Spiced Orange Glazed Mini Donuts

I recently bought a mini donuts pan from the mall and was so ready to try out making baked donuts!  My daughter loves donuts, what kid doesn't!  So making a version that wasn't fried was exciting for me.  I added in some of my favorite flavors and made a spiced doughnut flavors like ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice (though the pumpkin pie spice has in nutmeg and ginger I added a bit more of it into the donuts than just what the pumpkin pie spice contributed) and made a glaze using orange juice and powdered sugar.  It turned out really nice.  My daughter loved them and didn't even notice they weren't fried, though she did request chocolate next time.  This recipe was adapted from Cats and Casseroles. 


Spiced Orange Glazed Mini Donuts

2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. whole milk
2 extra large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vegetable oil


Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. orange juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat doughnut pan with a non-stick spray.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Add in milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Whisk until well combined. Spoon batter into wells of doughnut pan, filling each 3/4 of the way. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes and then move doughnuts to a cooling rack.  In a bowl whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice. Add a bit more orange juice if glaze is too thick or a bit more powdered sugar if it is too watery. Dip doughnuts in glaze and place back on the cooling rack and allow glaze to set.

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Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I woke up this morning and decided to do something new for breakfast.  This recipe was adapted from Recipe Girl.  Everyone in the house was thrilled with the results.  I didn't have any cream cheese on hand so I opted to do just a powdered sugar glaze on top instead of the traditional cream cheese you usually find on cinnamon rolls and no one even noticed the cream cheese was missing.  These were so sweet you didn't even need to add syrup to them.  Plus, they were easy.  If you are use to making your own pancakes anyways it is basically one extra step to get that cinnamon sugar swirl into it.  Yum!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour 

3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 extra large eggs, separated & room temp.
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch cream of tartar 

Filling:

1 stick melted butter 

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

  

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl.  Add egg yolks, oil, milk and vanilla into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.  Place the room temperature egg yolks into your mixer fitted with a whisk and add the pinch of cream of tartar.  Beat on a medium to medium high until nice relatively stiff peaks form.  Add wet milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until just barely combined.  You don't want to whisk until all the lumps are out.  Once the egg whites are at relatively stiff peaks fold them into the pancake batter until just combined making sure to be easy enough to not deflate the egg whites.  Allow the batter to sit for a minimum of 20 minutes before pouring onto a hot skillet or griddle.  Meanwhile melt a stick of butter in a small bowl (or use a glass measuring cup for easier pouring).  Whisk in the brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon.  Pour into a ziplock bag and allow to sit for 20 minutes.  You want to allow the butter to cool a bit which will make the sugar mixture thicker.  Once your griddle is hot, add some butter so your pancakes don't stick and then use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to scoop out pancakes and pour onto a griddle to make sure they are all relatively the same size.  Cut the corner of the ziplock bag (use it like a pastry bag) and squeeze a big swirly circle around your pancake batter (like the picture above).  Once you see bubbles on the top of the batter they are ready to flip.  

* A trick to get quick room temperature eggs.  Take your eggs out of the fridge and place in a large cup or bowl and fill with hot water from the tap.  Allow to sit in the water for 5 minutes.  Then dry off the eggs and use.  

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BBQ Baby Back Ribs

First, when I say baby back ribs I'm talking about pork.  Pretty much all my favorite BBQ items are all pork.  Pork ribs, pork butt, pork shoulder, pork, pork, pork, yum!  I wasn't sure if I wanted to do these ribs since we don't have our charcoal grill and smoker anymore but I decided to suck it up and give it a shot in the oven and see how they turned out.  To start with you need to remove the membrane off the back of your ribs.  Place them on a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet.  Then generously sprinkle and rub the dry rub into your ribs.  There should be plenty left over for another use.  Allow the ribs to sit in the refrigerator overnight or at least a few hours.  Then you need a really good BBQ sauce.  You can make a homemade one or your favorite store bought.  I'm from a specific part of the South that uses a mustard and vinegar based BBQ sauce.  You can't really get it anywhere else in the entire country.  If you do go to a place that claims to have it, it is wrong, I promise you!  I've tried some of those "mustard vinegar sauces" from BBQ places in Connecticut and Washington state and they are nothing like what we have in South Carolina.  This BBQ sauce is so unbelievably tangy that it takes a very special kind of person to even be able to eat this type of sauce.  Melvin's BBQ in South Carolina has the most magnificent BBQ sauce I've ever tasted.  Not to mention the most amazing BBQ too.  So I did my best to recreate Melvin's Mustard BBQ sauce by memory and came up with such a winner!  I'm not even going to post the recipe for the sauce though because it is my super secret special recipe.  The only recipe I've never really given out and that I am more proud of than almost anything else.  Plus, most people really just cannot appreciate the potency of this sauce and I'd die if someone who wasn't really familiar with this Carolina Yellow tried it and hated it!  These ribs came out amazing and we will definitely be having them more often now that I have a successful baked rib recipe!

Removing the Membrane

Dry Rub:

1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Put ribs in aluminum foil and before sealing pour about a cup of BBQ on the ribs.  Bake on 300 degrees for 2 hours.  Then add another cup of BBQ sauce and leave the aluminum foil open and bake another 1 hour.  Allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving.   

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Dad's Macaroni & Cheese

So I got a recipe from my Dad many, many, many years ago.  Before I even knew how to actually cook my Dad gave me his macaroni and cheese recipe.  I've tweaked it a bit, like I do with everything but I still think of it as his recipe.  I've tried many, many other macaroni and cheese recipes and my husband and I have never found one we liked more than this one.  Not to mention I consider it a "no fuss" recipe because you basically throw everything into a pan and then into the oven.  It is super easy, quick and amazing!  It is really really cheesy and rich though so if you are looking for a lighter macaroni and cheese this is definitely not for you!

2 c. dry elbow macaroni noodles
4 c. whole milk
1 c. sour cream
2 extra large eggs
1 lb. colby jack cheese, shredded
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a bowl whisk together milk, eggs, sour cream and add in the cheese.  Add in the macaroni noodles.  Grease a 9x12 baking dish.  Pour the entire mixture from the bowl into the baking dish and make sure the noodles are just covered by the milk.  Bake for 1 hour.  Allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving. 

Whisking Wednesdays #15

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Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays! 


Another week gone by so fast.  Seems like Summer is starting to wind down and for most with school aged children the Summer is over.  I'm hoping for plenty more sunshine and warm weather here in Japan though I have to say the Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I love that the holidays are approaching and the wonderful weather the Fall brings with it.  Plus, no better time to start with tons of pumpkin recipes than the Fall along with lots of soups and stews, this is going to be a fun Fall! 



Thank you all who participated in this week's Whisking Wednesdays and hope to see you back again this week!

Wow, these Chocolate Pralines look divine!  They look so fancy and hard to make!  I loved reading about her learning to temper chocolate as this is a task that I'm quite unsure of myself and loved hearing about her adventure with this!

#1

Catalina Bakes

Milk Chocolate Pralines

Now these cake pops are just adorable!  I'm actually thinking of orderering a candy mold from somewhere online just to make these!  My daughter saw them and started begging me to make them!  I think they are just so neat!


#2
Something Swanky 
Cake Pops 

 

I love dairy free desserts that look like you aren't missing out on anything.  This ice cream looks awesome.  I'm actually allergic to dairy (beyond just lactose intolerance) which many people don't know and would never guess.  My biggest problem is without dairy I feel like I'm missing out on so much!  These ice cream looks like the real thing and looks so unbelievably chocolatey!  I can't wait to give this recipe a try! 

#3

Picture Perfect Cooking 

Dairy Free Rocky Road Ice Cream 

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This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week.  Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.  

Butterscoth Marshmallow Pudding Cookies

I don't know how I haven't heard of a pudding cookie before this week but I haven't.  When I saw these on Chef in Training I just knew I needed to try them.  These cookies were awesome.  I'm really into butterscotch right now and have been adding it into everything.  I really liked how the tops of the marshmallows in this started to brown like a s'mores.   These were really good.  We are undecided in my house though if these are better than my normal chocolate chip cookies or not.  They are both awesome and I think I'll have to make another batch to help me decide!


Butterscotch Marshmallow Pudding Cookies

3/4 c. shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 oz) package instant chocolate pudding

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt 

6 oz. butterscotch chips

1 c. mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Stir together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl cream shortening and sugars together. Add in pudding package and beat until well blended. Then add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Cookies getting the "thumbs up"!

Slowly add flour mixture until combined.  Roll into 1" balls and place on greased baking sheet.  Bake for 8-12 minutes.

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Bacon & Feta Bread

I made a bacon and blue cheese bread recently that was alright but I wasn't as impressed with it as I wanted to be.  So I decided to explore more of this bacon and cheese bread concept.  The first time I made it I used regular bacon and I felt it got a bit lost in the bread.  The thick cut definitely held its own in the second loaf.  This original recipe was for a spinach and feta bread but I don't have any spinach on hand today so went for bacon instead.  Maybe not the healthiest swap but hey, bacon makes everything better!  It is like Paula Deen adds a stick of butter to everything, well I add bacon (or bacon grease) to everything!  Plus, feta is one of my favorite cheeses so I really liked the idea of using it.  Out of every bread I've ever made the ones that require a sponge the night before have the best, most amazing flavor to it so that alone drew me into this recipe.  I would actually really like to try it with spinach the next time I have spinach on hand.  This recipe was adapted from Cooking Bread.  I really, really enjoyed this bread.  So did my husband.  He ate it when he got home from work with a bit of butter, then made himself a left over burger and used it as the bun, then we made bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches on it toasted the next morning for breakfast. I was really pleased with this bread and it was pretty simple to make, even though you have to start the day before.  We will definitely be having this one again.   

Sponge:

3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

1 cup chopped bacon (thick cut)

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 lukewarm water
1/4 c. bacon grease
3 1/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sandwich the next morning.

The night before you want to make this bread, combine the sponge ingredients together and mix well until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 12 -16 hours. Cook your bacon and crumble it and set aside.  The next day in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook add the water, yeast and sugar and allow to sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.  Add in the sponge, the remaining flour (1 cup at a time), salt , bacon grease and Italian seasoning and mix on low speed until a dough ball forms and then turn to medium and allow to knead for another minute or two until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides.  Add a bit more flour if you need to 1 tbsp. at a time.  Pour out onto a floured surface and add the crumbled bacon and feta and start to knead the dough.  As you knead it the cheese and bacon will distribute throughout.  Add more flour if necessary to make dough nice and elastic without being too sticky.  Knead roughly 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl and cover and allow to rise for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.  Punch down and all to rise another 1 hour.  Pour onto floured surface and add flour to the top as you shape into a loaf.  You will want to place your loaf on parchment paper at this time to easily get it in and out of the oven.  You can free form a loaf shape, use a loaf pan or leave it in a circular (peasant loaf) type of shape, whatever you prefer.  Cover loosely and allow to rise another 30 minutes.  Meanwhile preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone in the oven.  Use a knife and score the top of the bread.  Then right before placing in oven, lightly mist the top of the bread with water.  Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly.  (Great leftover the next day too!)

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