Pumpkin Donuts

I made these for for one day and left them for the morning crew. They rarely get to taste my baked goods. They tasted great. A bit fragile so I cut them in half so they were easier to handle.

 

 Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (measure 2 cups remove 2 Tbsp)
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 18 doughnut wells

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for 20 seconds, set aside. 

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined.

Add canola oil, eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and using an electric hand mixer, blend until mixture is well blended. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix with electric mixer until well combined. Spoon or pipe batter into doughnut wells, filling each about 3/4 full (a scant 1/4 cup in each).

Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 13 - 16 minutes. Cool doughnuts slightly. 

Mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon until well combined. 

I held the donuts in my hand and sprinkled the topping mixture over the donuts, flip to do both sides

Place on wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. 

NOTES:

~I thought the donuts were very fragile. I ended up cutting them in half, because I was afraid they would break if some were to try to pick one up. :) 

original recipe

~Michelle

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I found another great recipe to try. I love granola bars. I really don't know why I haven't tried to make some before now. Maybe I thought they would be difficult or complicated, I really don't know why they were not on my radar before. Boy, I'm glad I gave these No-bake bars a try. YES, so good. 

I think that these granola bars are very delicious, chewy and have a great texture. The taste is wonderful the peanut butter really add a great flavor. And of course, the chocolate is always a necessary addition. Great mix of salty and sweet. It is so great eating and giving the kids a snack that is homemade and doesn't have any preservatives. They get enough of that sometimes.

recipe from twopeasandtheirpod

No-Bake Granola Bars

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups quick oats

1/2 cup crispy rice cereal

3/4 cup chopped pretzels

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Cut out an 8x8-inch square of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper in the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking pan.

In a large sauce pan, add butter, brown sugar, honey and peanut butter. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to bubble. Once bubbling, cook for 2 minutes while stirring.  (keep time). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Stir in the oats, crispy cereal and pretzels. Stir until well coated. Pour into the prepared pan. Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the top and gently press into the granola bars with your hands or a spatula.

Place the bars in the refrigerator and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

I ended up cutting them into bite sized pieces.

~Michelle

There are so many wonderful baking/cooking blogs out there, cookbooks and old recipes that I have, and I wish I could just bake everything, at least once. :)