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Oct 26 2012

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Posted by Laurie - Simply Scratch in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

One of the many things I love about living in Michigan (besides having a baseball team in the World Series *wink* GO TIGERS!) is the many cider mills. They usually have hayrides, lots of fresh pressed apple cider, paper bags full of a variety of crisp apples and let’s not forget those freshly fried doughnuts, which are personally my favorite.

Aimee’s recipe for Apple Cider Donuts pretty much has all the above wrapped into one delicious doughnut. See, the apple cider is actually IN the doughnuts and they’re baked, which for some people (meaning me) is a lot less stressful then deep frying. But all this goodness doesn’t just stop there.

After the doughnuts cool, you dunk them into the most delicious glaze. And even that has cider in it—and it’s beyond amazing. And just when you think you’re done, you’re not. After you dunk the doughnuts in the cider glaze, you dip them in cinnamon sugar. I’m not joking. It gives your teeth a little textural “crunch” before they sink into the soft glaze-dripped doughnut. Oh.My.Word.

Now scroll down and see for yourself. I just hope you have cider on hand because I’m pretty certain you’ll want to make these as soon as possible!

The ingredients are pretty simple and straightforward. Besides picking up the apple cider, I had everything else on hand.

Start by combining the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Then measure and add in nutmeg and allspice, then ground cinnamon. This right here smells amazing already!

Give it a good whisk or stir to break up any lumps and so everything is blended. Scoot that off to the side for just a moment.

You could do the next step directly in the same bowl and not bother dirtying another bowl, but I couldn’t help myself. Combine eggs, applesauce (I used unsweetened), real vanilla extract and then pour in the apple cider.

I combined all these ingredients by using a fork just until the eggs were whipped.

Since I used a different bowl for the wet ingredients, I then poured the wet ingredients into the dry.

Stir until combined. Easy-peasy.

I quickly and heavily buttered my doughnut pan, so I didn’t risk these doughnuts sticking.

Then I used a spoon and filled each doughnut section.

As you can see I’m not the neatest. But I didn’t have a large re-sealable bag on hand to pipe in the batter like Aimee suggested. To be honest, that would be a whole lot easier (and cleaner), but spooning it in worked too. Now just bake in a preheated 325ºF oven for 10 minutes. I rotated the pan halfway to ensure even baking.

I let the doughnuts cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan. I used a rubber spatula and they came out wonderfully. I then let them cool for a bit and moved on to making the cinnamon sugar and the cider glaze.

Combine a tablespoon of cinnamon with sugar. Make sure to use a big enough bowl that a doughnut will fit nicely in for dunking.

To make the glaze, start by measuring out powdered sugar and then pour in the apple cider. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of cider, but I needed to thin it out a tad more so I used a total of 3 tablespoons.

Then add in allspice.

Whisk until completely combined and there are no lumps remaining.

Dunk the doughnuts into the glaze. Ohhh yeah!

And then immediately dip it into the cinnamon sugar.

See what I mean? Now just set on a wire rack set over a sheet pan or paper towels so the glaze has a place to drip and repeat with the rest.

You can let the glaze cool a tad. But really, why even wait another second?

You guys. These doughnuts are nothing short of perfect. The texture of the doughnut is soft and moist, while the flavor of cider is not missed at all. Store them in an airtight container and they’ll last for days! Making these perfect for a fun snack in lunches or well, breakfast the next morning!

A big thank you to Aimee for sharing this phenomenal recipe! This is definitely a recipe our whole house loved and will be making for years to come. And I can bet you all will just love these too!

Please take a minute to stop by Aimee’s amazing blog Shugary Sweets where she not only dishes up an array of clever treats to suit any sweet tooth but other delicious easy to make recipes as well. You can also find her recipes here on Tasty Kitchen in her recipe box!

Note: the only change I made was to 3 tablespoons of apple cider (instead of two) in making the glaze.

Printable Recipe

Apple Cider Donuts

by Shugary Sweets on October 6, 2011 in Breakfast

See post on Shugary Sweets’s site!

4.83 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s) 6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5

Description

Bake these donuts for a perfect fall breakfast!

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS:
2 cups Flour
¾ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
¼ teaspoons Allspice
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Apple Cider
¼ cups Applesauce
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
FOR THE TOPPING:
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider
1-¼ cup Powdered Sugar
¼ teaspoons Allspice
¼ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. Mix until blended. Add in the apple cider, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Lightly grease a doughnut pan (I use Norpro brand). Pour batter into a large Ziploc bag, seal the bag, and snip off the corner. I find this the easiest and cleanest way to get batter into pan without dripping. Pipe the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake doughnuts in a 325ºF oven for about 10 minutes, until they spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from pan.

To make the glaze, whisk together the apple cider, powdered sugar and allspice until completely smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.

Dip each doughnut into the glaze (top of doughnut only) and then into cinnamon/sugar mix. The glaze will run down the sides and coat nearly the whole donut. Allow to dry on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

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Laurie is the force behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.

Oct 24 2012

Pumpkin Delicousness!

Posted by Erika (TK) in Looks Delicious!, The Theme Is...

I love many things about the months of September and October: saying goodbye to the heat and humidity of summer, new school supplies, the vibrant colors of autumn leaves, and baseball. Not necessarily in that order. But near the top of that list is logging in to Tasty Kitchen and seeing all the incredible pumpkin recipes coming in. Everyday I learn some new and creative way to use pumpkin and I wish we could feature them all. Except, if we did that, you’d be looking at pumpkin recipes on the main page all day for a month or two. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But then all the other autumn vegetables might start feeling neglected.)

Today I want to highlight just a few of the recent pumpkin recipes that caught my eye. If you want to pick your own favorites, grab a BIG cup of coffee and pull up a chair and browse these 50 or so pages of pumpkin recipes.

Mmm. Start your day with these Pumpkin Butterscotch Granola Bars from Heather Christo. These look amazing.

Or if a liquid start is more your thing (and no, I don’t mean pumpkin rum or gin and pumpkin tonic), whip up this Pumpkin Pie Smoothie from Anita.

Or you can throw some pumpkin into your favorite cookie recipe! Check out these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from Gaby.

Then there’s this Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake for 1 from Claire. Because chocolate makes good things even better.

Pumpkin recipes don’t always have to be sweet. I love how Monique made a Pumpkin Sour Cream Sauce for these Spicy Black Bean Chicken Enchiladas.

Or make a healthy and filling Autumn Turkey Chili like this one from Abigail. Perfect for the cooler weather!

End your meal with this tempting Pumpkin Crisp from Annalise. Or make this a special after-school treat and score big points with the kids.

Finally, you know this quick roundup wouldn’t be complete without a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and this one from Brenda is just begging to be made. Because, let’s face it, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are pretty much the highlight of this season.

There are so many more pumpkin recipes to choose from, each one as tempting as the next. And in my book, there really is no such thing as too much pumpkin. So keep ‘em coming!

Oct 22 2012

Lightened Up Chicken Enchiladas

Posted by HowSweetEats in Step-by-Step Recipes

Enchiladas are a special food in our house. They are, as I like to refer to them, my weapon. They were the first meal I ever made for my husband and THE meal I make when I … well, quite frankly, when I want something. That something could really be anything, like the replacement of the high light bulb I can’t reach, which I’ve incessantly nagged about or the purse I “accidentally” purchased and let him “accidentally” see. Either way, they are one of my husband’s favorite meals and something I make probably twice a month.

The thing is, they are pretty decadent. We like lots of sodium-laced sauce, tons (no really—tons) of cheese inside and out, and really huge puffy flour or soft corn tortillas. And let’s not forget what goes on top: sour cream, more cheese, and obviously guacamole. Hello lover.

So enter Laurie’s recipe for Lightened Up Chicken Enchiladas. Oh my goodness, I was so excited I almost died. But then I was even more excited after I made them and we seriously loved on the entire pan. These are super delicious, so let’s get started!

You need some cooked and shredded chicken, low-sodium chicken stock, flour, a sweet onion, a few garlic cloves, olive oil, whole wheat tortillas, cumin, chipotle peppers in adobo, a red pepper and of course, cheese.

First up, dice your peppers and onions and add them to a skillet with some olive oil. After sautéing until soft, add in your garlic and cook for a few seconds until fragrant.

Stir in the flour, chopped peppers and cumin.

Then add your chicken stock and water, whisking well.

Cook for a few minutes until bubbly and thickened, and boom, you have your sauce! See how simple? Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.

With your shredded chicken in a large bowl, add some of the sauce and mix it up.

Add a bit more sauce to the bottom of a greased baking dish to make the first layer of deliciousness.

Then start filling your enchis. First up, add a few spoonfuls of the chicken mixture to the tortilla.

Roll it up tightly, placing it in the dish. Repeat with the rest until they are all crammed together and ready to go.

Add the rest of the sauce on top. I gently spread it with a spoon to cover every inch before baking.

Then add some cheese—just a bit—to cover the dish. Bake for a few minutes just until the enchiladas are warmed through and the cheese is melty. Oh melty cheese.

Admire your beautiful work!

Serve your enchiladas and cover them with sour cream (or, as we like, plain Greek yogurt), guacamole, chives, salsa and chopped cilantro. Go to town with all of your favorite garnishes.

We absolutely adored these! Not only are they much lighter ingredients-wise than our typical enchiladas, they are lightly filling, too. They aren’t heavy since you make your own sauce and keep the cheese to a minimum, but they still taste incredible and get the job done. Cravings cured!

Thanks so much to my fellow TK Blog contributor Laurie for the fabulous recipe. Check out her incredible blog, Simply Scratch, where she shares her delicious creations in the kitchen and beautiful step-by-step photography.

Printable Recipe