Chocolate Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Doughnuts are so wonderfully diverse.  They can be made into any flavor imaginable.  They can be light and yeasty or moist and cakey, baked or fried - frosted, glazed, or sugar coated.  They can be filled with cream, fruit, caramel, or chocolate.  Doughnuts are little canvasses just waiting to be painted.
This is always my first thought about doughnuts - the excitement, the possibilities!  Then, I remember the chilling, the rolling, the cutting, and the doughnut pans.  And then I think about making something else instead.
But wait!  That's the beauty of doughnut holes!  No fuss, little muss.  You simply mix up the batter, scoop it up, and pop it straight into the fryer.  Easy!  Have your doughnuts and enjoy them, too.
This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit on Epicurious.  Of course, you can chill to batter/dough for few hours, roll it, and cut traditional doughnut shapes.  Holes taste just just as good, though, and require a lot less time and effort.  And really, the holes almost look like little pumpkins - perfect!

Chocolate Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

Canola Oil (for frying)

Sugar Coating -

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Doughnuts -

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder, measured then sifted

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp butter, softened

2 egg yolks

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp buttermilk

1 cup canned pumpkin

Directions:

1.  Line two baking sheets with paper towels.  Get ready a skimmer or slotted spoon.  Set aside.

2.  Heat the oil in a fryer or large Dutch oven (oil must be 2" deep).  The oil will need to come to between 365° and 370°.  The temperature is very important to ensure proper texture and flavor. Allow the oil to begin heating while you prepare the batter/dough.

3.  For the Sugar Coating: in a pie or 8" X 8" baking dish, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.  Set aside.

4.  For the Doughnuts: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda.

5.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter.  Beat until blended (it will not be creamy).  Add the yolks, the egg, and the vanilla.  Beat until blended.

6.  With the mixer on low, slowly mix in the buttermilk.  Gradually mix in the pumpkin.  Beat until well blended.

7.  With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three batches.  Mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.  Do not over-mix.

8.  When the oil is 365°-370°, drop tablespoonfuls of the batter/dough into the oil.  Work in small batches (about 6 at a time works well) so as to not overcrowd the pan.  Keep the balls moving to ensure even cooking (I use the handle of a wooden spoon).

9.  When the doughnuts are deep golden brown, remove them from the oil with the skimmer/slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.  Right away, while they're still hot, transfer the doughnuts to the sugar coating dish.  Evenly coat each doughnut and then transfer them to the second prepared baking sheet.

10.  Repeat with the remaining batter/dough.  Serve!

Cranberry Orange Upside Down Cake

Well, Autumn is here!  There are a few ingredients that I reserve for Fall and Winter and fresh/frozen Cranberries fall into that category.  And boy have I been looking forward to them!  Their great flavor and wonderful tartness are absolutely perfect in sauces and baked goods.  
Here is a lovely recipe with the classic combo of orange, cranberry, and a hint of cinnamon.  It is adapted from Cooking Light on My Recipes.  
Welcome Fall!!

Cranberry Orange Upside Down Cake

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Topping -

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp butter

10 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen, thawed), each berry cut in half

Cake -

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a 9" round pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper.  Grease the parchment paper.

2.  For the Topping: melt the 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tbsp butter together in a small saucepan until liquified.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Tilt the pan to coat the bottom evenly.  Sprinkle the berries evenly over the sugar mixture.  Set aside.

3.  For the Cake: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, orange zest, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

4.  In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and extract.  Set aside.

5.  Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat until light and fluffy.

6.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

7.  With the mixer on low, mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.  Blend just until incorporated - do not overmix.

8.  Give the mixture a couple of stirs with a large rubber spatula.  Spread the batter evenly over the cranberries.

9.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a couple of crumbs attached.

10.  Transfer the pan to a rack.  Let the cake rest for five minutes.

11.  Run a thin spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake.  Place a large plate over the pan.  Holding the edges firmly with potholders, invert the cake onto the plate.  Serve warm or cool.

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

When I was little, one of my favorite books was called The Muffin Muncher.  It was about a dragon that the villagers appeased by giving loads of fresh-baked muffins.  That's my kind of dragon!  I good muffin is a wonderful thing.  This one is a great balance of tart berries and sweet white chocolate, all with a tasty almond flavored background.  I think the Muffin Muncher would approve.  Mmm mmm!

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 cups flour + 1 tbsp

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled

1 1/2 cups whole cranberries

1/2 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375°.  Line two pans with muffin cups.  Spray the cups lightly with oil.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour along with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, and almond extract.  Whisk in the melted butter until smooth.

4.  In a small bowl, toss the berries with the remaining 2 tbsp of flour to coat.

5.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.  Fold in the floured berries and white chocolate.

6. Divide the batter evenly into the 24 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each).

7.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a couple of crumbs attached.

8.  Remove the pans form the oven.  Let the muffins cool in the pan for 2 minutes.  Transfer the muffins to racks to cool.

Chocolate Streusel Muffins

Rich, chocolatey goodness.  A perfect start to any day!
For my daughter's birthday weekend, I needed to plan some breakfasts that she'd really enjoy.  We had to get an early start on one of those mornings, so I wanted to make muffins (since they can be done the night before).  For reasons completely unknown to me, my daughter does not like fruit.  Chocolate, however, is definitely something she can get on board with.  A picture leapt to mind - a big chocolate muffin, moist, tender, topped with crumbly delicious streusel.  Mmmm!  A little girl's dream breakfast come true.
The problem was, I didn't have a recipe for chocolate muffins.  Upon scouring the internet, what I found were mostly repurposed cupcakes.  And no streusel.  Time for some digging.
What I ended up with were adaptations of a muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour and a glorious streusel from Rick Bayless (posted on girlichef.com).
Chocolate perfection!

Chocolate Streusel Muffins

Muffin adapted from King Arthur Flour

Streusel adapted from Rick Bayless

Ingredients:

Streusel -

4.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp egg yolk (beat the yolk, then measure)

3 1/2 tbsp butter, softened and cut into 1" pieces

Muffins -

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder, measured and then sifted

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 tsp instant coffee

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp white vinegar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Directions:

1.  For the Streusel: place the chocolate in the small bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until ground to coarse crumbs.  Add the flour and cinnamon and pulse to combine.  Add the yolk and butter.  Process until the mixture comes together and begins to form clumps.

2.  Pour the mixture into a small bowl.  Mix briefly with your fingers to form large clumps.  Cover and chill until ready to use.

3.  For the Muffins: line cupcake pans with 18 muffin papers.  Preheat the oven to 400°.

4.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (make sure to break up any sugar lumps).  Set aside.

5.  In a large measuring cup, stir the milk and coffee crystals together.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and vinegar.  Whisk until thoroughly blended.

6.  Whisk the melted butter into the milk mixture.

7.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry along with the chocolate chips.  Stir until the dry ingredients are just incorporated - do not overmix.

8.  Fill the muffin papers halfway up with batter.  Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the tops (about 1 rounded tbsp per muffin).

9.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (you may need to test more than once as sticking a chocolate chips with skew the results).

10.  Let the muffins cool for about two minutes.  Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.  Serve!

Caribbean Beignets

Beignets - little fried balls of goodness.  Like doughnuts and fritters, these little guys are great anytime; breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert - anything goes!
This recipe is adapted from one I found on Food Network.  The flavor is banana, but with a Caribbean twist of lime and rum.  Yummy!

Caribbean Beignets

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

Canola/Vegetable oil for frying

Cinnamon Sugar -

1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Batter -

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lime zest

1/3 cup milk

2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 fruit)

1 large egg

2 tbsp canola/vegetable oil

2 tbsp dark rum

1/4 tsp banana extract (optional)

Directions:

1.  Lay out paper towels for draining the beignets.  Begin heating about two inches of oil in a large saucepan.

2.  For the Cinnamon Sugar: stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3.  For the Batter: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest.  Set aside.

4.  In a measuring large measuring cup, stir together the milk and lime juice (this will cause the milk to thicken).  Set aside.

5.  In a medium bowl, stir together the banana, egg, oil, rum, and extract.  Stir in the milk mixture until thoroughly combined.

6.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

7.  Wait for the oil to reach 375°.  Work in batches.  Scoop teaspoonfuls of the batter in the hot oil.  Move the beignets around so that they cook evenly.  When they are a deep golden brown, transfer them to the paper towels to drain.  Place the still-hot beignets in the bowl of cinnamon sugar.  Turn to coat.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

8.  Serve!

White Chocolate Lemon Muffins

Lemon and white chocolate?  For breakfast?  All wrapped up in a tender oat muffin?  Yep - that's right.  This is a great little recipe that requires a little preplanning (you must prepare the oats an hour before you begin), but is actually quite easy and versatile.

Hold on - let me backtrack a little...

I happened first upon a rhubarb muffin recipe that sounded good, but wasn't.  It ended up being a fairly upsetting experience because I excitedly used my very own homegrown rhubarb (nearly clear-cutting my plants to get enough).  As the muffins cooked, I imagined the deliciousness that was sure to come (I love rhubarb).  Unfortunately, the muffins were a dismal failure.  The sugar was virtually undetectable - they were downright sour.  The cooking time was all wrong.  When the muffins finally did cook through, they turned out heavy (probably too much rhubarb).  Crestfallen, I dumped the poor things into the trash.

You've got to get back on the horse, though.  So, I kept searching and found an oat muffin that looked just great (from Simple Bites).  With no more rhubarb to use, and a desire to stay away from the same-ole blueberries, I decided to make lemon muffins.  And I love white chocolate with lemon, so it was an obvious choice.  I topped them with a yummy streusel and that was that.  

Now back to the present...

These muffins came out great.  I tweaked the recipe just a bit and made my made my additions.  In the future, I definitely plan to try these with different add-ins like berries, or dried fruit, or chocolate, or - yes - rhubarb.  I think its gonna be hard to beat the lemon, though...

So, make some today for breakfast tomorrow.  You won't be sorry!

White Chocolate Lemon Streusel Muffins

Adapted from Simple Bites

Ingredients

Streusel -

1/2 cup flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, melted but cool

Muffins - 

1 cup whole milk

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted but cool

1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1.  For the streusel: In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, and salt.  Use a fork and/or your fingers to mix in the butter until thoroughly incorporated.  Cover and chill until ready to use.

2.  For the muffins: in a medium bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the milk and lemon juice.  This will make "soured milk" (milk will thicken and may clump).  Stir in the oats.  Cover and let sit at room temperature for one hour.

3.  Preheat the oven to 375°.

4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

5.  Stir the lemon zest and brown sugar into the oat mixture.  Stir in the egg.  Stir in the butter and lemon extract.

6.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Stir gently until just incorporated.  Stir in the white chocolate.

7.  Scoop the batter into a paper-lined muffin pan.  This recipe makes 12 muffins.  The cups will be full - these muffins don't rise much.

8.  Remove the streusel from the refrigerator.  Break the pieces into small clumps.  Top each muffin cup with about 1 heaping tbsp of streusel.

9.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached.

10.  Allow the muffins to rest in the pan for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

Pancupcakes

I've never fettered myself to the idea that cake is just for dessert. And, when a recipe like this comes along, who could argue? These scrumptious little morsels would be right at home on your breakfast table. Not even my anti-cake husband can complain (and really, it means he's getting bacon).

In this recipe, the cake (which really does taste like pancake) is topped with a lip smacking maple glaze and, ever popular, bacon. It is a combination of flavors that has been savored and favored for maybe hundreds of years. This recipe was destined for greatness right from the beginning!

I found this recipe, credited to How to Cook Everything, at Brown Eyed Baker. I made the cake as directed. She pairs the cake with a maple buttercream (which sounds delicious), but I opted to make these with a maple glaze instead (I wanted a little more maple flavor and something reminiscent of one of my breakfast faves, maple bars). Also, I doubled the bacon. 

Pancupcakes

Adapted from How to Cook Everything/Brown Eyed Baker

Glaze: original recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter, melted & cooled

Glaze:

1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

5 tbsp real maple syrup

1 tbsp cream

½ tsp Mapleine

6 slices of bacon, chopped, cooked until crisp, drained, and cooled

  

Directions:

1.         Preheat the oven to 400°.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners and spray the paper with non-stick spray (otherwise the cake will stick).

2.         In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3.         In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.  Whisk in the melted butter.

4.         Add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Whisk until just moistened and combined.  Batter may be a little lumpy (just like pancakes).

5.         Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and firm to the touch, about 10 minutes.

6.         Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer the cakes to a rack to cool completely.

7.         For the glaze: in a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, 2 tbsp of the maple syrup, the cream, and the Mapleine.  Beat until smooth.  Beat in as much or as little of the remaining 3 tbsp of maple syrup as you’d like (it was vary the thickness of the glaze).

8.         Spoon the glaze onto the cooled cakes.  Top with bacon pieces (before the glaze sets).  Serve!