French Breakfast Puffs

Earlier in the week I was invited to a Wine and Cheese “Do” at the (stunningly exquisite, makes me want to spit on my place) home of one of the ladies in the neighborhood. We were all invited to bring something…or not…and most of the women who did (all of them, I think, we are nothing if not a very generous, social group), to be enjoyed at the gathering. I went a different route, knowing full well how tiring hosting can be, so presented my hostess with a gift bag of French Breakfast Puffs. It had been a long while since I last made them. Seven years, I think.  The reason for my lapse is that a dear friend used to love them, so every time we paid her and her husband a visit, I took her some. When she passed away, seven years ago, my habit of making them stopped.

It was time, I thought, to reintroduce these into my repertoire of breakfast and brunch goodies, so I baked up a batch. I had forgotten just how good these are. They have a delightfully delicate crumb, a wonderful hint of nutmeg, and are completely covered with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar. They don’t keep so you’ll have to eat them within two days or pop them into the freezer.

French Breakfast Puffs

 ½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup shortening (I used Crisco)

1 extra-large egg

1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

\1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup whole milk

\

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Spray a 12-well muffin pan with Pam (or other vegetable-based non-stick spray).

 

In the work bowl of a mixer, cream together the first ½ cup sugar, the shortening, and the egg.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

Add dry mixture to creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately dip in butter on all sides, and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Serve warm.

Makes 12 puffs.

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Celebrate It Sunday

Make It Pretty Monday

Metamorphosis Monday 

Apple Cider Doughnut Mix Product Review

My husband is from New Jersey, and because he still has significant attachments in the form of friends and family, we try to get there for a visit as often as possible.  When we do, one of my favorite places to visit is Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck (Don't you just love that name?), NJ. Much more than an orchard, this place is a destination!  Produce, meats, cheeses, gourmet groceries, oh yes, and bakery goods. They certainly knew what they were doing when they placed the bakery at the entrance of this vast store.  I generally spend a good bit of time (okay, most of it, if you must know) in this section just sniffing.  It's also where I got my first taste of a cider donut.  Here they come covered with powdered sugar or plain.  I'm not sure which I like best, so clearly I'm going to have to run more tests.

I'm not sure why these aren't more widely available, but other than this shop I've not been able to find cider doughnuts any place else. Imagine my pleasure and surprise then, when I discovered a mix for cider doughnuts exclusively from Stonewall Kitchen.  Naturally I had to give it a try, and owed it to myself, really, since I have that new doughnut pan.  I mixed these together, baked them, brushed them with butter, and dipped them into the provided cinnamon-sugar mixture in just under 45 minutes.  The kitchen smelled fantastic and I was very pleased with the results.  As my husband has been eating cider doughnuts a lot longer than I have, I let him have the first taste.  The look on his face said it all.  These are good.  Now I'm not going to try to convince you that a mix is as good as what can be found in a bakery, but when said bakery is more than 900 miles away, I'm only too happy to have this option.  We were both quite surprised that a baked doughnut could be crispy on the outside and wonderfully moist and cake-y on the inside, but these were.  Priced at around $10 a box, my doughnuts cost about a dollar each.  In my opinion, it was money well spent.

Two thumbs up for this delicious mix!

This post is linked to Sweets for a Saturday.

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Ever since making Cinnamon Sugar Donuts with a borrowed donut pan I have been obsessed with having one of my own.  I finally bought one and have a dozen recipes that I want to try.  Considering the season, I thought I'd break it in with a batch of Pumpkin Donuts based upon a recipe that I found at Tasty Kitchen for Pumpkin Mini Muffins.  It stood to reason that if this recipe made great little donut-type mini muffins that it would work just as well for donuts.  It did.  I made these this morning while my husband was showering.  By the time he got to the kitchen, all dressed and spiffy, the coffee was ready and a batch of warm cinnamon and sugar-coated donuts were waiting for him on a plate.  Move over Krispy Kreme, I don't need you any more!  Yes, I still love your pumpkin donuts, but these homemade gems are lighter, BAKED instead of fried, made with all-natural ingredients and are so delicious I'm sure to make them again and again.  And with pumpkin as one of the main ingredients they just HAVE to be good for you...right?

[Baked] Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Makes 12 donuts

For Donuts
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup low-fat milk

For Coating
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Spray each cup in a 6-cavity donut pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined -- do not over mix!

Divide batter evenly among sections.  (I filled up a disposable pastry bag and used a large round tip that made this a breeze.) Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the donuts bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another Remove donuts from oven and cool for 2 minutes, then invert pan onto a cooling rack. Dip each donut in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee (in a Dracula mug, if you have one) and enjoy!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

I have been enormously intrigued by the glut of donut recipes, cookbooks, and other accoutrements that have appeared on the market of late.  All of these new products take me back to my youth when, on the occasional Saturday morning, my mother would make us homemade donuts.  They were a lot of work as I recall.  First she had to make the dough, then painstakingly cut out the donuts and holes, heat up the deep fryer, fry them to a golden brown, and then drain them on stacks of paper towels, all while my nose was as close to the operation as I dared.  But boy, were they good.  Still, all of that just seems like too much work when a Krispy Kreme is a mere two miles away.  So when my cousin offered to loan me her donut pan (thanks, Kel!) I jumped at the chance.  This morning I took it for a spin.  I am sold!  In less than an hour I had a dozen hot, fresh, delicious donuts stacked on a plate.  No cutting, thanks to this clever pan, and no deep frying!  I didn't have a recipe for donuts, so flipped through my files and adapted a cakey muffin recipe.  I can't tell you how delicious these were.  When my husband got home from breakfast with his cronies he asked where I'd gotten the donuts.  He couldn't believe that I'd made them while he was gone.  Yep!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

 1/3 cup Crisco shortening (not butter flavored)

½ cup sugar

1 extra large egg

1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup whole milk (do not use 2%)

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Cream shortening, sugar, and egg together in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to the shortening mixture.  Fill greased donut pan wells half full and bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.  (I used a teaspoon to fill the wells, spreading it evenly all of the way around, because I'd run out of pastry bags, but this dough is thick enough to pipe beautifully, so that would be my suggestion.)


While donuts are baking, stir together remaining ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon, to blend.  Melt butter in a wide, microwave-safe bowl.  Remove donuts from pan to wire rack, then immediately dip them one-by-one, first into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon and sugar mixture, coating well.  Place back on the wire rack to cool thoroughly.

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