baked sprinkle donuts

Wow.  I can't believe it's been two months since I last blogged!  Life tends to get pretty crazy in the spring (between Easter, Liam's birthday, and trying to figure out the upcoming school year) and this year was no exception.  I've either been busy or using recipes I've already posted.  I can't tell you how nice it was to have free time this weekend to experiment!  

I love this donut recipe and so do my boys.  Sure, it's a donut so its full of sugar.  BUT this donut is baked instead of fried, and has protein powder in it, so at least it has a few nutrients to go along with all the sugar.  If you want to be really bad you could add icing on top and some more sprinkles over that, but honestly these donuts don't need the extra sugar or mess.

This recipe is great for busy mornings because it takes less than 30 minutes (including bake time!) and you can easily eat them on the go.  No mess.  Plus they taste so good!  

Baked Sprinkle Donuts
makes 12

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 Cup AP flour
• 1/4 Cup vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 Cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Add all ingredients except sprinkles to a medium bowl and whisk just until batter is smooth.
2. Gently stir in sprinkles.
3. Scoop batter into a freezer bag and seal.  Snip a small corner out and fill the bowls of a greased donut pan 3/4 full.  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  
4. Remove from oven and immediately turn donuts out onto a cooling rack.  Enjoy warm and fresh.

Notes:  I only have one donut pan (makes 6) so I have to make my donuts in two batches.  Donuts are fully baked when a toothpick comes out clean or the edges are lightly golden and not overly shiny.  I like to eat these as is, but you could easily make icing to dip the donut tops in if you wanted.  Mix milk and powdered sugar until smooth and dip donut tops lightly, shaking off any excess. Immediately drop extra rainbow sprinkles on top before icing hardens.  Enjoy!

Panna Cotta

Doesn't this just look so fancy?  Yeah, it took me a whooping 5 minutes to make.

Panna cotta is such a great dessert.  It's quick to make, it requires very few ingredients, it looks so fancy, it isn't messy to eat, you can make it a day ahead of time.  Shall I go on?  Oh, and obviously, it tastes great too.  If you aren't familiar with panna cotta, it's like a vanilla pudding, and means "cooked cream."

Since this is such a simple dessert you can change it up every time you make it.  You can either serve the panna cotta in a pretty glass or turn the dessert out from a fancy mold and serve on a plate.  There are many sauce and flavoring options as well.  Jeff is a big fan of strawberry, I love orange and cranberry.

I know my panna cotta is ready when I can turn the glass over and nothing moves.  It totally reminds me of getting a Blizzard at Diary Queen as a kid.  That was always my favorite part.  Wow!  It didn't fall out!  Hi.  I'm a grown up and still fascinated by that.

I love all things orange creamsicle.  This panna cotta isn't super pretty with the thin color on the top but I really don't care.  I wanted to infuse the orange flavor throughout so after about an hour and a half in the fridge I poured about a tablespoon of orange curd over the panna cotta and allowed it to sink to the bottom.  This way I had the layer of orange covering the bottom, but also got a hint of orange through.  Yummy!

I made my orange curd, but store bought is fine.  You could also try lemon curd, strawberry jam, a fruit compote, fresh fruit, chocolate sauce, etc.

This go around I used a cranberry pomegranate curd on the top, which I spread on after 4 hours.  I just love that bright color!

I like using a wide glass for the panna cotta so I get my fruity topping in every bite.

Panna Cotta
serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup milk
• 1 1/2 packets of unflavored gelatin
• 2 Cups heavy cream
• 1/3 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• fruit topping of your choice

Directions:

1. Combine the milk and gelatin in a medium saucepan off the heat and allow to absorb for 5 minutes.
2. Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla and whisk continually on medium heat until sugar has fully dissolved and steam begins to rise over the pot.
3. Remove from heat and pour into 6 glasses.  Let cool on the counter for several minutes, then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  Add your choice of sauce, jam, compote, etc. in a thin layer on top of the panna cotta after 4 hours to keep it from sinking.

Note: This dessert can be made a day ahead of time and kept in the fridge until needed.  If you want to make panna cotta in molds and tip them out make sure to rub the inside of your molds in coconut oil before pouring the dessert in.  To remove the panna cotta simply run the outside of the molds briefly in hot water.

Also, I prefer my panna cotta on the thick side.  If you don't, use one gelatin packet instead of 1 1/2.  No problem.

pumpkin carrot cake

This cake is awesome.  Do you like carrots, coconut, walnuts, pumpkin, vanilla, and pineapple?  Even if you only like one of those things you'll probably still love this cake.  It stays moist and delicious several days later (I'm really amazed we still have any left).  I love the flavor, it's a lovely mix of everything.  Jeff hates carrot cake, and nuts in baked goods and even he really liked this cake.  I love cakes like this.  It needs minimal hardware to make, and is so easy to make, it's almost impossible to screw it up.  Who doesn't love an easy cake?

Even with whole wheat flour, cornmeal, and protein powder in the batter this cake stays soft and sweet.  Yes, there is a lot of sugar, it is a cake after all.  But pretty much everything else in the cake has decent nutrients.  This is probably the most nutrient dense cake that you'll ever taste (and enjoy).  

This recipe is definitely a keeper.  I plan on making again soon.  It isn't sickeningly sweet, but is sweet enough to make the though of frosting completely unnecessary. 

Disclaimer: This is not my original recipe.  I tweaked it a bit from the original recipe found here at the Gold Medal flour site.

Pumpkin Carrot cake

 Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated fresh carrots
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup pure pumpkin
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1-1/2 cups flaked coconut

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, protein powder, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. The dough will be very thick at this point.

4. Fold in the pineapple and pumpkin until well combined. Fold in the carrots and then the nuts and coconut until just combined.

5. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until the cake is browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn it out onto the wire rack and let cool completely.

  

Notes:

Keep leftover cake refrigerated.

chocolate protein smoothie

I NEVER remember to eat breakfast.  I make it for everyone else, but mornings are when I wander around the house getting everything done.  It's gotten to the point where I had to put a sticky note on top of the coffee maker reminding me to eat breakfast.  Because of course I would never forget my morning coffee.

My best bet for breakfast is a grab and go option.  I love things like cinnamon rolls (obviously), but I'm either busy or I don't want anything too filling.  This drink is perfect.  Filling, easy to grab, and delicious.

To make this drink even easier and quicker in the morning I dump all the ingredients into tupperware in the fridge the night before.  That way the chia is easier to blend (having had all night to plump up), and all I have to do in the morning is dump one container's contents in the blender.  Simple.

I normally end up making a double batch though.  Everyone always asks for "just a few sips", and that adds up quickly!

I love having a super thick smoothie that fills me up and gives me hours of energy, especially when it feels and tastes like I'm drinking a chocolate shake (for breakfast.  Yay!)

This is the average meal for Jack and me on days when Liam is at preschool and Jeff is at work.  They almost always end up with bits of sandwich, plus a train (or two) and a cat on the table with us.  Plus Jack always decides that whatever I'm eating is what he wants.  We'll be eating THE SAME THING, but mine is in a different container than his, so...

If I'm using a cup, plate, bowl, etc. that looks like he could easily break it then Jack wants it even more.  And heaven forbid I try to help him hold it.  Nope.

He stills makes me a little nervous, but he hasn't broken any dinnerware yet *sigh of relief*.  I'm happy to share.  :)




Chocolate Protein Smoothie
makes 1 large or 2 small servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 scoop protein powder (I prefer vanilla flavored whey)
• sugar to taste
• 1 banana, frozen
• ice (optional)

Directions:

1. For best results combine all ingredients overnight in the fridge.  In the morning pour out into a blender.  Blend thoroughly.  Enjoy immediately.

note: Ice is only needed if you do not use a frozen banana, or if you want an extra cold and icy smoothie.

If you make the smoothie entirely in the morning it might take a little more blender time to break up the chia seeds.

triple cinnamon cinnamon rolls

You know your husband is awesome when he goes to the grocery store and brings home fun new food items to mess around with.  This time he brought home Hershey's Cinnamon chips.  He scored big time with these.  They are so good!  Super hot and cinnamon-y, not too sweet, and very creamy.  Heavenly.  Of course my first thought was to make cinnamon rolls.  Jeff always wants a crazy amount of cinnamon in his cinnamon rolls, so I figured, why not add the cinnamon chips?

I'm never going to back to chip-less cinnamon rolls again.  Ever.

The best part about these extra cinnamon-y rolls?  I used TONS of chips and still have some left in the bag for later!

This was the very first time I've made cinnamon rolls where Jeff hasn't (half joked) that I should try to add more cinnamon next time.  But at the same time, they weren't overly spicy hot or sweet.  Perfect balance of hot, sweet, and creamy.  My personal best.

 Evenly distribute the chips over the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon when you lay out the filling.

Haven't even been baked yet and they look amazing!

Take your cinnamon rolls out of the oven when they look like this.  Lightly golden edges, cooked centers, and don't expect all your chips to be melted.

 Set the rolls aside to cool because its time to make your cinnamon icing!

This is my favorite part about this recipe, and why the cinnamon is tripled.  Cinnamon can be found in the rolls in two ways, and the icing is cinnamon flavored, not vanilla like usual.

 Little tip?  I like to double the icing recipe and store the extra in tupperware in my fridge.  A bit of it drizzled over oatmeal, vanilla ice cream, in your coffee, etc... sooo good!

I made these yesterday and my batch is already half gone!  I like them soft and warm.   Enjoy!

Triple Cinnamon Cinnamon Rolls

total time: 2 hours

makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

rolls:

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups AP flour

filling:

• 3/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 6 tbsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup cinnamon chips

icing:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl mix the yeast into the warm water, set aside.
2.  In a large bowl or stand mixer mix the milk, sugars, melted butter, salt, egg, and vanilla. Add half the flour and mix. Pour in the yeast mixture, then mix in the remaining flour. Knead the dough until smooth. Let the dough sit in a greased covered bowl until it doubles in size, about an hour.
3.  When the dough has doubled in size punch it down. Spread plenty of flour on your counter and roll your dough into a 9x15 inch rectangle. Leave one long side empty on 1" and cover the rest of the dough evenly with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and the cinnamon chips. Roll the dough inwards towards with the empty long edge. Pinch the edges together. Cut into 12 pieces.
4.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the 12 rolls 3x4 in a greased casserole dish and cover with a dish towel.  Let rise again for 45 minutes. 
5.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven when the edges have become lightly golden.  Let cool.
6. In  small saucepan whisk together the milk and sugar on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Do not allow the milk to boil.  Once the sugar has dissolved turn off the heat and whisk in the cinnamon chips.  When the cinnamon chips have also dissolved take the pan off the stove and set aside.  Let the icing sit for several minutes to allow it to thicken.  Once the rolls has mostly cooled pour the icing over top. Enjoy!

These don't last long at our house!

mini tart cups

These mini tart cups are so cute and easy.  They are the perfect snack size, and can be made in so many flavors and varieties!  All you need is any sugar cookie, cracker, or shortbread dough that can be rolled out.  I used a biscuit cutter with a scalloped edge because it makes the tart edges prettier.

Gather up your favorite dough recipe (that can be rolled out), a muffin tin, and a biscuit cutter slightly bigger than the muffin tin base.

Roll out your dough fairly thin because it will puff up a bit when it bakes, and you want plenty of room for tart filling!  I should have rolled this batch a bit thinner, but they still worked fine.  Just don't roll your dough CRAZY thin, because you want the tart crust sturdy enough to support the weight of your filling.

Use your biscuit cutter and cut out the dough in slightly bigger circles than the bottom of the muffin tin openings.  Spray the muffin tin well with cooking spray before you lightly press the dough in and they'll pop out easily after they're baked.  Grab a fork and poke 3-4 times on the tart bottoms to prevent them from puffing up too much.

I baked this batch for 18 minutes, then let them sit for about 2 minutes before I removed the tart cups to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can easily make these a day before you need them if you store them in a cool dry place.  I made these ahead of time, and I made the custard filling the day before as well.  I piped the custard into the cups right before I needed them and topped them with strawberries and blueberries.  So easy!  I love these tarts.  They taste yummy (seriously, I need an intervention to stop eating them all!), they were really easy, you can make them in advance, and they look super fancy.

Tarts are great for parties because you can just grab them and you don't need a fork or even a plate.  I love grab and go foods!  I've already got a bunch of tart variations I want to make too.  One the top of my list?

• shortbread cup + chocolate pudding + whipped cream dollop
• graham cracker cup + chocolate ganache or pudding + toasted marshmallow
• chocolate sugar cookie cup + strawberry Greek yogurt
• sugar cookie cup + strawberries + whipped cream dollop
• peanut butter cookie cup + Reese's peanut butter cup

mini tart cups

ingredients:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp milk

directions:

1. In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar, salt, and butter until it resembles coarse sand.   Pulse in the egg, then add in the milk and pulse until the dough comes together.
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Flour you counter and roll on the dough fairly thin.  Use a biscuit cutter slightly larger than the muffin tin base and cut out your dough.  Gently press into the greased muffin tin and lightly stab 3-4 times with a fork.
4. Bake for 18 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes before removing the cups onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Once cooled, fill cups and serve, or set unfilled cups aside in airtight container in a cool dry area.  Cups can always be filled and served the next day.  Once filled try to consume the cups within 3 days or the cups will start becoming soggy on the inside.

peach frozen yogurt

I love the quick easy fix for dessert.  Who doesn't? Especially when its pretty darn guilt free.  Even better, its ready in less than 30 minutes.

All you need for this frozen yogurt is a tub of vanilla Greek yogurt and a 1 pound bag of frozen peaches.  I tend to keep extras of both in stock, so I can make this any time.  Woohoo!

Stick the whole tub worth of yogurt and the whole bag of peaches into the blender and puree.  If you want to set aside several peach slices to dice and mix in later, that's fine, but I prefer my frozen yogurt smooth.

I like my frozen yogurt a bit sweet, with the tangy tartness of barely sweetened yogurt, but if you're not used to that, or you want to splurge a little go ahead and add a tablespoon of sugar now.

Pour the mixture into a prepped ice cream maker.  My model can hold up to a quart and a half, and this makes that exactly.

I only needed to churn the frozen yogurt for 15 minutes until it was crazy thick.  At that point you could eat or freeze for later.

Freeze in a freezer safe container with a tightly fitting lid.  I like to freeze my yogurt for about an hour after churning so its really thick.  If you wait until the next day or so to eat set the frozen yogurt container on the container for several minutes before scooping.  It will be pretty hard.

This yogurt is great for kids because its a great sweet frozen treat for hot weather and isn't full of extra sugar.

My goal is to try every fruit flavor I can think of by the end of the summer.  I'm thinking maybe cherry or raspberry next... yum!

Peach Frozen Yogurt
makes 1 1/2 quarts
20 minutes total time

Ingredients:

• 1 tub of vanilla Greek yogurt (preferably non-fat)
• 1 pound bag frozen peaches
• 1 tbsp sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Empty the full containers of yogurt and peaches (and sugar) into a blender and puree.
2. Pour mixture into a prepped ice cream maker and churn 15 minutes.
3. Eat directly or scoop into a freezer safe container with a tight lid.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  Yes, I've been crazy busy lately, and Easter is almost over... but I made it.  We're still good.  I swear, between spring cleaning, everyday stuff, Easter, and getting ready for Liam's 4th birthday(!) my schedule has been packed.  No time for blogging... sad.  I've got some good recipes coming up soon though, no worries.

Easter is such a fun holiday.  I love watching the boys hunt for eggs.  They are both pros now.  Even Jack, and he's not quite a year and a half!  I love any holiday that gives me an excuse to bake.  I used to hate making cupcakes.  They NEVER turned out right.  Thanks to the awesome Carra though, we got my problem figured out and fixed.  I used to fill the cups 3/4 full instead of 2/3.  Laugh all you want, but just changing that one tiny thing made all the difference.

This isn't my chocolate cupcake recipe.  I used the cupcake portion of this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Her recipes are great and I trust they will come out perfect on the first try.  I doubled the recipe and made 24 cupcakes PLUS I had enough to make a nice 9x9 cake with the leftover batter!

For the vanilla buttercream frosting I used this recipe from Cooking Classy.  I added a bit of green gel coloring, and piped it on the cooled cupcakes.

The second I saw this bag of Cadbury mini eggs at the store last week I knew exactly how I wanted to decorate the cupcakes.  The eggs are cute toppers, and more chocolate never hurts!  I think the kids ate the equivalent to about 4 of these cupcakes each in sugar today.  Literally, they are bouncing off the walls.  Oh well,   At least they don't eat like this every day.,.

Happy Easter!

soft & chewy orange creamsicle cookies

When I bake its for one of three reasons.  I'm happy and baking makes me happier, I NEED cookies, or the kids are driving me crazy and I need to bake to help me relax while the kids are napping.  Yesterday was definitely the latter reason.  Crazy hyper little mess makers.  All morning they were full out bonkers.  So nap time was relaxation time, and okay, I really needed a cookie too!

I'd been wanting to try making an orangesicle cookie for a while now.  I just love the combination of orange and vanilla.

These turned out really well especially since it was my first time trying this new recipe I made up.  I figure if I didn't mess it up on the first try, the recipe must be pretty easy.

The cookies turned out just the way I'd hoped.  Chewy, soft, and full of vanilla and orange goodness.  Excuse me, I think I have to go eat another one right now...

   

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
makes 18 large cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange extract
• zest of 1 small orange
• juice of 1/2 small orange
• 2 1/4 Cups AP flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F.  Cream together butter and sugars.
2. Add in the egg, extracts, zest, and juice one at a time.
3. In a small bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large wet bowl.  Add the white chocolate chips.
4. Use a cookie scoop and drop them 6 at a time onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake 13-15 minutes for large cookies, or until edges are golden.
5. Let stand to 5 minutes to cool and set.

Note:  If you kitchen is too warm put the cookie dough in the fridge for 5 minutes before scooping and baking to help the dough firm up a bit.  This will help if your cookies tend to spread out and flatten too much.