Weekend baked donuts!

A little slow on the recipe but here it is. I took a little from here and a little from there and made my own. They turned out pretty good for baked donuts. They were a little more "muffiny" than I would have liked but they served their sweet purpose.

Baked Mini Donuts

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used milk with white vinegar to make buttermilk since I didn't have any on hand)

Lightly grease a mini donut pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar, egg and melted butter until mixture is smooth. Beat in vanilla extract, then half of the flour mixture. Mix in the buttermilk, followed by the remaining flour. Stir only until all ingredients are combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible. Scoop batter into a quart or gallon-sized plastic bag and chill for 1-2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325F and remove the bag from the refrigerator after batter has chilled.
Snip the corner off of the plastic bag and pipe batter into mini donut cavities, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake for 9 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly pressed. (For regular-sized donuts in a larger donut pan, bake 12-15 minutes)
Turn donuts out to cool on a wire rack. Dip tops of donuts in glaze when donuts are completely cooled and decorate.
Allow glaze to set for at least 1 hour before storing.

I made three kinds of topping.

Chocolate Glaze
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon water

Microwave for 10 second bursts, stirring in-between, until melted.

Dip the donuts into the glaze and set on a rack to dry.

Vanilla Glaze
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tsp milk

and Cinnamon and Sugar (there were definitely the best and the most donut like)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter (melted)

Toss the cinnamon and sugar together in a shallow dish.
Dip baked donuts in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture

Pretty yummy!

My January Cooking Challenge

My husband's birthday is in January. This year, it is Friday the 13th. His poor birthday often gets lost in the shuffle since it is so soon after the holidays and everyone is tired off all the food and dessert. He will be 31 this year. (It always takes him about 6 months to catch up with me. ;) Slow poke.)

I have been on a cooking spree as of late. Lots and lots and lots of new recipes thanks to Pinterest. Anywho, I asked him if there was something that I could make for him. His response, "A Wendy's Frosty Cake. Consider it a challenge."

And so it shall be.

I set out to create.

We've been making homemade "Wendy's" frostys around here since we were in grad school. The thing is that they are a little melty, like they should be, in order to use a straw to suck them up. A little kitchen experiment was needed to see if they would freeze up to allow for slicing later on. I was thinking something like the Dairy Queen ice cream cake but without the frosting layer (we are a Cool Whip free home).

I made up a chocolate cookie crust with little chocolate cookies from Trader Joe's.

I made a thick homemade fudge sauce (recipe courtesy of my momma).

I made "frosty" ice cream using fat free vanilla ice cream and coco powder and milk. (I usually make our frostys in the bender but due to the increased amount I used my mixer.)

I layered everything up, stuck it in the freezer, crossed my fingers and did a little tiny please-freeze-and-taste-good-and-don't-fall-completely-apart-and-hold-a-candle-or-two dance and went to bed for the night.

  
Editor's note: I didn't get great photos due to a tiny person hanging on my pant leg while I was cooking and the same tiny person screaming in their highchair while it was being served. It was a whirlwind of a birthday meal but the "Frosty Cake" was DELICIOUS! Really, how can you ever go wrong with homemade chocolate fudge sauce.

  

"Wendy's" Frosty Cake Recipe 

I made mine to fit in a 9x9 pan 

Easily could be doubled for thicker dessert in a 9x13

Crust layer:
3 1/2 c. Crushed chocolate cookies (I used low fat chocolate animal cookies from Trader Joe's)

6 T melted butter

1/8 cup sugar

Ice Cream Layer:

3 1/2 c. vanilla ice cream (I used fat free Breyer's)

8 T Nestle Nesquik Powder

1/2 c. skim milk

Chocolate Sauce Layer:

1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

3 T butter

1/2 c powdered sugar

6 oz evaporated milk (3/4 c.)

1/2 t. vanilla

Crust: combine ingredients and press into 9x9 pan and set in freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Ice Cream Layer: Combine ingredients and use blender or mixer to mix until soft and combined. Layer on top of cookie crust and return to freezer. 

Chocolate Sauce: Melt chocolate chips and butter. Add powdered sugar and evaporated milk. Cook and stir 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in vanilla. Cool sauce completely and then pour over ice cream layer. Freeze until firm.

YUM!!