glaze

Raspberry Sweet Rolls

January 20, 2017

If there is one thing that I don’t have to worry about when I go home and visit my parents it’s going hungry. We are always well fed no matter where we go; especially at my dad and stepmom’s house. My stepmom is a serious cook! And she spoils us rotten with her amazing baked goods.

While we were home for the holidays she whipped up a batch of raspberry sweet rolls. I don’t think I had ever had raspberry sweet rolls before, but I was an instant believer. With every bite I was picking her brain on how she made them. “Did you use jam for the filling?” “Did you add any butter?”

I knew I had to try these once I got home!

The dough is pretty much what you would use to make cinnamon rolls. This is basically a cinnamon roll after all…just without the cinnamon.

I activated the yeast in some warm milk, then mixed that in with some butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. After kneading the dough for about 5 minutes, I placed it in a separate bowl to double in size.

Once the dough was proofed, I dumped it out onto the counter that I had lined with parchment and flour to prevent the dough from sticking. I then rolled it out into a large rectangle and spread some softened butter over top.

To get the tiny pieces of raspberries, I used my stepmom’s trick and put the frozen berries in a bag, then whacked the crap out of them with a rolling pin. It’s great for stress relief! The raspberries just break apart into tiny little raspberry pellets. Which makes them perfect for sprinkling on top of the dough.

On top of the raspberries, I sprinkled on some of the sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Then I rolled the dough into a tight spiral from one end to another.

I cut the spiral into 2″ discs and placed them in a baking dish, or in my case a cake pan, to bake. In retrospect, I wish I would have used a square or rectangular pan so that they had more room to spread out while they baked.

Once out of the oven, I drizzled a simple glaze over the tops and let the drip down into all the nooks and crannies. What is great about these rolls is that they aren’t too sweet, so the glaze perfectly compliments the tart raspberries.

These raspberry sweet rolls actually reminded me of the Entemann’s Coffee cake my mom used to buy at the store when I was little. And I mean that in the best way possible. I loved that stuff!

I really just loved the bright raspberry filling that just tasted so fresh since it is pretty much just raspberries and a bit of sugar. I also loved the sweet and soft rolls. Everything about these was really just delicious. And dare I say, almost as good as my stepmoms?!?

Okay, I probably shouldn’t get ahead of myself. But they were close!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:119]

Glazed Gingerbread Donuts

November 28, 2016

Before we left to visit family in Texas for Thanksgiving, I decided I needed to put up my Christmas tree and get our house ready for the holidays. I pulled out all of the Christmas decorations that we had acquired over the years and unpacked it all (to see what I had to work with). It was like Christmas had thrown up in our living room. Which for me, was lots of fun. Not so much for my husband.

To fuel my Christmas decorating bender, I thought it would be appropriate to have a Christmas-themed breakfast. There are lots of things that remind me of Christmas, but maybe none more than gingerbread! My first thought was gingerbread pancakes (been there, done that). Then I thought: Gingerbread Donuts!

The gingerbread baking in the oven filled our kitchen with so many wonderful holiday scents – brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. It smelled heavenly!

To make the gingerbread batter, I mixed together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Separately, I whisked together the milk, butter, molasses, and egg. Then I mixed the two together to make a light and fluffy batter.

I use a big zip-top bag to pipe the batter into the donut tin. I tend to overfill my donut tin, forgetting that the donuts will puff up and rise in the oven. Next time I will remind myself to only fill up the tin three-quarters of the way.

They don’t take very long to bake, but I used that down time to whip up the vanilla glaze. The glaze is pretty simple to make: whisk together milk, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. I added just enough milk until the glaze was the right consistency.

I kept my glaze rather thick, mainly for the photos. But when I make these again, I will make my glaze thinner. I want the gingerbread to be the star of the show. If you make these at home, you could even skip the glaze completely and dust the donuts with confectioners’ sugar.

Any way this gingerbread donut is dressed (I tried the donuts plain, with confectioners’ sugar, and glaze….it’s a tough job, folks), it’s delicious. Light, yet moist and oh so flavorful. It is the perfect compliment to a cup of holiday spice coffee. Also the perfect start to a day of holiday decorating!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:100]

Baked Strawberry Donuts

April 30, 2014

When I was a kid, my dad would always take me to get donuts on the weekends. Something about a donut just brings me back to simpler times when your only weekend responsibility was to play outside and maybe do a little homework. Oh, and not worrying about counting all those calories.

Now, weekends are full of chores and errands, and of course a little fun here and there. And just like when I was a kid, I think weekends are a time for a little treat. A little reminder of being a kid again.

What I love about making (and baking) donuts at home, is that they are just about the same recipe as a muffin just shaped in a circle. You can make them as healthy or unhealthy as you like. This weekend combines a little bit of both. The batter is made with whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt, but they also have 2 layers of icing.

I glazed the donuts first in a vanilla glaze made with confectioners sugar and milk. Then I dipped them into a strawberry icing made with pureed strawberries and confectioners sugar.

I also mixed strawberries into the batter for some extra strawberry flavor. Strawberry jam could instead be mixed into the batter for a more concentrated flavor.

Other than the excessive icing, these donuts are a far cry from the ones I had from a child. They are baked, not fried, and use much more healthy ingredients. It almost makes this childhood favorite guilt-free again. Almost.

[yumprint-recipe id=’15’]