French Cruller Doughnuts

Koko sprained her hand a couple of days ago, and won't be able to post for awhile.  The incident involved pvc pipe, marshmallows, and a very steep hill, but I won't bore you with details.  Needless to say, baking and typing are a little slow-going when you can only use one hand (and it happens to be the non-dominant one).  I will be covering the next couple entries to give Koko's  hand time to recuperate.  Thankfully, Nutmeg is back in town and ready to bake!

Koko's dad had a rough night last night at work, so we decided to try out a new recipe on him this morning: French Cruller Doughnuts.  Have you ever seen a doughnut that looked like a tractor tire?  That's what these babies are.  They're baked and not fried, which makes them unique.  They also use lots of eggs, making them custardy inside.

The Dunkin' Doughnuts version - a little tough and empty

The recipe comes from a book called A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman.  It is a beautiful book, and the recipes are over-the-top.  While we wanted to experiment, we didn't need more than a dozen doughnuts calling out to us from the countertop.  Halving the recipe was still more than enough!

We were a little skeptical at first, because they didn't bake up the way we expected.  This was a new method of baking for both of us, but it was worth the learning experience.  Don't be discouraged!  The dough is similar to creme puff pastry.  You have to glaze them and let them sit for awhile - that's when these delightful doughnuts really shine!

French Cruller Doughnuts (a half recipe)

Choux Paste Doughnut Base

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Creamy Vanilla Glaze

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp, vanilla extract

2 Tbs. hot water

Preheat oven to 400*F.  Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper.  Have another baking sheet with parchment nearby.

In a medium saucepan, stir milk, water, sugar, and salt together over medium heat.  Stir in butter and allow to melt.  Increase heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil.  Stir in flour all at once with a wooden spoon.  Blend well , adding vanilla and beating briskly until mixture forms a ball that leaves the side of the pan.  Beat vigorously 1-2 minutes before removing from burner and turning out into a mixing bowl.  Allow mixture to cool 5-7 minutes.  This is your Choux Paste.

Photo courtesy of Pastry & Sports

Using a wide whisk (or the whisk attachment on your kitchen aid mixer, on the slowest mix setting), add eggs, one at a time, until mixture is smooth and glossy.  Spoon paste into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star tip.  (You need to use the big tip to make this as full as it should be.  We used the small one, and they didn't turn out full enough and made twice as many as it should have).  On prepared baking sheets, leaving some paste between each pastry, make a 4-inch circle of batter with another circle on top.  If you don't have a pastry bag, put batter in a gallon ziploc and cut a 1/2 inch corner or so off of the bag.  Squeeze out in double circles as described.

Bake pastry 15 minutes; then reduce temperature to 375*F and bake another 15-20 minutes or until doughnuts are light in texture and medium brown all over.  Cool slightly.

While pastry is in the oven, make the Creamy Vanilla Glaze.  Whisk all ingredients together in  a medium bowl to a thick glaze consistency.  Dip each warm doughnut once, let excess drip back into bowl, let set, and then glaze again.  (We dipped a few and then spread the rest).  Let doughnuts set on wire rack.  (Give it at least a good half hour - they just get better with a little time!) 

Enjoy!

Smoked Sausage "Fajitas"

Hello, everyone! I hope you all are doing well, and enjoying this beautiful spring weather we are having! I want to thank Koko SO MUCH for posting for me while I was out of town! It was very kind of her. **applause, please**

This week's recipe is smoked sausage fajitas. I made these for dinner last night, and they were a hit! I served it with cornbread (recipe here) as well. I didn't put real fajita seasoning in them, just turmeric, garlic and salt, so they didn't taste authentic, but they were delicious anyways. The thing about cooking is that I don't measure anything, so the seasonings will not have an exact measurement. I just sprinkled them evenly over the top of the meat.  I hope you try these and enjoy them! 

                      Smoked Sausage "Fajitas"

                1 package (14 links) smoked sausage
                1 medium onion
                2 large bell peppers (I used green, but you could probably use any color)
                ground turmeric
                garlic
                salt

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Meanwhile, chop the sausage links into strips. Do the same with the onion and the bell peppers. Saute the onions and peppers, then add the sausage. Cook until the onions and peppers are soft, then add the turmeric, garlic and salt. Just sprinkle them evenly over the meat. Stir it well and cook it for a few minutes longer. Serve with tortillas. Enjoy! :) 
                                         
            ~Nutmeg:)           

Nest Cupcakes

Hello Everyone!  My family makes these cupcakes every year for Easter.  When I was little, my mom would let me put all the "eggs"  in the "nests".  I loved it.  Now, I can do it all myself!  I got to make these this year, and I was a bit of a cheater.  The last time I had made a vanilla flavored cake, it tasted like cornbread(you can ask Nutmeg about this, it was her birthday cake!).  I have no idea how it happened.  These cupcakes are vanilla, so I decided to use a box mix.  I know, I know, I should have figured out how to make it from scratch and NOT have it taste like cornbread, but I wanted to make them perfectly, with no room for error.  They turned out beautifully!  I was very pleased, and I hope you are as well!

Nest Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix (+ box ingredients)

buttercream frosting (this is linked to previous post, but make only one third of the recipe)

1 pkg. small milk chocolate eggs

1 1/2 cups toasted coconut

Directions

Prepare cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes.  Cool.

Cut a cone shaped wedge in the top of the cupcakes, and "discard" the cuttings (chew, chew, chew).  Frost the cupcakes with prepared buttercream. 

Roll the outer edge of the cupcake in toasted coconut, and sprinkle a little in the center.  Place three chocolate eggs in the cup shape in the cupcake.  Enjoy!

My family and I really enjoy these Easter treats, and I hope that you all will as well!

Neat Eats Brownies

Hello Everyone!  I was looking through an old cook book called Neat Eats, and found this brownie recipe.  All the brownies I have ever made have been more cakey than I would have liked, so I was pleasantly surprised when these turned out beautifully fudgy.  The only change I would have made would be to make them thicker. 

Boston Brownies

2 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 level teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease 8x8 square pan.  Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a small heatproof bowl with the butter.  Stand the bowl over a saucepan of hot water and stir until the chocolate has melted.  Remove from heat.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and chocolate mixture.  Beat until smooth.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes - until the mixture rises and pulls away from the sides of the pan.  Allow to cool in pan.

I really enjoyed these brownies!  I hope you will give them a try!  The recipe had said that it made sixteen brownies, well, it lied.  This recipe made only nine decent sized brownies.  Well, in my opinion anyway!  Oh, and in his!

Lemon Curd

Hello Everyone!  BEST LEMON FLAVORED THING EVER.  Ok, now that I got that out of my system I can tell you that it is true.  If you love lemon, this is definitely for you.  It is like eating sweetened lemon concentrate.  No, definitely better.  I cannot describe to you how good this stuff is.  You had better just make it.  Do not think.  Just do it and let your mind be blown.

Lemon Curd

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

4 T. butter or coconut oil, cold

Directions

Make sure the lemon zest is extremely fine.  In a small saucepan, whisk together lemon juice, zest, and sugar.  Heat to a simmer, but do not boil.  Remove from heat.

Slowly pour 1/3 cup of hot juice mixture into beaten eggs, whisking quickly.  If you pour the hot juice in too quickly, the eggs will begin to cook, and you will end up with chunky lemon curd! 

After the 1/3 juice has been thoroughly incorporated, whisk the egg mixture back into the pan the same way.  Return pan to medium heat, stirring consistently, and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.  Stir in butter or coconut oil; cool to room temperature.  

Pour into a container and chill for at least two hours (if you can wait that long!).  Enjoy on toast, cookies, or by the spoonful (my personal technique).

Oatmeal M&M Cookies

Hi Everyone!  Today I made a recipe that my father will not leave alone.  No, really, he won't leave it be.  He has eaten FOUR of these already, and he says that he wants some more for dessert!  They really are yummy.  Personally, I think I would've eaten more if my mom hadn't stopped me.  Moms are helpful like that.  They make sure you don't make yourself sick on amazingly wonderful cookies (wink wink).  I know that you all know what I am talking about.  Here it is!  The amazing....

Oatmeal M&M Cookies

1 stick butter

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/8 cup all purpose flour

1 1/8 cup oatmeal flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups M&Ms

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*.

Combine all dry ingredients (excluding M&Ms) in a small bowl and set aside.

In a larger bowl mix together all wet ingredients, and add half of flour mix at a time stirring well between additions.  Lastly, add M&Ms and mix well.

On an un-greased cookie sheet, drop about a tablespoons of  batter on the pan two inches apart.

Bake for 9-11 minutes and enjoy!

As I said before, my father and I are having trouble keeping our mouths in check, so have a safe ready to lock them in!

Perfect Lemon Softies

I. love. these. cookies.  Seriously - they almost make me want to sing. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the texture of these tangy morsels adds up to everything I crave in a cookie.  

What's even better is that I don't have to "cheat" to enjoy them.  They are dairy and nightshade free (and whole-ish) so that I can occasionally indulge without any side effects.  (Woo hoo!)  To add to the wonder, there's a secret ingredient too...lemon olive oil!

I would never have thought of putting olive oil in a cookie.  Ever.  In my world, olive oil was for salads, pasta dishes, and sauteeing.  When I saw some lemon olive oil at the grocery store, I put it into my cart expecting to use it on some salmon.  I had no idea how thankful I would later be to find it on the pantry shelf!

While there are other cookie recipes out there that use olive oil, I still wouldn't want to substitute the lemon olive oil for regular EVOO.  Maybe further experimentation will prove otherwise, but I just don't think it would be the same.  Next time I plan on adding some poppy seeds so that it is more like a lemon poppy seed cake.  I also have some ideas about the orange olive oil I saw at a specialty store in town...

 Perfect Lemon Softies 

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. lemon olive oil

1 egg, beaten

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

1/4 t. almond extract

1/4 vanilla bean, split and seeded (use remaining bean shell for vanilla sugar)

Preheat oven to 350* and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In  a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder; set aside.

In another small bowl, combine lemon olive oil, egg, juice, zest, extract, and vanilla bean seeds.  

Mix thoroughly and stir into dry ingredients until dough forms.  Scoop batter with a small cookie scoop (filled level) and place 2" apart on prepared pan.  Bake 12-13 minutes in preheated oven.  Remove to wire rack to cool.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Hello, everyone! April is a huge birthday month in our house, and for my sister's birthday, I wanted to do a chocolate cake. I finally found this recipe for a homemade chocolate cake. I made it, and it turned out really well! It is best to make it a day in advance and let it sit overnight. 

 Chocolate Birthday Cake

             2 cups white sugar
             1 3/4 cup flour
             1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
             3/4 cup cocoa powder
             1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
             1 tsp. salt
             2 eggs
             1 cup milk
             1/2 cup oil
             2 tsp. vanilla extract
             1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350* and grease and flour two 9-inch pans. Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Pour in the boiling water carefully and stir it until it is well combined. This batter will seem watery, but it will turn out fine. 
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Bake it for 30 minutes first, then test it with a toothpick to ensure that your cake won't burn. Mine was done within 30 minutes, but baking times vary with different ovens.)
Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan onto a cooling rack. I really enjoy cake decorating, so I iced and decorated mine. Yum!