Biscoff Spread

Have you ever seen this stuff!? It is terribly delicious! I say terribly because I am utterly hooked. One of my local grocery stores had some out to sample a couple of weeks ago with chunks of bread and after my third trip of wandering back over to get another taste, I decided to buy a jar before they made me pay for my multiple samplings =)

I describe it as Belgium's peanut butter substitute. I have been using everywhere I would normally put peanut butter and my daughter can eat it because it contains no nuts (She isn't two yet so we haven't given her peanut butter yet). I'm excited to start experimenting with it while baking, but will have to buy another jar first because we couldn't stop eating it. My favorite way of enjoying it has been to spread a thin layer on a whole wheat tortilla and roll it up. If you see a jar, I highly suggest picking it up!

Fried Doughnuts

You may be wondering why I am showing you a picture of refrigerated pizza crust if I am making fried doughnuts......That's because it works perfect for little fried yeast doughnuts! It is so simple and sooo good!

Simply unroll your pizza crust dough and cut out your doughnuts. I used a letter "O" cookie cutter but you can use anything from a drinking glass to a 2 liter pop bottle cap to cut out the center.

I poured vegetable oil into a deep skillet until it was between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch deep. You want just enough vegetable oil for the doughnuts to float. I turned the heat up to medium on the stove to heat my oil. I can tell when the oil is ready when I put the handle of a wooden spoon in and little bubbles immediately form around it. A deep fryer can also be used if you have one.

Please be very careful around hot oil as it can be one of the most dangerous things you do in the kitchen. Click here for guidelines and safety rules for home deep frying.

Carefully lay the dough into the hot oil to fry, they literally only take a few seconds. Make sure to turn them to fry both sides and don't forget to fry those doughnut holes either!

Place the fried doughnuts onto paper towels to drain off the excess oil. Make sure not to over fry them as they can become a little tough.

But we aren't going to leave these little fried doughnuts naked! I had a bowl of powdered sugar, a bowl of cinnamon sugar, and a bowl of icing waiting to dip all of my doughnuts into. The icing is simply powdered sugar mixed with water and vanilla extract until it is the desired consistency.

Roll or dip your doughnuts into one of the toppings and enjoy. These doughnuts are best when they are fresh and still warm.

Graduation Cupcakes

Remember my niece Tiffany from Cupcakes at Tiffany's? Well, she recently made some cupcakes herself for her older sister Taylor's high school graduation and she did an awesome job!

Tiffany decorated the tops of her frosted cupcakes with a chocolate square with an attached M&M and sour straw in their school colors to make graduation caps. Great Job Tiff!

Here is a picture from this last Easter with Tiffany, my daughter Samantha and my other niece Emily (who also likes to bake!)

Aren't they beautiful?!

Happy Father's Day Weekend and see you on June 20th for Doughnuts!

See You June 20th!

Sorry Everyone,
I am going to have to miss this week but will be back on June 20th with "Homemade" Doughnuts!
Have a good week and see you then!

Going to the Dogs

My friend Traci (a wonderful baker!) recently asked me if I would be interested in donating some baked goods for a bake sale benefiting a local spay and neuter clinic for rescue animals. Of course I was!

First I made a batch of No Bake Cookies. I have learned that these yummy morsels seem to be a Midwest, country treat. When I first met my city born and bred husband, he had never even heard of these! But after the first time I made a batch for him, he has never looked back.

I also made a batch of brownie bites. I took a store bought brownie mix and followed the directions for a chewy brownie. I also replaced the water with room temperature, brewed coffee. I baked them in mini muffin cups and once they were cool I drizzled them with melted chocolate.

Now if I could tug on your heartstrings a bit........

Have you ever thought about a rescue dog? We did and she is wonderful! We adopted our Lucky dog 3 years ago when our local Humane Society discovered over 120 dogs living in one house. When we heard about this, my husband and I just knew we had to do something. And so did the community. Droves of people donated money, supplies and their time. And all the dogs found homes. Here are some pictures of Lucky and our equally loved and spoiled Sheltie Chloe.

Frozen Custard

Once in a while a piece of special equipment in the kitchen is warranted and this is one of those times. As the weather turns from warm to hot, ice cream has been on my mind. Especially when that ice cream happens to be frozen custard! Memorial Day Weekend always seems to be the beginning of summer in my mind and what better way to start summer than homemade ice cream. Simple and small ice cream makers are pretty easy to find and inexpensive now. They come with all the necessary equipment and you just place the base in the freezer a day ahead of time instead of using ice and salt as in old fashion versions.

I started off by scalding 2 cups of whole milk.

While the milk was on the stove, I mixed together egg yolks with vanilla sugar and salt. When my milk was scalded I very slowly poured it into my egg mixture while whisking.

Once all the milk was incorporated, I poured it all back into the saucepan and stirred in constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon.

I removed it from the heat once it was thickened and had just started to boil. I let it cool for about 10 minutes and then added in vanilla extract and heavy cream. I  poured it all into the base of my ice cream maker once it had cooled completely from being in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

Following the directions for my particular ice cream maker, I left it running until the custard was as thick as it was going to get in the machine.

Then I transferred it into another container with a lid and put it into the freezer to finishing freezing the rest of the way through.

Doesn't that look good! I promise it's really creamy too!

How about some frozen blueberries on top....

...Or hot fudge and sprinkles!

Hope Everyone had a Wonderful Holiday Weekend!

Frozen Custard

2 Cups Whole Milk
3 Egg Yolks
1 Cup Vanilla Sugar (Plain sugar is also fine)
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Scald milk over medium heat in saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt. Very slowly whisk in scalded milk with egg mixture. Return back to saucepan and cook over medium heat while stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Mixture will thicken while it cooks and remove from heat just as it comes to a boil. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes and stir in cream and vanilla. Let mixture cool completely in refrigerator for several hours to overnight before pouring it into ice cream maker. Follow your manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker. Once finished, pour into container with lid and store in freezer to finish setting up.

Candy Bouquet

Remember the Cookie Bouquet I posted after Mother's Day? If you want something simpler but just as impressive, check out this Candy Bouquet that was featured on Martha Stewart!

Candy Centerpiece From Martha Stewart by Dylan Lauren