Saturday, December 31, 2016

Super Easy (& Delicious) Homemade Doughnuts

Having sleepovers with our four year old granddaughter is so much fun! Madeleine and I have a tradition that involves going through Dunkin' Donuts drive-through in our pajamas as soon as we wake up. She LOVES doughnuts!!! This morning we didn't want to get out of the house (brrr!!!), so we made our morning fun by making these homemade delicious doughnuts.

Ingredients:

Doughnuts
1 can biscuit dough (8-10 biscuits) ~ I usually get Walmart's Great Value brand. The "homestyle" biscuits work great!
1 quart vegetable oil

Glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3-4 tbs hot water

Chocolate Frosting (for dipping after glazing)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk (start with 1 tbsp, but may need to increase if not smooth enough)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
  1. Heat electric skillet to 375 degrees.
  2. Place 2 paper towels on a wire rack where you will place donuts when they come out of the hot oil.
  3. Set up another wire rack next to the first one for the glazing station. Place a paper towel underneath to catch excess glaze for easy clean up.
  4. Mix glaze ingredients together until smooth. Add more hot water as needed for desired consistency.
  5. Separate biscuits and cut circles in the center of each disk. (I use the cap from my small salt shaker...after I make sure I free the cap from salt.)
  6. Roll each cut out into balls (these are for the donut holes).
  7. Place donuts 2 at a time into hot oil until golden. Flip onto other side and fry again until golden. This should only take about 30 seconds-1 minute for each side.
  8. Scoop donuts out with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined wire rack. Repeat the frying process for the rest of the donuts and donut holes. In between each batch, coat the hot donuts in glaze on both sides by dunking each side quickly. Set them on the second bare wire rack to let the excess drip off onto the paper towels underneath.
  9. If adding chocolate frosting, just dip one side of a glazed doughnut halfway into the chocolate frosting and then return to the wire rack to dry.
  10. ENJOY!!! THESE ARE QUITE TASTY!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Marinated Mozzarella

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. minced chives
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. block of part-skim mozzarella cheese, cubed

Directions:

  1. Combine all above ingredients (except cheese) in gallon size ziplock bag.
  2. Add cheese to ziplock bag; turn to coat all pieces.
  3. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

Ingredients

  • 1 package (16 Oz. Size) Little Smokies Sausages
  • 1 pound Bacon, strips cut into thirds
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar, for sprinkling

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cut the bacon slices in thirds and wrap each smokie with a third strip of bacon.

Place all the wrapped smokies in a single layer in a 9x13 baking dish.

Then melt the butter and mix brown sugar with butter.

Pour the butter/brown sugar mixture over the smokies.

Bake for about an hour or until bacon is nice and crisp.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Apple Filled Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
  • 1 box yellow cake mix + box ingredients
  • 20 oz. can apple pie filling
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven according to cake box instructions and line muffin tins with paper liners.
  2. Prepare batter according to box directions.
  3. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake according to box directions for cupcakes.
  4. Allow to cool completely.
  5. Dice apples into smaller pieces.
  6. use a knife to core out a plug in the middle of each cupcake and fill with pie filling.
  7. Place just the top of the plug back on cupcake.
  8. Whip butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla for until fluffy.
  9. Gradually add powdered sugar.
  10. Add milk until you reach desired consistency.
  11. Transfer to piping bag and frost each cupcake.