Did You Miss Me?

It has been a LONG time since I have felt the urge to blog but with Fall right around the corner I am feeling a bit nostalgic. One of my favorite things about Fall is the cooler weather and the changing of the leaves. In our family we also have a tradition of going to the pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins, sampling the fresh apple cider and our favorite "treat yourself",apple cider donuts. This recipe is courtesy of All You magazine....guess what I'm doing next weekend?

Apple Cider Donuts
2 cups sugar
1 TB plus 2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups apple cider
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 TB unsalted butter
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
6 cups vegetable oil for frying

Line baking sheet with parchment. Line a large plate with paper towels. In a paper bag, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 TB cinnamon, shake to mix well. Set aside.

Bring cider to a boil over medium heat. Cook stirring occasionally, until cider reduces to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes) Let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl whisk baking powder,salt,1 cup flour and remaining sugar and cinnamon until well combined. In a small bowl whisk butter,eggs yolk and cooled cider until well combined. Add cider mixture to flour mixture; whisk until smooth. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups flour and mix until just combined. Dough will be slightly sticky. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

Pour oil into a large pot and attach a candy thermometer to side (thermometer should not touch bottom of pot) Heat oil over medium high heat until it reaches 375, watching and adjusting as needed to keep oil from overheating.

Turn dough out onto a well floured counter top and coat fingertips with flour. Pat dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a doughnut cutter or two round cookie cutters (one large and one small) cut out doughnuts and holes. Transfer both to lined baking sheet. Gather scraps and re-pat dough cutting as many doughnuts as possible.

Working in batches carefully slide doughnuts into hot oil. After about 1 minutes doughnuts will rise to surface and begin to brown. At that point turn over and fry 1 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer to lined plate to drain. Bring oil back to 375 before frying another batch. When doughnuts have cooled for a minute add to bag with cinnamon and sugar and toss to coat. Remove to clean plate and serve.

The Perfect Sunday

These days everything has become so hectic; my family and I have decided to take one day a week to just "re-energize" for the coming week. Here's my favorite way to spend a Sunday.

Step one; sleep in, well at least until 8:30. Normally around this time my head starts working on all kinds of ideas....see step two

Step two; whip up something really yummy (and probably not so healthy) for breakfast. This morning's recipe to follow.

Step three; brew a large pot of coffee to go along with reading the paper.

Step four; by this point I have come up with lots of new recipe ideas and head off to the grocery store to get ingredients

Step five (my favorite); head to the kitchen. Isn't it funny how many people can actually fit into one kitchen? My company consists of three very hungry and curious kids, two dogs and one very "supportive" husband :O)

As promised here is the very simple recipe that I made this morning.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rounds
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Frosting: powdered sugar
milk

Apple mixture: large apple of your choice
2 TB butter
cinnamon/sugar mixture


Open crescent rounds and unfold, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar then roll back up. Sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake as directed.
Drizzle with frosting after removing from oven. Serve....

*cinnamon and sugar mixture: usually a 3/4 to 1/4 mixture of simple white sugar and ground cinnamon You can adjust to your own personal taste.

Apple mixture: in a small saucepan melt 2 TB of butter,add diced apple and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar. Simmer on low heat until the butter and sugar mix start to bubble and reduce down. I put apples on top of my cinnamon roll instead of frosting, de-lish

Enjoy your Sunday!