Friday Favorites and Cinnamon Roll Donuts

So yesterday, I did something nice for myself by taking myself to the gym and working out. It started my day off in the best way possible. I also meditated for 15 minutes in quiet, which was ..heaven! Then I cam home and started baking donuts for my kids. I don't make homemade donuts a lot, but my kids love it when I do, and I thought it might be a nice treat for Valentine's Day.  Then, brilliant woman that I am, I decided I would make them breakfast for dinner, which included my donuts, eggs, fresh fruit, and piggies for those who wanted them. killed two birds with one stone with that idea.

This is only the 2nd time I have made donuts from scratch. You can read about the first time here.  This time I had an idea that I wanted to make cinnamon roll donuts. I could do it, right? Boy did I!  I'm not even a donut person, but I must say they were delicious. I also made chocolate glazed, regular glaze, and powdered sugar donuts.  They were all good, but the chocolate ones the kids liked the least. I think that the topping wasn't sweet enough for them. Maybe if I had used milk chocolate vs semi- sweet chocolate they would have liked them better.

So how did I make this masterpiece of a cinnamon roll donut? I used 2 recipes: one came with my donut pan and called fro cake flour, and one was this one from Mama Pea. I did change it a bit. First, I sifted all my flours and dry ingredients. Next, I doubled Mama Pea's batter, except for the nutmeg. I used less of it because I think it is so over powering and a little truly does go a long way for me. So even though I doubled the recipe ingredients, I only used the single recipe amount of nutmeg. Next time, I may even leave it out completely.  I also used slightly less sugar thinking that the cinnamon roll topping would add extra sweetness, and I didn't want it to be sickening sweet, just delicious sweet. I think I used a heaping cup of sugar only.  And, of course, I used butter and skim milk instead of the vegan alternatives.

Once I made the batter and had my donut pan sprayed with non stick spray, I put in a little batter. Then in a separate bowl, I mixed 4 Tbs. brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon. I generously sprinkled some of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the batter I had already put into the pan. Then I topped it with more batter filling the donut pan 2/3 - 3/4 full. After they were all put together, I baked them according to Mama Pea's directions.

Notes:  Next time, I will pipe the batter into the donut pan. I think that will be easier for sure and probably less messy. I used a spoon and my finger and it was successful, but a mess! I also will buy 2 more cake pans before i make donuts again. I have 1 large donut pan that makes 6 donuts at a time, and it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r! My boys are worth it though.

After they were done cooking, I made a glaze with about powdered sugar (@ 1 c), milk (@ 1 Tbsp +), and vanilla ( @ 1/2 tsp). Stir it together adding more milk or powdered sugar till smooth and the consistency you want. I let my glaze sit and rest on the counter while I was cooking, and I think that worked out well. When the donuts were cooled, I dipped each donut in the glazed so that only the top had glaze on it. then I put them on the pan to dry and sprinkled them with  a little red sugar sprinkles.
YUMMMMY!  I used the powdered sugar glaze for my plain glazed donuts as well.
The chocolate glazed ones I made like Mama Pea. And I covered the small donuts with powdered sugar.

This recipe brings me to one of my Friday Favorites: my Wilton donut pan. I just need more than 1. I actually have a small donut pan too, but it's too small...honestly, not worth the trouble, in my opinion. But, I love the big pan!






My next Friday favorite is my new favorite yogurt.It is Green Mountain Creamery 0% Fat Greek Yogurt, pineapple flavor....so good. It is great if you are craving something sweet.