Donuts, scones, and the cutest little bundle of joy…

The winter funk is still here.  The few days of sunshine that we did have the last week was wonderful, and I even got to get out and do some shooting which was nice.  Baking-wise, I have only done a few things this week.  Regardless, they all tasted great, and I have to restrain myself from eating three scones a day!  This week I am excited cause I am making my hubby some homemade chocolates for Valentine’s Day (he doesn’t know this yet, so don’t tell him!), and I will be trying to make candy for the first time.  Caramel?  I’m a little nervous I must say.  I will definitely be posting about this as well as our food adventure up to Seattle this weekend for the sweet holiday.  Now, on to the good stuff….

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

(I made my version a little healthier with applesauce and egg sub.  You can use butter and whole eggs if you wish)

I adapted this recipe from the blog A Mingling of Tastes.  Its a great blog, you should check it out!

Makes 13 small scones

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
2 Tbs sugar/splenda
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, or any finely chopped chocolate of your choice
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 large eggs)
1/4 cup milk

1 ripe medium banana, mashed well
1/2 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 1 large or 2 smaller baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the chocolate.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg substitute and milk. Add the mashed banana and whisk to combine.

Add the peanut butter to the flour mixture and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until you have a coarse, sandy texture. Add the egg mixture and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Dough will be quite wet. Sprinkle lightly with flour and knead into a ball. Divide the dough into two sections, and flatten each ball and shape into a disk, about 1 inch thick. With a large, floured chef’s knife, cut dough into 6 wedges, depending on the size scone you want (the size you see in the pictures are from a 13-scone batch).

Keep flouring your knife and slide it under the wedges like a spatula, then carefully lift them onto the prepared baking sheets. Again, the dough will be wet–just pat any misshapen scones back together with your fingers. Bake 13-15 minutes, or until scones are lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean. If you using 2 baking sheets, swap their positions halfway through. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.

You can preserve these by wrapping them in plastic wrap once they have come to room temperature and placing in the freezer.  To serve, simply warm in the oven (still frozen) for about 10 minutes.

My recipe yielded 155 calories per scone.

Then I made donuts.  I am not going to post the recipe because I really wasn’t that impressed with them. I did, however, like my pictures.  They look way more appetizing than they actually tasted, so here you go (just imagine that they tasted wonderful!)

Today I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Hollie who just gave birth to her first son, little Johnny Junior!  He is seriously one of the cutest babies, and I am so happy for Hollie and Johnny.  Instead of showing up with a bouquet of flowers, I thought I would take her a bunch of her favorite cupcakes.  They smelled AMAZING as I was making them, and it seriously took everything inside of me to resist totally pigging out on them.  The recipe I used is from MarthaStewart.com, for Devil’s Food Cupcakes.  I then added a Vanilla Buttercream frosting to top it off.  I think I might just make these again  VERY soon, they looked so yummy.

Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Taken from MarthaStewart.com – I halved this recipe to get 13 cupcakes.

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and garnish with chocolate curls just before serving.

From Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting- this recipe makes 5 cups, but I halved it and had more than enough frosting for my 13 cupcakes.

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar and egg whites in mixer bowl. Place bowl over pot of simmering water; whisk until hot and sugar is completely dissolved, 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat mixture on high until cooled, about 15 minutes.
2. Using paddle attachment, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until completely incorporated. Stir in vanilla. If not using immediately, refrigerate in airtight container up to a week, or freeze up to a month. Bring to room temperature, and rebeat or stir vigorously before using.

From Martha Stewart Baby, Spring 2001

Here are some snapshots I took during the visit:

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