Long John Donuts

How was everyone's Christmas? It definitely went by fast but was a lot of fun and very yummy with all the sweet treats.

So have you ever heard of long johns? No not the seafood the donuts! I never knew they were called long johns. So I decided to tackle them because my boyfriends grandma really likes them and I told her I would try my luck.

Dough Ingredients:
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
2 Tbsp warm water
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus some for working the dough
1 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Canola or other neutral oil for frying 

Let's make the dough... First add your warm water and room temp milk to the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle in the yeast. Add the rest of the dough ingredients, the flour being the last addition. Use a dough hook to mix. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl. If you don't have a stand mixer you can mix everything by hand with a wooden spoon. 

Next put your dough ball in a greased bowl and let rise for 2 hours. 

Something about rising dough...it's so cool :) 
When your dough has risen, turn it onto a floured surface and roll out into a big rectangle and slice into 12 equal pieces. 

Let your pieces rise again for 15-20 mins. During this time you can get your oil heated up to fry them. Bring your oil to 350 degrees and fry each side for 2-3 minutes and drain on a paper towel. 

Now time for the yummy filling!

Filling Ingredients: 
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups vegetable shortening
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
8 cups powdered sugar

Using a sauce pan on medium high heat dissolve the granulated sugar and water. Remove from the heat once boiling. Let cool completely then pour into a mixing bowl.

Mix in oil, shortening an extract on high. Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time. It should be nice and fluffy. If it is too stiff add a table spoon of water until it's fluffy and smooth. 

To fill the donuts I used a knife to hollow out the center and I used a pastry bag to pipe in the frosting. 

Now for the finishing touch...chocolate frosting. mmmmmm!

Chocolate Topping Ingredients: 
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tsp light corn syrup
1 Tsp vanilla extract
3 oz bittersweet chocolate
1-2 cups powdered sugar




Heat the liquid ingredients and butter until hot. Do not boil. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Off the heat whisk in the powdered sugar. Spread on the donuts and ENJOY!!!

It's a little bit of work but soooo worth it. They were a hit! 

Happy Sweet Tooth Saturday! 

Brownie Santa Hats & Cookies in a Jar

Hi sweet toothers! Santa is almost here!!! Today we are celebrating Christmas at my parents. I told my mom I would bring the dessert. I was originally going to bring a ho ho cake. Where you take chocolate cake and roll it with a white frosting center and top with chocolate ganache. Mmmmm yep sounds yummy...turned into a disaster!!! My cake crumbled all over the place, there was no rolling going on here :(. Oh well, improvise right? Right! I saw this idea on Pintrest as I'm sure many of you have. Bake your brownies, cut out with a small circle cookie cutter and top with frosting and strawberries...Perfect and oh so cute!

This year I am also giving some homemade gifts. What better than a jar of cookie mix! All they have to do is add butter, eggs and vanilla.

There are many many sites online with many many recipes to choose from. Did I say many???

I hope you have had a fun holiday baking season and have tried some of these yummy and cute ideas.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Mail from Grandma ~ Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Hello everyone! Can you believe only 11 days til Christmas!!! My baking is in full swing and today I am sharing with you another one of my childhood favorites. Grandma sent me the recipe and they turned out perfect!

Mail from Grandma

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Try it out for your holiday cookie tray! They taste like brownies...mmmm!

 1/2 Cup  OIL
  4 Squares  BAKERS CHOCOLATE -- MELTED IN DOUBLE BOILER
  2 Cups  GRANULATED SUGAR
  4 Eggs
  2 Teaspoons  VANILLA
  3 Cups  FLOUR
  2 Teaspoons  BAKING POWDER
  1/2 Teaspoon  SALT'

MIX OIL AND SUGAR TOGETHER. ADD EGGS THEN THE CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, FLOUR,
BAKING POWDER AND SALT. MIX WELL. ROLL IN BALLS IN
HANDS, THEN IN POWDER SUGAR. KEEP SMALL SO THEY PUFF UP. IF MADE TOO LARGE -WILL FLATTEN. PLACE ON COOKIE SHEET. BAKE APPROXIMATELY 10-15 MINUTES IN A 350 DEGREE OVEN. IF BAKED TOO LONG, WILL HARDEN. COOL SLIGHTLY BEFORE REMOVING FROM PAN.

Look how awesome they look all "crinkled" :)

Tip: I chilled my dough before I rolled it into balls. It was very sticky and hard to roll. Chilling it help a lot. 

Enjoy and Happy Sweet Tooth Saturday! 

~ Thanks Grandma for another great recipe!

Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies

Hi my fellow sweet toothers! Can you believe 18 more days until Christmas?! How is your holiday baking going? I started today with an oldie but goodie. I remember making these as a kid. My mom passed downed the cookie press to me this year. I couldn't wait to use it...

Anyone remember this?

Looks like it's been passed down a few times :). Inside includes the press with slides of different shapes for cookies and tips for frosting.

I chose the tree shape. There is a recipe on the box for cookie dough.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

teeny tinny colorful ball sprinkles.

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla together well. Add 2 eggs and combined. then add flour and salt.

I tinted my dough green with a few drops of green food coloring.

Press the dough onto an non greased cookie sheet. Then press the sprinkles on the dough.

The directions on the box said to bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 mins...

Yea I don't think so :). I brought the heat down to 375 and baked for 6-7 mins.

So tinny and yummy! Brings back great memories.

These will for sure adorn our cookie platters again. It's been awhile.

Happy Holiday Baking & Happy Sweet Tooth Saturday!

Looks like there are new aged cookie presses out there ;)
http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/wilton-pro-ultra-ii-cookie-press?ID=887711&cm_mmc=Google_PLA_Home_Cookware-_-Cookware+-+Bakeware+-+PLA-_-33522634744_adc_pg_305_11118_527ab444e4b0edb504b542e2_33522634744_{device}-_-_mkwid_70896440181USA|d{device}_33522634744|-|70896440181USA