Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These are Kait's absolutely favorite cookies… so much so that she makes them year round, not just during the holidays.  Since they are one of her go-to's when baking cookies, we thought they were the perfect way to kick off our 25 Days of Cookies bake-a-thon!  We have used several different recipes to bake these over the years, but  Williams-Sonoma's recipe is the one we keep coming back to.  Here is a look at how our cookies turned out:










Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powder sugar
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coca powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt
3. Spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt

5. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter and sugar.  Beat on medium speed until creamy (about 3 minutes)
6. Turn off and scrape down the sides of the bowl (our favorite tool to do this is the Chef'n Mixer Spatula)
7. Add one of the eggs and beat on medium until blended, then add the other egg and vanilla and continue to beat on medium until blended

8. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides again, if necessary, and then gradually add the flour mixture.  Beat on low until the dough is just blended

9. Put the powder sugar in a medium bowl
10. Spray your cookie sheets with non-stick spray
11. Scoop a tablespoon of dough and use your hands to form into a ball
12. Roll the dough in the powder sugar until covered

13. Place the prepared cookie dough on your cookie sheets approximately 2" apart

14. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  The cookies should be crackled and puffed

15. Leave the cookies on the sheet to cool for about 10 minutes
16. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack to continue cooling

Recipe from: Williams-Sonoma

What are you baking today? Mari & Kait

Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Some of our favorite baking memories from when we were kids were snow days.   I know, what kid doesn't love snow days?!  But it wasn't just about having a day off from school and going sledding.  We had another snow day tradition as well: making homemade donuts.  Two of our cousins lived next door to us, which led to a very close family and lots of crazy memories. On snow days we would track over there in-between sledding runs and our Aunt would help us make donuts.  Even though we loved making them, they always seemed so complicated and we wished for a simpler process.  There was hot oil, rolling, and cutting them out. Well fast forward to today, we still make donuts but now we bake them. They are healthier and also much simpler!

As we were planning everything for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted an easy and simple breakfast for everyone. Not everyone will wake at the same time, some of us are running a Turkey Chase 5-Miler, some will hunt early in the morning… so having something prepared the night before that everyone can grab at their leisure works best.  Hmmm… what should we make… LIGHTBULB: baked donuts! These are so delicious and will definitely be found on our kitchen table Thanksgiving morning!

Yield: 18 donuts

Ingredients:

(For the Batter):

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

(For the topping):

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter (melted), and vanilla

4. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (be careful not to over beat the batter)

5. Spray your donut pans with non-stick cooking spray
6. Fill the pans about 3/4 full

7. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until they spring back too the touch and a toothpick comes out clean

8. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, and then gently tap them out onto a cooling rack
9. While the donuts are cooling, melt a stick of butter in a small sauté pan

10. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon

11. Dip the top of your donut in the butter, and then in the cinnamon sugar mixture, pressing down and twisting
12. Place back on the cooling rack to finish cooling





Display, serve & enjoy!

Drink Pairing Suggestion: Spiked Caramel Apple Cider
If you are enjoying the donuts for brunch or as something sweet after supper, we suggest enjoying it with one of our favorite fall drinks, Spiked Caramel Apple Cider.  It is Thanksgiving after all… go ahead and indulge!

To make: Combine ice, caramel flavored vodka, and apple cider in a mason jar.  Stir, add a straw, and enjoy!

Donut recipe adapted from: Food Network

What are you baking today?  Mari & Kait