Famous Pumpkin Doughnuts!

I saw these pumpkin doughnuts on Pinterest on the website http://www.kingarthurflour.com/. I thought these would be excellent for the girls to be involved in making. We made them and I gave my girls one to try. They were a hit. I took them to an event this weekend and the container was brought home empty, if that says anything. I would definitely give these a try. Super simple and very "Fallish." Have a tasty week.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Method:

1) Place ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2) Beat everything together until smooth.

Add 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons of  All-Purpose Flour, stirring just until smooth.

3) Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a couple of standard muffin tins; they just won’t be doughnuts.

4) Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full, using a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well; a tablespoon cookie scoop helps with this task. If you’re making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you’ll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).

5) Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re using self-rising flour, bake for the longer amount of time. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

6) Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

7) While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with cinnamon-sugar. Or better yet, pumpkin-spice sugar, made by combining the aforementioned pumpkin pie spice (or substitute) with granulated or extra-fine sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with the spiced sugar of your choice.

Vegan Magic Bars

I was looking for a good desert that would satisfy my sweet craving for this weekend. I didn't want the typical brownie, or cookie but landed on a recipe for magic bars. Now looking at the recipe there would be no way my stomach could handle the amazing amount of dairy in those things.  So without delay I googled vegan magic bars. Lots of recipes came up but I found one that looked really appetizing. It is from theveganversion.com. A really great site I might add. I am not going vegan but I find myself enjoying how the food makes me feel afterwards, thus my pull to eat more of it. So without much ado here is the recipe. Enjoy the sweetness.

Magic Cookie Bars

1 14 oz can coconut milk
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (read the label- not all graham crackers are vegan)
2 tbsp organic sugar
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli semi sweet)
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut ( I don't like the flakes so I omitted them.)
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On the stovetop in a pan bring the coconut milk and brown sugar to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted Earth Balance until the Earth balance is well incorporated. 

On a parchment lined 9x13 pan press the graham cracker crumbs into the pan starting in the center and working your way out to the sides.  Be sure to cover the entire bottom and press very firmly.

Pour the coconut milk mixture over the graham cracker, add a layer of chocolate chips, coconut and then nuts.  Press ingredients down with your hands ensuring the coconut milk mixture is absorbed into the upper layers.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.  Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to cool for at least four hours, preferably overnight.  Cut into bars, remove from the pan and enjoy.

Chocolate Chewy Brownies

I was looking around for some brownie recipes that didn't have any milk. Recently, I have been struggling with anything that has milk in it, even baked products. For myself, my joints ache and I don't feel like moving much not to mention all the digestive issues that occur with it. Fun Fun. So, I found this recipe on grouprecipes.com. It seems like a nice site. The following is the recipe. It turned out amazing! I was so surprised and it was super easy that my girls were able to help me.

Chocolate Chewy Brownies

My guest chef Olivia Colburn

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. cinnamon (to taste)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease 13x9 inch baking pan.
• Mix flour, sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, salt & cinnamon in large bowl.

Sifting the cocoa powder

Adding the baking powder and salt

 My second guest chef Juliana Colburn mixing the dry ingredients

• In a small bowl, mix soy milk, oil & vanilla.

This was before I added the oil.

Pour into the flour/sugar mixture and stir until evenly blended.

Pour into greased 13x9 baking pan.

• 
  
• Bake for 30-35 minutes.

NOTE: I baked them for 30 minutes, but if you want them more crispy and less gooey the bake them longer.