Baked Cider Donuts

For my birthday last month I received something I’d been wanting for months, a donut pan! It’s no secret that I looove donuts, like a lot. But yeah, they’re not all that great for you to eat. And that’s where the baked version comes in, it’s kind of like a muffin/cake donut and will satisfy your donut craving (it might take three, ahem, but it will). For my first foray into donut baking I went with some simple cider donuts that remind me of leaves falling and the market at Union Square where I always used to buy them.

Bake Cider Donuts

• 2 T butter (room temperature)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1 tspn ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tspn ground nutneg
• 1/8 tspn ground cloves
• 2 Tbsp apple cider
• 1 egg
• 1/8 tspn baking soda
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C milk

For the Glaze
• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp apple cider

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat donut pan(s) with cooking spray. With a mixer combine softened butter, oil, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Add in the cider and egg. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add milk. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet and mix in between. Using either a piping bag with large tip or medium-sized storage baggie, pipe the batter into the donut forms. Bake mini donuts for 4 minutes, large donuts for 6. Place baked donuts on rack to cool entirely. Make the glaze by whisking powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, and apple cider until smooth. Once donuts are cool, dip either the tops or the entire donut into the glaze. Place on cooling rack over cookie sheet to drip and dry. Makes 24 mini or 12 large donuts.

Cranberry Curd

I’ve been wanting to make curd for a few years now, I even compiled a big roundup awhile back hoping to get myself into gear to cook up a batch. No dice. Then a few weeks ago I found myself with some cranberries and a little procrastination running through my system. Turns out making curd (such an awful word for such a delicious thing) is really quite easy. I’ve been eating it on everything from flatbreads to toast, literally dipping right into the jar. YUM.

Cranberry Curd

• 1/2 lb. fresh cranberries (a little over 2 cups)
• 1/2 C water
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 C sugar
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries and water over medium heat. Cook until the cranberries pop and start to bubble. Pass the liquid through a strainer into a bowl, using the underside of a spoon to press. Allow to cool to room temperature and return to saucepan. Whisk together the egg yolks and egg, then pour in sugar and whisk some more until combined. Add the egg mixture to the cranberry puree in the saucepan, and continue whisking until combined. Place over medium heat and whisk constantly until the custard thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, one Tbsp at a time. Pour curd into a covered bowl or jar and chill for at least an hour. Keep refrigerated.

Creamy Pumpkin Bisque

This slightly spicy, super comforting Creamy Pumpkin Bisque has been my go-to autumn soup for the past several years. As soon as the temps drop just the slightest and the leaves start to turn, I have a pot of this easy to make crowd pleaser on the stove. It’s basically the equivalent of my own personal pumpkin spice latte, welcoming in the cooler half of the year!

Creamy Pumpkin Bisque

• 1 stalk celery, halved
• 1 carrot, quartered
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp pepper flakes (adjust for level of heat)
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 C pumpkin puree (2 cans)
• 4 C chicken or vegetable broth (2 cans)
• 1 C heavy cream (or half and half)

Add celery, carrot, onion, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to a large saucepan set to medium-high heat. Sautee until fragrant, roughly 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, broth, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and remove vegetables, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Incorporate cream. Allow to cool slightly before serving. So good with thick sliced bread or rolls!

Serves 4.

Pumpkin Marshmallow Pie

Your head just exploded a little, didn’t it? It’s okay, hearing about this pie tends to do that to people. I mean pumpkin, marshmallow, graham cracker crust – COME ON! It’s almost too much to handle. Almost. This pie is totally unexpected, yet tastes a lot like pumpkin pie with the whipped cream/Cool Whip/what have you already mixed in.

Pumpkin Marshmallow Pie

• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 14 oz mini marshmallows
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pt. whipping cream
• 2 – 9″ graham cracker pie crusts

Using a teflon saucepan or skillet, combine pumpkin, marshmallows, and cinnamon over medium low heat. Stir continuously until marshmallows are melted completely. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (about an hour). Once nearly chilled, whip whipping cream (a chilled metal bowl yields the best results) with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form (around 5 minutes). Set aside. Remove pumpkin and marshmallow mixture from refrigerator and beat with mixer until slightly fluffy (about a minute), then fold in whipped cream in increments. Divide mixture between both graham crackers crusts. Cover and chill until firm, roughly 2-3 hours. Serves 16.

Sidenotes: This pie is sweet. I’d love to mess around with the pumpkin-to-marshmallow ratio a bit or use a traditional pie crust in place of graham cracker.