Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

'Tis the season for all things pumpkin spice.  And if you are getting  married, like my forever friend Rachelle is, it only makes sense to have pumpkin spice donuts at your bachelorette  party.  And that's why I'm here: To bake you your wildest dreams.

Please excuse the boy parts in this picture, it is a bachelorette party after all!  ;)

Etsy helped me find the perfect accessory:  Diamond ring picks to make the donuts look like engagement rings.  =D  Super fast shipping too, this Etsy seller saved my butt.

The diamond picks were the perfect touch and passed all required taste tests.

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Makes approx 16 donuts.Bake for 10-11 minutes at 325*

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
1/4 c. butter, room temp
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temp
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. pumpkin pie

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on high.
3. Add both sugars to butter and continue mixing on high until smooth. Add eggs one a time.
4. Reduce speed to medium and add pumpkin, vanilla and milk. Continue beating until mixture is smooth.  It will be slightly grainy.
5. Slowly add in dry ingredients mixture, beat until combined.
5. Transfer batter into a pastry bag or zip lock bag with a corner snipped off and pipe batter into the wells of a buttered donut pan.  Fill no more than 2/3 of the way.
6. Bake in oven for aprox. 10- 12 minutes or until the donuts rise and are springy to touch.
7. Let donuts cool a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Cinnamon Maple Glaze

Ingredients:
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. good maple syrup
1 tbsp. milk (more or less as needed)

Directions:
1. Sift powdered sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add cinnamon.
3. Make a well in the center  of the sugar with your finger.
4. Pour the maple syrup and milk into the well.
5. Stir together with a whisk.
6. Add more milk, 1/2 a tablespoon at a time, if needed.  The glaze should come together, shiny and smooth with no clumps.
7. Dip the tops of your donuts into the glaze, making sure to coat the top completely.
8.  Set donuts on a rack to set the icing, about 30 minutes.
9. Insert picks into ends of donuts.

The glaze was perfect, you only need one coat.   The great flavor was largely aided by quality maple from Canada and a healthy dash of cinnamon.  Oh and all the good vibes I was sending its way.

Congrats Rach, I'm so excited for you.  I can't wait for the big day!

xoxo,
Anna

Caramel Apple Fritters

September must be caramel month here at my feelings taste like cupcakes, cuz last week I  had those caramel pumpkin snickerdoodles, and just look at the caramel on that plate this week!  Nom.  Can't take full credit for these those, I had a lovely little baking partner this weekend.  My dear Rachelle, who I baked that soft chocolate cake with a few months ago, and I got together Saturday morning to churn out some quick donuts for a late dessert after brekkie.  Rachelle dates are the best.  They always involve food.

We adapted the recipe from here, but made one crucial change.  Instead of making a simple glaze (milk + powdered sugar) to coat it in, we drizzled it with caramel.  Yeah, just because caramels and apples are lovely and delicious.

Apple Fritters
Makes about 24 fritters, around 1.5 inches in diameter.
Fry at 375*  on each side as needed.

1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
2 tsp cinnamon (feel free to add more, we wished we had!)
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 – 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped apples

vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. In mixer, slowly add in vanilla, butter, egg,milk and beat until incorporated. 

3. Fold in apple pieces. 

4. Heat oil.  Should be around 375*. Test with a small piece of dough before starting to fry.  Place 2-3 scoops of batter at a time into oil and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  (Once we got the hang of it, it took about 3 minutes to get them cooked all the way.  

5. Place on paper towels to absorb oil

6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still hot

Easy Caramel Sauce
About 8 oz of unwrapped caramels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1. Place caramels in a sauce pan over low heat and add cream

2. Whisk slowly until caramels are completely melted and sauce is smooth.
3. Drizzle over fritters and serve

So how do they look like when they're done and sprinkled with powdered sugar and drizzled with caramel?

Like this:

And when you bite into them, revealing those chopped up apples inside, they look a little like this:

Consume these ASAP because the warm insides and gooey caramel have a short shelf life.  Make sure that you have plenty of taste testers near by to help you do the job though.

Cuz the temptation to shove them all in your mouth is high.  They do smell, and look,  like caramel cinnamon apple deliciousness after all.

So put them on a plate, invite some friends over and have a fritter brekkie party.

It took a few to get the hang of frying them, I try not to use oil in anything I cook (granted, i can't cook) and neither does Rachelle but in the end they came out pretty awesome.  Now we feel confident that we will be adequately prepared for our next baking adventure:  churros.  I told you Rachelle dates are awesome.

But before we do that, we're hitting up Oakland's Eat Real Festival.  So no baking this weekend since I will already be eating 4x my body weight anyways. (I'm actually going for 2/3 days, haha.)  Check it out if you're in town.  It's 100% more awesome than any other foodie thing you've ever been to.

xoxo,

Anna