White Whole Wheat {baked} Buttermilk Donuts

Happy Leap Day!  Because today is a special day, I thought I’d share a special recipe – one for yummy buttermilk donuts.  Frog Prince and I don’t make donuts all that often, so this is an extra special treat. 

Frog Prince got me a donut pan for my birthday, so this gave me a good excuse to break it in. I had some trouble figuring out how full to fill the tin {never mind the nearly hole-less donuts in the photo below}, but once I got that straightened out, we had delicious and perfectly shaped donuts in no time at all. 

The first time out of the gate with this pan, I used the recipe that came with the pan from Nordic Ware.  Of course, I made it healthier by trying it out using white whole wheat flour. 

They were a great doughnut – a simple, basic recipe that was good with glaze, powdered sugar, and dark chocolate honey fudge melted over the top as frosting!

If you don’t have a donut pan, just use a mini muffin tin to make donut holes!

White Whole Wheat {baked} Buttermilk Donuts – Adapted from Nordic Ware

Ingredients

• 2 C white whole wheat flour
• 4 T corn starch
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 C buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 T melted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Begin by measuring out the flour.  Once you have 2 C white whole wheat flour in a large bowl, remove 4 T of the flour and return it to the bag.  Replace that flour with 4 T corn starch.  Then, using a flour sifter or a wire whisk, blend the corn starch into the flour mixture.  You now have a white whole wheat cake flour variety! 

Add the 1/2 C sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, & 1/2 tsp. salt to the flour and sift or whisk together. 

Pour in 3/4 C buttermilk and 1 T melted butter.  Add in the 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. 

Beat the wet & dry ingredients together until just combined.

Fill the donut mold 1/2 way with batter.  If you are using a mini muffin tin to make donut holes, fill them 2/3 of the way full. 

Bake the donuts at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until the top springs back after being touched lightly with your finger.  If you are making donut holes, check them after about 8 minutes. 

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack. 

If you wish to make a glaze, use powdered sugar, vanilla & water, or use chocolate frosting to frost the top of the donuts.  Cinnamon sugar was a hit on these too – just be sure to use a light butter mist to get the sugar to stick. 

Makes 18 donuts.  Best served the same day you make them, so if you don’t eat them all right away, freeze the leftovers.  They’ll taste just as great the next time you serve them, especially if you reserve adding the topping until you eat them. 

Black Bean Dip

This bean dip is my all time favorite – creamy and an excellent blend of flavors.  Frog Prince isn’t much for black beans, but even he will enjoy a couple bites of this dip. 

Black Bean Dip – Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 oz) black beans
• 2 T (heaping) sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1 T milk
• 2 tsp. minced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch of salt & pepper
• 1/4 C Colby Jack or Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

Rinse & drain the can of beans.  Add the beans to a blender along with 2 T sour cream, 1 T milk, 2 tsp. minced onion and 2 garlic cloves, minced.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper. 

Blend until beans are smooth. 

Stir in half of the cheese.  Then, pour the bean dip into a lightly greased small baking dish.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the beans. 

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until bean dip is bubbly & cheese has melted. 

Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips. 

Cake Batter Ice Cream

This post doesn’t really need an introduction.  Cake batter + ice cream = delicious. 

Cake Batter Ice Cream – Adapted from Sherry

Ingredients

• 1 C whipping cream
• 2 C half & half
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 C sugar
• 3/4 C dry cake batter mix
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a large measuring cup (we use a 4 C container), combine together 1 C cream, 2 C half & half along with 1/2 C milk and 1/2 C sugar.  Stir in the vanilla.  Then, whisk in the dry cake mix. 

Stir the mix until well blended.  Then, pour into your ice cream maker.  Make according to manufacturers directions. 

Serve right away if you desire a soft-serve consistency, or let harden to a hard-scoop consistency in your freezer for 2-3 hours before serving. 

My favorite way to enjoy this ice cream is with a delicious raspberry sauce, or in an ice cream cake!

Menu Plan – February 26

I know February is the shortest month, but at times this month has felt really long.  Frog Prince has been gone the better part of three weeks this month, which is likely why it’s felt so long.  But, with March just around the corner, the travel schedule slows down a lot!  Yippee!  While he was away last week, I enjoyed:

This week, Thursday our small group is serving dinner for 35 kids!  We are really excited and decided on a baked potato bar with all the fixings.  Since we all work during the day, our crockpots will be cooking away on the potatoes so they will be ready at 5pm to serve.  Wednesday night we’ll get together and prepare everything, which will be really fun.  We’re praying the forecasted snow this week won’t change our plans!

Sunday
Ham, Bell Pepper, Broccoli & White Cheddar Omelets
Ham & Asparagus Lasagna, Green Beans
Dessert: Thick & Chewy Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Monday
White Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Garden Veggie Shell Pasta Skillet, peas

Tuesday
Granola, milk & dried fruit
Leftovers Ham & Asparagus Lasagna and steamed veggies
Pie for a faculty meeting – Sweet Potato Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Wednesday
Granola & yogurt with raspberries
Leftover Garden Veggie Shell Pasta Skillet
Bible Study: Preparing food to serve at Tree House!

Thursday
Granola, milk & dried cherries
Serving Dinner (for 35): Crockpot Baked Potatoes w/ BBQ shredded chicken, baked potato toppings, salad & veggies, Chocolate Fudge Oat Bars

Friday
Apple Cider Doughnuts, apples
Baked Vegetable Sandwiches, Veggie Cheddar Soup
{Going to a play with friends, brownies for dessert?}

Saturday
TBD
Crockpot Chicken & Mushrooms {new}, brown & wild rice with steamed veggies

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

Friday Favorite Finds #97

Frog Prince just returned from his 5th trip in the last 6 weeks.  Flying solo is only fun for the first few hours of the first trip… after that, I  eagerly await his return.  And, while he’s away, I have extra time to browse all the good recipes out there. My Pinterest boards are getting full… guess it’s time to make what I pin! 

I know when I browse your finds, there are many that I pin – but I always make sure to pin the original recipe source.  I ask that you also pin the original recipe source rather than the blog upon which you find the pins in a post like Friday Favorite Finds.  The original authors need to get the pin and the associated traffic, not my blog. 

Here are a few of my finds this week:  {all photos are from the author of the recipes, linked from Pinterest}

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes
{We love a good pancake at our house & these seem to have my name on them!}

Source: traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

Country Club Chicken
{Looks like a delicious dinner for date-night at home!}

Source: kayotic.nl via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

Crockpot Italian Chicken
{We try to use our crockpot at least once per week, this one looks like something different for us to try, and like it would be excellent over brown rice!}

Source: stolenmomentscooking.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

No-Bake & Pudding Free Cheesecake
{I LOVE cherry cheesecake.  This recipe doesn’t rely on pudding mix and is also a no-bake, both of those sound like they’d fit well in our house!}

Source: the-wilson-world.blogspot.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

Slow Cooker Kielbasa & White Bean Stew with Spinach & Tomatoes
{Winter is still alive and well here, even though last weekend I wore capris and flip flops!  This stew might have to make an appearance this week.}

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

Brownie Batter Dip
{yes. please.}

 

 

Source: crumbsandchaos.blogspot.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

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BBQ Pulled Pork Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese

This is a simple dinner, but one that tastes delicious and is a complete meal when paired with steamed green veggies – like broccoli. 

Use your favorite BBQ sauce – or make your own from scratch.  I’ve been experimenting with a new BBQ sauce, and we tried that out this time.  It was tasty, but we think we like our cherry BBQ sauce a bit better. 

If you have two crockpots, I recommend making this using two.  If not, you can either make the meat a day in advance and just reheat it, or you can bake the potatoes in the oven. 

BBQ Pulled Pork Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients

• 1-2 potatoes per person eating dinner
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Your favorite BBQ sauce (ours is this cherry BBQ sauce)
• 1-2 lbs. pork roast or pork ribs
• Extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Begin by placing the pork into your crockpot.  Sprinkle with garlic and onion flakes, if desired.  Then, pour the BBQ sauce over the top.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  When done, use two forks to shred the pork. 

If you have a second crockpot, place the scrubbed potatoes into the crockpot, spritz them with olive oil and sprinkle a few granules of sea salt.  Cover and cook these potatoes in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 1-2 hours.  {see these directions for photos} 

Alternatively, scrub the potatoes, spritz with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

To serve, slice open potatoes, top with shredded BBQ pork & sprinkle with cheese. 

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

You all know I love sweet potatoes, right?  These rolls, from Tammy, are another amazing way to use sweet potatoes.  Potatoes in general make rolls mighty moist.  And, sweet potatoes… well, that makes them even better. 

I cut the recipe in half because the original recipe makes 4 dozen rolls!  We enjoyed them for sandwiches, served alongside chili, and even for grilled cheese. 

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls- Adapted from Tammy’s Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/4 C warm water
• 1 C warm milk
• 1/8 C butter
• 1 C sweet potato puree
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour
• 3 C all purpose flour (we used Eagle Mills Ultragrain All-Purpose Flour)
• 3 T yeast

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the 1/8 C butter and 1/4 C water, 1 C milk, and 1/4 C sugar together until the mixture comes to about 100 degrees.  If you wish to substitute honey for the sugar – use 1/3 C honey and add it to these liquid ingredients. 

Then, add in the 1 C sweet potato puree and check the temperature.  If you add cold potatoes, the temperature will decrease & you’ll want to reheat them to achieve a temp around 100 degrees before moving on to the next step. 

Meanwhile, combine together the 3 T yeast, 2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour, and 3 C all purpose flour.  Mix together until ingredients are combined. 

Pour the warmed sweet potato mixture into the flour. 

Knead for 5-6 minutes either by hand, or in the bowl of your mixer using the dough hook.  Dough should be smooth and elastic.  Then, shape into a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover.  Allow the dough to rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size. 

Then, shape the dough into dinner rolls by rolling the dough into balls about the size of a clementine.  You should have two-dozen (24) dinner rolls.

Place rolls you wish to bake immediately into a lightly greased pan.  Cover and allow them to rise again – about another 30-60 minutes, until they are doubled in size. 

*If you wish to freeze the dough, transfer the dough balls to a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.  Remove the dough and place it in a ziplock bag or freezer-safe, airtight container. 

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove rolls immediately and place them on a cooling wrack.  If desired, brush the top with additional melted butter.  Cover the rolls with a light towel until ready to serve. 

*If baking from frozen doughballs: remove the dough from the freezer 4-6 hours before baking.  Place the frozen dough balls into a lightly greased pan (the pan you wish to bake them in), and cover with a piece of lightly greased plastic wrap.  Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the dough should thaw in 2-3 hours, and then rise in about another hour.  Bake as instructed above.