Camp Donuts - #11 of 52 Donuts

December 2011:
Me: "I really want a mini donut maker for Christmas."
Carrie: "You will never use it."
Me: "Yes I will. I want a donut maker - preferably a red one..."
Carrie: "You'll use it once and never again."
Me: "Nuh-uh! Maybe I'll do a blog feature and make a different donut recipe every week for a year..."
Carrie: "Oh my gosh."
Me: "I'll call it 52 Donuts."
Carrie: eyes rolling, head shaking, heavy sigh... "Oh Mother..."

Right. So, I made it to 10 different donuts and by the time I made it that far we were really sick of mini donuts. Truth be told, I haven't touched the donut maker for about a year now. {You can see the 52 Donuts posts here.}

There was still one more donut recipe I wanted to make, but it required a camp stove. Ok, not really - you can make these at home - but in my head I wanted them to happen on a camping trip. And there's not really a recipe - just a simple set of instructions to follow. Like this:

Using canned biscuits, poke a hole in the center of each with your finger. Get these ready while your oil is heating in the frying pan.

I used cheap canned biscuits for these. Don't get the fancy layered kind - just the store brand buttermilk biscuits work great for these. {For my readers who know a "cookie" as a "biscuit" - you can make these with any pre-made dough.}

Drop the biscuits in hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Toss in sugar and serve while still warm. 

My mom used to make these for us when we were kids and we loved them! This was the first time I'd made them myself, and they were every bit as good as the ones I watched her make. They were a quick and easy camping treat that will definitely be made again sometime.

And with that, I'm calling the 52 Donut challenge done over.

11 out of 52 donuts is a rather weak showing, but sometimes

you've gotta' know where to draw the line.

♥

Tips: Before you start frying, make sure you have everything ready: holes poked in biscuits, plate with paper towels set up, bag with sugar for tossing warm donuts. I had the oil a little too hot - camp stoves are tricky - and the insides of some were still a little dough-y. These taste like warm Krispy Kreme donuts when they are fresh, and they go fast!

Just a Quote for Friday

"Let the shortcomings of others

inspire you to work on yours."

~ Notes from The Universe

PS: I know the photo doesn't really go with the quote.

PS2: My quotes are always personal and never meant to be directed toward someone else.

PS3: Remember my 52 donuts goal from last year? I made it to 10.

52 Donuts - #9 and #10 {applesauce and maple}

Donuts for my parents.

♥

One thing that my mom requested during her recent visit was donuts, and I was happy to oblige. This recipe for maple glazed applesauce donuts was a winner on Sunday morning with a cold glass of milk for some, and hot coffee for others. {You can find a pdf copy of the recipe book that came with my donut maker here.}

These babies were also super yummy rolled in cinnamon and sugar, scoring me an additional donut version toward my 52 Donuts goal.

Unlike many of the donut recipes I've tried so far,

these were really good the next day too.

10 down, 42 to go.

Care to add any more to my review, Mom?

:o)

52 Donuts - #7 and #8 - vanilla and chocolate chip

Margaret and Cheri: Don't look.

All others: Proceed with caution.

♥

Continuing my quest to reach that lofty 52 Donuts goal, this past weekend I tried a recipe that was sent to me by my blog friend, Fiona. These donuts were YUMmy!!!

The first couple of batches I baked in my donut maker were just the batter as the recipe was written and even without the frosting on top, the cake was really tastey. I decided to stretch the batter and go for donut #8 by stirring in some mini chocolate chips and BINGO. We have a winner:

Yum. Yum. Yum.

And with a glass of milk? Oh! Mama!

The recipe is simple and I'll share it here. I did the unthinkable and measured my vanilla extract over the mixing bowl - slipped and got a little more than the one teaspoon called for in the recipe, but that was just fine.

Vanilla Donuts

In a bowl, mix together:

2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

Then add:

3/4 c. milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 t. vanilla extract

1 T. vegetable oil*

I baked these in the donut maker for 3 minutes, cooled then dipped in frosting...sprinkles on top. For my frosting I just take a heaping spoonful of canned cake frosting, microwave it for a few seconds until it's melty and then dip away.

* Fiona's recipe actually called for shortening, but I used vegetable oil instead.
* This recipe must be a standard in the UK because it was also sent to me by my blog friend Jemma with the only difference being instead of shortening, hers calls for olive oil. I plan to try her recipe in the future as well.

PS: Yes, Mom, I will make donuts when you come to visit!

♥

52 Donuts - #6 Red Velvet

First, I can't thank you enough for the wonderful comments you left yesterday for my mom. She said she almost feels like she needs to do another post to thank you for the comments! Carrie and I have told her before that she needs to have a blog of her own. ;o) But seriously, each of your comments meant so much to her, so thank you very much!!!

♥

Last weekend I made red velvet cupcakes for our Valentine crop, and while I had that bright red batter on hand I poured some into the donut maker and made these little babies. In hindsight I wish I'd made a few more to serve at the party because these were pretty darn tastey. These served as a buffer between Doug and the cupcakes I was saving for the girls. {Don't feel sorry for him, he ended up with his fair share of cupcakes!}

Happy Thursday, dear friends.

♥

52 Donuts - #5 Cornbread

I know, I know... I might be pushing it a little with this one, but I had the batter so I decided to pour a little into the donut maker to see how they'd turn out.

Doug scoffed a bit, saying these weren't really donuts, but I beg to differ.

Cornbread made in a muffin tin becomes cornbread muffins, right?

Ok, then.

Cornbread donuts.

The verdict:  These were really good, but a little crumbly and didn't hold their shape very well once you picked them up. I hadn't made the cornbread batter from scratch this time - used a Marie Calendars mix which tends to be a bit more cake-like. I thought they were a cute little addition to a bowl of chili.

And besides, it puts me one step closer to my goal.

♥

52 Donuts - #4 Chocolate

 The donut of the week is chocolate.

♥

Are you sick of donuts yet?

Eh-hm.

We kind of are.

Now that I've tried three of the four recipes in the cookbook that came with this donut maker, I've realized that the sweet factor is a bit lacking. And, maybe every one of those recipes is really better if you frost the donuts, adding a little bit more sweet factor.

We were not impressed with these donuts. I think they would have been WAY better if I'd had some mini-chocolate chips to stir into the batter, but I didn't and ended up throwing 80% of these donuts out because neither of us would eat them.

I sent some home with Carrie and she texted me later that night saying that her dog, Marcus, had eaten them. I replied with, "What did he think? Too dry?" {Hopefully the cocoa won't make him sick!}

I'll include the link for this recipe {here} just in case you want to give it a try.

I'm not giving up on the 52 donuts - at least not until I find a

really good recipe that makes this whole thing worthwhile.

Or until that little donut-making-gizmo gives out...

whichever comes first.

52 donuts - #3 Buttermilk Spice

♥

The purpose of this post is two-fold:

1) To share the third batch of donuts in my quest for 52 this year; and

2) To torment Margaret {I'm gonna' add bacon to a batch someday and

really push her over the edge!!!}

I'm working my way through the recipes that came with the Baby Cakes Donut maker before I venture off with any other recipes. This batch of buttermilk spice donuts was loved by some, not-so-liked by others. Personally? I wasn't real crazy about them. The recipe called for a whole teaspoon full of ground nutmeg and I immediately thought it was too much so I used a half-teaspoon and I think it was still too much. The nutmeg was really overpowering.

So...here I am making baby donuts with my right arm in a sling. Putting the camera on the counter and using the self-timer worked out much better for my recovering shoulder. {I about did myself in taking photos of Carrie this past weekend. Ouch!}

So, Carrie had an iPhone first, and she's the one who technically owns iTunes on our computer {though I'm pretty sure I've paid for 97% of the tunes in there...}, so when my phone got set up it got linked to hers. That's cool in some ways, but not so in others. Like, whenever I download a new app she gets a notification. 

Carrie: "Dude. Why did you download a timer to your phone?"
Me: "Uh...because I needed one?"
Carrie: "Did you know there's already one in your phone under 'clock'?"

Ugh! How did she grow up to be so smart? :o\

But I digress. The first batch got a coating of sugar and cinnamon and were really yummy hot off the griddle with a cold glass of milk. The rest got frosted with some vanilla frosting {canned, slightly warmed in the microwave to make it dipping consistancy} and then sprinkled with some pink and some blue for my niece's baby shower.

There were a few left over that Doug had with coffee the next morning and he said they were still pretty good. I probably won't use this recipe again - but if I do I'd definitely leave the nutmeg out and go a different direction...maybe for donuts #23.

Peace, love, and baby donuts.

♥

52 Donuts - Numbers 1 and 2

You thought I was kidding about the 52 donuts?

:o)

I had myself so pumped up over this mini donut maker before Christmas. Truthfully, I've had visions of making adorable little donuts tied up in bags to use as party favors, gifts, I don't know...just because. I half-jokingly boasted that I should make a different donut every week this year, but then I thought, "Sheesh. That's an awful lot of donuts. And there's only Douglas and me in this house...and on occassion Carrie. Not like I have any co-workers to share them with right now...and I don't want to seem like a crazy woman always carrying treats across the street to our still-fairly-new-neighbors..."

I suppose that's my little disclosure just in case I run out of steam on the lofty donut goal {and/or none of our clothes fit us anymore, whichever comes first}. Not to mention that this is no simple feat with my right arm in a sling {three more weeks!!!}.

Anyway! For now we'll just trudge forward with my 52 Donut project and see what happens.

♥

The donuts shown above were made with a recipe that came with the donut maker {Sour Cream Donuts - recipe here} and I rolled them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture while they were still warm. Taste test = yummy when they are warm. Just so-so when cold, although I know they'd be delicious along side a hot cup of tea. {Edit to add: Doug said they were delicious with a cold glass of milk. I think that's what he just had for lunch.}

And just for the record, we'll backtrack a little here and talk about donut #1. I had this idea to try pancake batter in the donut maker and then top them with a maple glaze. I used this recipe {increased sugar to 1/2 cup} and they cooked up really nice and golden. Again, really good warm, not so much cold. In fact, I ended up throwing most of these away. Hey - you win some, you lose some.

 But they're cute, eh?

PS: Don't forget to put your name in for the drawing for Pass the Book in my last post! I'll be drawing a name on Wednesday, 1/11/12

First Weekend Recap of 2012

Happy New Year, blog friends!

Thanks for reading my lengthy story posts over the past couple of days,

and many thanks for your amazing and sweet comments.

How about a little lighter reading today with some

photos of my weekend?

Cool.

♥

I seem to manage at least one thing to ask Santa Claus for each year. Usually that thing is poo-poo'd by Doug and Carrie, combined with rolling of eyes and a bit of "what would you do with that?!?!" mixed in. This year's thing-I-wanted was a mini-donut maker. {Who's rolling their eyes now, eh?!?!}

I have been going crazy wanting to make donuts since I opened this package but it didn't seem doable with my right arm in a sling. I couldn't stand the waiting anymore, and busted out these bad boys yesterday.  {Confession: Since Doug was away on a hunting trip, I had donuts for dinner last night.}

I'm so excited about this goofy little thing that I'm thinking of doing a donut feature on my blog and making different donuts every week. I'll call it: "52 Donuts." {LOL... Check in with me one year from now and see if I weigh an extra 52 pounds!}

This sling I'm lugging around? Totally.Over.It.

I see my doctor for the two-week follow-up tomorrow morning and I'm really hoping he'll have good things to say about my recovery progress. More specifically, I really hope I can at least get rid of the foam block underneath the sling. It's bulky and hot and stupid.

Carrie's sweet friend, Lindsay had a housewarming party that we attended on Saturday. I made this little card for her...mostly with my left hand...

And last, but certainly not least as it was a big part of my weekend: my new iPhone.

I asked Santa and he delivered. Proof that I was a very good girl? I think so. ;o) Anyway, I swore I wouldn't be one of those people with my nose stuck to the phone but I'm there. Hoping that it's a phase and will wear off soon, but this phone is amazing and probably deserves its very own blog post in the future.

On the agenda this week? Continuing the practice of driving a mouse with my left hand, I'm looking for a job and doing lots of online reading. I finally figured out a way to tie my own shoes which means I can resume my daily walk around the neighborhood. Getting out of the house is huge for me right now. And my mind is swirling with potential blog posts...

My 2012 is off to a fabulous start!

How's your year so far?