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cathubbard@hotmail.com
I woke up on Saturday morning with this ridiculous urge for donuts – homemade donuts. Fresh, hot and right out of the oil. I couldn’t resist the urge and dug up an old recipe for some Zeppole, that are known as italian donuts.
I love this recipe because there is no rolling and they go straight from your saucepan to the hot oil without the mess of a rolling pin or a floured board. The result is a light, airy donut, zeppole, whatever you want to call it. To me and my family they are just fabulous. Unfortunately for my husband, he was golfing Saturday morning and there was only one left when he got home. Maybe next Saturday he will be around to enjoy some straight out of the oil…
Saturday Morning Donuts
Ingredients
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cottonseed or vegetable oil for frying*
Cinnamon Sugar (1/4 cup sugar plus 1 T cinnamon) or Powdered sugar for Dusting
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan (non-stick), combine sugar, salt, butter, and 1 cup water. Bring to boiling: butter will melt. Quickly add flour all at once; beat with wooden spoon until flour is moistened. Cook over medium heat, beating vigorously until dough forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Remove from heat.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating with electric mixer at medium speed after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth, shiny and satiny and forms strands that break apart. It should hold its shape when beater is slowly raised. Beat in vanilla. Dough should be fairly stiff, but sticky.
In electric skillet or large, heavy skillet, heat 1 to 2-inches of oil to 375°F (185°C) on deep frying thermometer. Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil, frying in batches. Turn the donuts once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 3-4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon-sugar or powdered sugar. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.
I love a delicious cookie that I can whip up in a snap. Even more important with recipes like this is knowing that I will always have the ingredients on hand. Such is the case with my favorite shortbread recipe. Not only is it easy, but the recipe is incredibly versatile. In this version I combined chocolate and rosemary, however you could also switch it up by omitting the rosemary all together or using white chocolate. Some orange zest would be amazing as well. Ooooh, I may try that one nex time.
Chocolate Rosemary Shortbread
adapted from Melissa D’Arrabian
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, very finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cream the butter with sugar using a handheld mixer. Mix in the rosemary, salt, and flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips, and stir by hand until well-distributed. Gather the dough into a ball. Cook’s Note: If the dough begins to soften or feel greasy, chill the dough for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle of 1/2-inch thickness and cut into rectangles about 1/2-inch by 2-inch. Place the dough on a cold ungreased baking sheet. Prick the top with a fork. Bake the shortbread for 25 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn a golden color. Remove the shortbread from the baking sheet and let cool completely on a rack.
Growing up my mom stayed at home and I have many fond memories of walking into a house that smelled of fresh baked cookies. There was a sense of peace I got everytime I walked into the house after school that I will never forget.
Several decades later I like to do the same for my boys. My youngest sons favorite is the standard chocolate chip cookie with both chocolate chips and M&M’s. However, my oldest son enjoys the Almond Roca cookies that I am going to share with you. Not only are these delicious, but they are easy, quick and only have a handful of ingredients.
Almond Roca Cookies
Ingredients
1 sleeve of graham crackers (you may not use all of them)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate, but use whatever variety you like
1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9″x9″ with non-stick cooking spray and line the pan with graham crackers. Set aside.
In a sauce pan melt the butter and brown sugar on medium heat and cook until the butter and brown sugar have melted together and the mixture is bubbly. This should take around 7 minutes. When mixture is bubbly pour over graham crackers and put in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
When you remove the cookies, the mixture you should be bubbly. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Wait a few minutes and spread the chocolate evenly over the butter/brown sugar mixture and sprinkle with almonds.
I wouldn’t consider myself a big drinker. I enjoy a nice glass of wine and the occasional cocktail when I go out. I have my usual favorite – citron vodka with soda and lime. I appreciate how alcohol can take the edge off, but don’t want all the extra calories that accompany so many mixed drinks so my citron & soda suits me just fine.
I have however found a new indulgence. I was perusing the aisles at my liquor store when I came across these little bottles of Kahlua Mudslides. Now let me backup…for those of you who are lucky enough to purchase liquor in regular stores, I am SOOOOOO jealous! However, in Washington the state controls the liquor, not to mention the prices so we are SOL and must purchase our hard alcohol (and anything containing hard alcohol) in liquor stores. Sorry for the digression, but as I said, I came across this pack of mudslides and decided to get them as a fun cocktail for our annual winter trip with friends. Oh my gosh, they were SO good. The problem was we went through the four-pack in no time at all and were left without any more Mudslides and a long night ahead of us. Being the crafty gals that my friends and I are we quickly found a recipe for mudslides and concocted a pitcher of our own mudslides that I must say were pretty darn delicious. I hope you enjoy them. Although they aren’t light on calories, as an occasional indulgence, they are worth it and very spectacular!
Mudslides
1 part vodka
1 part irish cream (here is my link to my own homemade version of Irish Cream)
1 part Kahlua
1 part milk or cream (we used milk and it was great)
Directions
MIx all the ingredients together and chill. Serve straight up or on ice.
I am watching the movie Julie and Julia and Julie Powell asks this very question. So, IS there anything better than butter? When it comes to food, I am going to have to say, “no way.” Whether butter is oozing down fresh corn on the cob or being slathered on a fresh loaf of bread right out of the oven, butter adds richness and tenderness to everything. Whether it be sweet, salty or savory – chances are if it is made with better, it is going to be delicious. And this Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting is definitely no exception.
In any event, I can’t write a blog about butter with paying tribute to my favorite, my tried and true and hands down the best frosting recipe I have ever tried. This is the recipe for my super easy buttercream frosting. Now please keep in mind that I am a frosting connoisseur. You know those kids that lick their cupcakes at birthday parties and don’t take a bite of cake. Well, I can relate to them. I love frosting – the good stuff anyways.
So please, trust me, this one is outstanding. If you have someone you want to impress I highly recommend making this buttery, creamy deliciousness! OK, here she is…
Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream
Directions
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.
