference to nuts in one sentence.) If I am feeling particularly naughty, I replace the aforementioned nuts with chocolate chips. I must have been feeling nice because I just baked a straight up plain version with no additions whatsoever.

Here is the Banana Bread recipe.

Bake for the love of bananas, the love of bread, or the love of amazing baking smells. Or all three. 😉