Mini Baked Doughnuts

First of all, thank you for all of the kind comments, emails, and beautiful cards regarding the passing of our dog Cinnie girl. You all touched my heart and your kindness has been overwhelming.  Yes, 'just a dog' but never the less, a member of our family and daily life.


It has been a little difficult to get back into the kitchen . . . 
she was a 'food-driven' dog, and always my companion while I prepped, cooked and baked. 


But, there were boundaries. Our cooktop is on a center island, which opens to the great/family room.  She was not allowed to come on "the working side" of the island counter, and she knew her boundaries well. However, she always kept me company on the 'other' side of the island. Nose and ears alert in case some 'goodie' happened to hit the floor.  


Whenever I 'chop' on the cutting board I expect to see her sitting up attentively just waiting for me to say "Ooops", that was her signal to come and do 'floor duty" for some scrap that had gone astray.  


Gosh I miss her.  Thank you again friends, for your kind thoughts and compassion while we're healing.




Each day it becomes a little easier.






~*~*~*~*~*~







Like much of the Northwest coast of North America we received an unusual summer downpour a day or so ago.  Instead of the usual light summer sprinkle, this storm brought over an inch of rain to our area. Yikes!

 Sunny day gardening was put aside, and a little baking was on the agenda instead.

And to preface ~ I must say, doughnuts are a very rare indulgence around here these days. I do make old fashioned homemade fried doughnuts every couple of years on very, very special occasions, but they are not a regular indulgence at my house by any means. (Nor are store/bakery-bought doughnuts.) 


So these seemed like a fair alternative, and it was the perfect opportunity to try out my new mini-doughnut pans.  


Big plus... they are baked, not fried.  :) 

After comparing a bunch of "mini-size" doughnut baking pans I chose this one by NorPro®.  Number one, because I've been pleased with their quality of baking pans in the past, plus these do not produce 'micro-mini' size doughnuts (1-inch to 1.5-inch in diameter) which I've seen elsewhere, these are 2-inches in diameter (similar to the mini-size made by Hostess, etc. as you'll likely find in the grocery store.)


Most mini-doughnut recipes yield between 24 to 48 mini-doughnuts, so I bought two pans and they have worked out perfectly.

I used the recipe that came with the package which I thought was 'okay'. . . but I noted a little too much baking soda aftertaste. There is also a recipe for chocolate doughnuts on the package which I haven't tried yet. Next time I'll try the recipe from Wilton Company*, which includes buttermilk, and a little less baking soda.  

Each of the recipes come together very quickly and the little pans bake up in less than 10 minutes. 

Hint, if you try these, use a piping bag or a zip-bag with a corner snipped to help fill the pans neatly, and only fill each mold 1/2 full. 

I dipped the baked and cooled doughnuts with a simple confectioner's sugar glaze flavored with vanilla extract, then decorated with nonpareils.  Decorate them any way you like!  A dip in some dark, warm ganache, sprinkled with chopped toasted nuts, shredded coconut, or any frosting/icing you like. You can also shake them in a paper bag with confectioner's sugar, or cinnamon sugar while still warm.

Two-bite size, they are perfect with a spot of tea, or a cuppa joe (or a glass of icy cold milk.) And they take no more time to make than an average cookie recipe.


If you like cake stye doughnuts, I think you will like these and recommend that you give them a try.  

* When I make these using the Wilton recipe I'll post a review about it.
Thanks for stopping by today and for any comments you would like to share.  I appreciate each one so much. 
~mari


I'm joining Yummy Mummy for her Yummy Friday Linky Party!
and

Michael Lee @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday, too!


NOTE: For anyone interested in the pans with the smaller capacity (NOT the one I used for these donuts) you can find them by clicking the link:  Nonstick 12-Cavity "1-3/4 inch" Mini Donut Pan

Retro 50's Luncheon on the Terrace ~ Revisited

Please join me for a 1950's Luncheon on the terrace,
as originally shared in August 2009.

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone as I usually set the table with more subdued colors and allow the food to make the statement. Not this time ~ for inspiration I drew upon memories of growing up in the 50's and 6o's. I hope you enjoy!

I used the bright, primary colors in the reproduction tablecloth to build the color scheme.

Yellow Bordallo Pinheiro (Portuguese) cabbage bowls from Sur La Table.

These are actually cotton dish towels, I chose them because they carry out the bright fruit theme of the table cloth ~ I love their generous size.

Lemons as the table "centerpiece" since we're having lemonade to drink. 
(The pedestal bowl is from Crate & Barrel a couple of years ago.)

I used one of my French Vinegar jars to serve the chilled lemonade. (Emile Henry Pottery)

The stemware is by Tracy Porter, I found them on sale a couple of years ago at Target.

The yellow placemats are from Beds, Bath & Beyond. The casual blue flatware is from Macy's (over 20 years ago),  little red butter knives/spreaders are French ~ I've had them for quite a while (forgot where they came from.)
The yellow chargers are actually "chop" platters ~ for serving meat ~ in the Fiesta pattern (Homer Laughlin) ~ it's the old mellow yellow color; the red plates are also by Fiesta ~ a few years old, but not vintage.

Vintage covered butter dish from the 60's ~ by 'Lotus'.

And a little peek of what was on the menu...

With sincere thanks to dear Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for so generously hosting us.

  

Please click on Susan's logo above to see

all of this weeks participants.

Thank you very much for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday Peter!

From a long time ago ~

Best wishes on your special day, son!

See you soon. 

 With much love,  m & d

Forever in Our Hearts

We adopted Cinnamon from the Humane Society when she was about a year old.  That was a little over 10 years ago.

Such a sweetie.

Relishing a favorite once-in-a-while treat.

As my family and some of you know,  she passed away a week ago today after a rather sudden illness.  

Her Vet suspected it was an auto-immune disease, so we had been treating her for that for a few weeks, that's why I've been away from the blog-world; for family time.

In spite of our best efforts, and her valiant fight, she succumbed at midnight on Monday June 13th. 

We were fortunate to have spent all day on both Sunday and Monday with her while she was resting outdoors with us as we worked in her favorite flower garden.

'Cinnie's Garden'

We're thankful we were with her when she passed, and thankful that she was able to pass in the familiar surroundings and security of home.

She will be greatly missed as she was a family member to us,  my constant companion, a very good dog who fit into our life and lifestyle like a glove.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Rest well Cinnie-girl, my pal.

To visit more of  'Cinnie's Garden'  click here.

Hello Friends ~

I'll be taking a little break from blogging for some family time.

Thank you for your support and understanding. 

I hope to be back very soon.  ((Hugs)) ~mari