Snowy Day Donuts

It's snowing ~ finally!!  What a perfect day to hang out in the kitchen and bake.  Coming out of the oven today are donuts!!  Blueberry-Corn Donuts (what self-respecting farm girl doesn't have cornmeal in the cupboard?) and Pumpkin Spice Donuts (seems like a festive recipe for a festive time of year).

My back yard...see the wagon wheel bench Cowboy made for me?

I have Pandora playing my Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky radio station....and it's like I'm in a cartoon.  Who knew my early years in front of Looney Tunes would have made me such a well-rounded, cultural person?   The musical scores in those cartoons were my introduction to music history:  the symphonies, concertos, sonatas.  Thank you, Bugs Bunny, for my classical education!!






*note:  these recipes were baked in the donut pan purchased from King Arthur Flour's website:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com

Blueberry Corn Donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 - 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 - 3/4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2.  Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl.
3.  In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, melted butter and egg.
4.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the cornmeal mixture and stir just until combined.
5.  Fold in blueberries just until combined.

Fill each donut cup with 3 heaping spoonfuls of batter.  Bake until firm and golden, about 12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.  When completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 6 - 8 donuts.  (I got 6 because I ate some of the batter)


Pumpkin-Spice Donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 - 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg in a mixing bowl.
3.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar, molasses, oil, egg, pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.
4.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Fill each donut cup with 3 heaping spoonfuls of batter.  Bake until tops spring back slightly at the touch of your finger, about 12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.  When completely cook, sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 6 donuts.

Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy

serves 4

This is a family favorite for supper.  If mornings are rushed,  make the gravy the night before and heat it in the microwave in the morning.

Ingredients

1 lb. bulk sausage (like Jimmy Dean, Bob Evans, Purnell’s, etc)

2 Tbsp. minced onion

2 Tbsp. butter

½ c. all-purpose flour

1 qt. milk

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. poultry seasoning

dash of Worcestershire sauce

dash of Tabasco sauce

1 tube of large buttermilk biscuits (8 count), baked, or a dozen homemade biscuits

Directions

Crumble sausage into a large sauce pan or a dutch oven and sauté over medium-low heat, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks.  Do not let the sausage get crisp or too brown.  When meat is about ¾ cooked, add the onion and cook until onion is transparent.  Add butter, stirring until completely melted.  Stir in the flour with a wire whisk, and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the flour turns golden. 

Pour in the milk all at once, and add the seasonings.  Cook and whisk until the mixture thickens.  Place 2 to 3 biscuit halves on each plate and top with gravy.

Serve with a fruit salad.

Baked Apple Donuts

Breakfast!!!

One of my birthday presents 12 years ago was an orchard.  The Cowboy and I planted 1 cherry & 6 apple saplings as the first inhabitants of our new orchard.  Over the years I have collected and created scads of recipes the make use of bushels and bushels of apples.  This baked apple donut recipe is one of our favorites for breakfast.


1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. grated orange peel
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
6 tbsp. cold butter
1 cup finely chopped apple
1/2 cup vanilla flavored yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
topping: 1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and spray non-stick spray on donut pan (I got mine from King Arthur Flour's baker's catalog)  http://www.kingarthurflour.com

In mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, orange peel, & nutmeg. 

Cut in cold butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Combine apple, yogurt & eggs; stir into flour mixture, just until moistened.

Spoon batter into donut pan (the batter is thick, so prepare to use your fingers..mmm) 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until donuts spring back when lightly touched. 

While they're still hot, remove from pan, dip tops (the smooth side) into melted butter then into sugar/cinnamon mixture. 

Yield: 6

Enjoy!!!