Homemade Donuts: I Might Be Obsessed

Despite the photo, this is not a Valentine's Day post! I promise.

It's about donuts and the easy-peasy ones I made for Valentine's Day. The ones that were super yummy. The ones I pretend are "healthier" than regular donuts because they are baked and not fried.

I was inspired to make donuts instead of our traditional heart shaped pancakes by a trip to Target where I saw a heart-shaped donut pan and the recipe it featured looked pretty easy. I'm always up for easy. Especially the kind of easy I can make them night before! Although, I think they would be even been better eaten them the day they were made, but since Valentine's Day fell on a Tuesday, we didn't have that luxury.

Baked Donuts
2 cups cake flour (I didn't use this because I didn't have it; I used all-purpose flour.)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour pan (I used Baker's Joy). Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl. (I didn't do this either. I never sift. And yet I always wonder why I'm not such a good baker. It can't possibly be because I'm lazy and never follow the exact directions!) Stir in buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla; beat until just combined. Fill each cup 2/3 full. (2/3 cup was way too much! I figured this out on my first batch. It spills over the edge and you don't have the pretty heart-shaped hole in the middle. I filled each additional panful only a scant 1/2 full. I probably could have gotten 4 pans worth had I done this first, but since I didn't, I only got 3 pans.) Bake 10-12 minutes, until the top of the donuts spring back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes in the pan; invert onto cooling rack and cool completely. Glaze and decorate as desired.

Glaze
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla

Pour a bunch of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Add just a teeny-tiny bit of milk and a splash of vanilla and stir. Keep adding little bits of milk until desired consistency is reached. (This is just like cookie icing, but you want it way thicker than that. Almost thick enough to stand on its own. At least, I did. I didn't want all the icing to fall down the sides and through the middle. I wanted it to sit on the top and hold the sprinkles. I think mine could have been a little thicker than it was and it was pretty thick!) Dip each donut, top-side down, into the glaze and let the extra icing drip off. Place on waxed paper or a cooling rack to set the icing. Top with sprinkles (if desired) before the icing is set.

*This is my own glaze recipe. I figured if it works for cinnamon rolls and cookies, it would work for donuts. The donut recipe came from the pan packaging. I'd love to try it with a chocolate glaze or dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar. Yum!

So there you go. Easy donuts. I'm dying to try more recipes and pinterest has been a big help. Here's a few:

* BIRTHDAY DONUT These are adorable!

*CHOCOLATE DONUTS Need I say more?

* How good would PUMPKIN DONUTS be with a hot cup of coffee on a snowy, winter morning?

* Maybe RED VELVET DONUTS for Brad's birthday. Or PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE DONUTS for my own. Or LEMON DONUTS for a baby shower.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful obsession.

Let's blame it on Pinterest, shall we? I might have even bought some regular shaped donut pans so I can try a few of these recipes out soon. We'll call it an early birthday present to myself. :)

So for all of you who thought I was crazy for making homemade donuts for Valentine's Day, you can see it's pretty easy. You should've known it was since that's the only kind of baking I do!

Happy Donut Making!