Sunday, November 13, 2011

Hey Diddle Diddle. Rich environments count!

Blogging Backwards....


Character day at Madison's Preschool

Im sure this day was more for the parents that the kids.

Here are some highlights.

Madison was Hey Diddle Diddle - The cat and the fiddle

Enjoy!

( Of course I made hey diddle diddle cup cakes! What did you think?! ------Sweet Cornbread cupcakes with honey buttercream frosting. From scratch.)










Follow your bliss! Cinnamon Mini Donuts

There are many people out there who scoff at a mother with a blog..They turn up their modern noses, too much time on your hands they say....true or false?? I dont know. I sometimes wonder how much of our time we use for us though.

 While Im sure it is super hard for many moms to find a minute, I do know that im a full time mom and wife and a teacher. I've cleaned and cooked sunday dinner and played elmos got the moves,  done mail correspondence and finalized a business deal all in one day and Im now here blogging after having baked treats. Im always working on personal projects ...My toddler thinks that we should SEIZE THE DAY , and so my "free" time is kinda limited. But I know that we live only once in this body..and we should make the most of it.

I read something today that moved me - FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!
That is powerful. Do what makes you happy. Make time for you. Or forever be bitter and scoffy.

I used to wanna grow up to be a power everything. But now I wanna be wise enough to realize what really counts. The more professional women get the more we are realizing that we just wanna be "women" Go figure.

With that said. What makes me smile? Baking little treats. Just the act alone is calming.

You know how all the cute stuff in the catalogs look great and you order them and then when they come they take up space in your cupboards and shelves?


  Well not so with my mini donut baking pan. I ordered it from Avon earlier this year - they have great baking goodies.  And so when the November calender on my baby's preschool calender said that it was someone's birthday on Monday, I thought what better way to start the week than to make some mini donuts to sugar rush all the kiddies on the birthday boy's day.

  Given that the recipe for the donuts that came in the box with the tray called for three eggs!!!, I figured um..let me find one online that only called for one. And all the other ingredients were in the cupboards.
And that I did.

Here are the results! Great mini donuts, with fall spices. Small enough for little tots and just enough sugar to make them feel like they are getting away with something we would normally take away.

Enjoy!


Baked Mini Donuts with Cinnamon sugar glaze.





Ingredients


How to:


  • In a bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
  • In another bowl, beat egg to blend with milk, 1/4 cup melted butter, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir just to moisten.
  • Spoon into well-greased mini muffin tins.
  • Bake in a 350-degree oven until golden, about 15 minutes.
  • Mix 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Brush doughnut tops with 3 Tablespoons melted butter and roll in sugar/cinnamon.
  • Serve warm or cool. If making ahead, cool, then store airtight up to 2 days.
  • Makes: about 2 dozen.







Here are all of my ingredients laid out for easy reach. Including the flour mixture assembled.






Next I got the moist part of the mixture going. ( I blended it..I cheated...the butter was taking to long to un clump lol)

iI had to add a splash of milk to moisten the batter a bit more. It did the trick as the first pic shows it was stiff. You can try that,
And then placed it into the ziplock baggie as a make shift pastry bag.

NOTE: DO NOT USE A ZIPLOCK BAG. EITHER USE A PASTRY BAG OR A DURABLE PLASTIC STORAGE BAG THAT YOU CAN TIE!!! :-) I wish someone told me that. I definitely would not have had so much trouble.

The batter is kind of hard to maneuver into those donut holes. You've been warned. Practice makes perfect.






Now that the donut pan has been greased well and filled with the mixture. I popped it into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. You know your oven.





Lastly I warmed some butter and rubbed the tops of the donuts onto some warm melted butter. Then took them straight to the cinnamon and sugar mixture and rolled it in there.


The result sweet, soft, non-greasy mini donuts, with a fine glaze of sugar and cinnamon.

Placed in an airtight container so they stay soft for the tots. Maybe their teacher can give them a half of one each because these sweeties are sure gonna make their day! :-)