Baked Caramel Apple Donuts

This whole post was originally about how discouraging it can be to fall into a creative slump while being busy with things you aren't passionate about, and then I deleted it. The thought of someone reading it and scoffing, "oh she thinks she's just SO busy," killed my vibe entirely, and that is some real bullshit. This blog isn't for those people. It's for awesome, nonsensical, nice people who like good food and sharp wit.

...And dogs, but that doesn't really apply right now.

If that sounds anything like you, then try this baked caramel apple donut recipe (adapted from Queen Shutterbean) and dance around like an idiot while you're at it. I recommend this song to set the mood.

Side note: supportive people are the best. Be one. Find one. Keep 'em around forever!

The first thing you should know about these donuts is that the apple flavor comes out just perfectly after they set overnight. Also, if you aren't reeeeaaally into caramel, you may want to go with a different topping (obviously) because the one I used is mighty chewy. However, it does soften up overnight. Give them a try! You won't hate me for it.

Baked Caramel Apple Donuts

Adapted from Shutterbean 

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 medium Gala apples, peeled & shredded
• 1 1/2 cup chewy caramel candies
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• Optional: chocolate melts for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray donut pans with cooking spray & set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Whisk in oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined; stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pans until almost full. Baked until golden and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out dry. It takes about 15-20 minutes.

In a small, microwaveable bowl, combine the caramel and milk. Microwave for 1 minute at medium power. then stir; repeat in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. If making small donuts, dip them directly into the caramel. For larger donuts, spoon caramel topping on top! If you want chocolate drizzle, melt your chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, then transfer it to a ziplock bag and snip one corner off. Drizzle quickly!

Cranberry & White Chocolate Scones

Sometimes people make decisions you don't agree with, and you either have to support them anyway or do everything you can to thwart their efforts. Because you know what's good for them.

My mom has decided to give up sugar.

Even during Christmas.

Even when I'm around.

Even if I kick and scream and make lots of cookies.

It has become clear that I can't talk her out of it. My only option is to negotiate narrowly acceptable foods and make them for her immediately, which is why these scones happened. Scones aren't high on my list of favorite baked goods, but if they'll work for my mom's new "alternative lifestyle" then I'll break out the dough scraper and get started.

This cranberry & white chocolate scone recipe only uses 1/4 cup of sugar, which is pretty impressive! The cranberries and white chocolate chips add more sweetness, and drizzling some melted white chocolate over them adds a nice touch. These would also be great with variations like lemon zest or cinnamon!


Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones
Recipe from Food.com

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries or 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or pieces)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl by hand or using an electric mixer, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter.
3. Add the half and half, beaten egg, cranberries (I like the dried ones), and the white chocolate chips, and stir until the dough holds together.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 2 minutes.
5. Form into a 1/2-inch thick round, then cut the round into 8 wedges (you can also make two smaller rounds of smaller wedges, if you like).
6. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil, then transfer the wedges to the sheet.
7. Bake the scones at 400 degrees F for 14 minutes or until golden brown.

8. While they cool, melt leftover white chocolate chips in the microwave. Put melted chocolate in a zip-lock bag and use scissors to snip off one corner, making a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over scones.

DIY Boxwood Wreath

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've officially reached the point where Grinches can't say "it isn't even Thanksgiving yet" when complaining that we're starting Christmas too early.

Here's a really quick project to try if you're in the spirit! DIY boxwood wreaths. You can make them any size you want, and they're MUCH cheaper than buying from the store. I wish I could show you more of the process in photos, but I don't have a sidekick to take pictures while my hands are busy! If the instructions below aren't detailed enough, feel free to ask questions.

You will need:

• Boxwood sprigs - fresh or faux
• Wire - thick and thin! (You can also use a bent wire hanger as your frame)
• Wire Cutters
• Ribbon (optional) 

Instructions:

1. Cut your thicker wire to whatever size circle you want. Bend & shape it into a nice circle, or be fancy and try an oval or a heart. Secure the ends by wrapping them around each other.
2. Pick out your larger boxwood sprigs to use as the foundation. Lay them around your wire circle to see how you want them to be arranged.
3. Start attaching! Cut small pieces of your thinner wire (about 1 inch long) and use it to attach one end of your first boxwood sprig to the wreath. Repeat this along your sprig until it is fastened to the wreath in a curve (I fastened both ends & the middle of each sprig).
4. Repeat step 3 for each sprig until your whole wreath is covered. 
5. Look for blank spaces or areas where the wire is too visible and attach smaller sprigs to fill them in! You can add thicker pieces if you want a fuller wreath. 
6. Add a bow if that's your thing! Hopefully it is. I used a 1-inch cream colored satin ribbon and tied it into a simple bow with long "tails." Attach it by looping a piece of wire through the back of the bow (pictured below) and wrap it around the top of your wreath.

Push a piece of wire through the back of your bow.

Life-Changing Chocolate Cupcakes

People are generally surprised to learn that I go bat shit crazy for Valentine's Day. It is one of very few days of the year when I break out of my indifferent-at-best attitude and try to show each person I encounter that I appreciate their existence. These cupcakes are how I do that.

The dark chocolate ganache on these cupcakes is a BIG deal. You can and will become addicted. You know that song "This is What Dreams are Made of" by Hillary Duff? She wrote that about this stuff. It's a really great way to keep people around, like boyfriends and other people with taste buds.

Last year's awesome batch

You will need:
1 Box dark chocolate cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
4oz Dark chocolate bar, at least 60% cacao
4oz White chocolate bar
1 Cup dark chocolate chips
4 Tsp Corn syrup
Red food coloring
Sprinkles (optional but always a good idea)


Mix up your cake batter as directed on the box. Place cupcake wrappers in each tin, fill halfway, then add some chocolate chips and finish filling. This will ensure that they won't all sink to the bottom while they bake. Give the tin a good shake to even them all out and help them bake evenly! Pop them into the oven for the recommended time.

Meanwhile, make your life-changing chocolate ganache. Chop up your dark chocolate and white chocolate bars separately and place each into separate bowls that will be good for dipping. Pour the heavy whipping cream into a small pot and cook over medium heat. Bring it just to a boil and turn the heat off. Pour half of it over the dark chocolate and the other half over the white. Stir each with a fork until you have beautiful, smooth liquid chocolate. Add 2 teaspoons of corn syrup to each bowl and add 3-4 drops of red food coloring to the white chocolate. Stir again, then allow to set for about 10 minutes.

Are your cupcakes done yet? Of course they are, this is the internet and you're reading at your own pace. Let them cool completely.

Once they're cool, you're ready to start dipping! This is where the magic happens. You will never frost cupcakes faster in your entire life. Just grab a cupcake and dip the top straight into the dark chocolate ganche. While removing it from the ganache, give it a little spin to keep the dripping to a minimum. It's a good idea to pop them into the fridge to set.

Now it's time to decorate! You can be as lazy or as detailed as you want. The pink ganache makes a great decorating tool; you can either dip your cupcakes into it for a double-dipped look, put it into a piping bag with any tip your heart desires, or drizzle it on. Sadly, I realized I was out of Valentine sprinkles in the middle of making these, so I went with simple white pearls. Please outdo me.

Andrew is "not a sweets person" (WTS?) but even he can't resist these cupcakes, so I'll definitely be making more for Valentine's Day. And maybe every day after that. Who's with me?!

DIY Gifts: Chalkboard Mason Jars

Christmas just plain rocks. That's how I feel about it. If there is one thing I like, it's Christmas. Because CRAFTS, because FOOD, because FREE STUFF. How could anyone not like that?!

Oh yeah, because it's stressful, time-consuming, and expensive.

Today's craft is here to save you from all that nonsense. I made these as quick & easy Christmas gifts for my coworkers, but they'd be great for any age and any occasion! The best part of this DIY project is that your total costs come out to roughly:

$2 per person!

These jars are cute and functional with the chalkboard "label" painted on so friends & family can reuse them for storage purposes (pencils, coffee creamer, fingernail clippings, I don't care), but they will absolutely love the cake-in-a-mug mix that you fill it with! 

The 3-2-1 Cake Mix

Making the cake mix is the easiest thing you will ever do. Buy one box of Angel Food cake mix (this should be a "just add water" mix, like Betty Crocker's) and another box of whatever flavor cake mix your little holiday heart desires. I used chocolate because they why on Earth wouldn't I? Pour the dry mixes into a bowl and mix them up - JUST the dry mix - do not add any ingredients.

The Chalkboard Jars

Start off by using your blue tape to make the shapes you want to paint on each jar. I wanted to make this as easy as possible by painting squares, but you could definitely spice these up with different designs. Stripes could be fun, too!

Once that's done, paint a thin base layer onto the jar and make sure to let it dry completely, about an hour. You'll need to repeat this a few times until you're happy with it - I painted four layers to get the results I wanted. After painting your final layer, let the jars sit overnight so the paint can cure and become chalkboardy. That's a word, right? Ta-da, your jars are done! Fill them with the cake mix and any add-ins you choose, like M&Ms or crushed candy canes. 

Obviously you'll need to provide people with instructions for the mix, unless they really like a good riddle. The instructions will be at the bottom of this post. I typed up the recipe on Microsoft Word and printed out 12 copies on one page. Then, I cut them out and glued them onto some scrapbook paper I had laying around and tied them around each jar. To make sure everyone could use the chalkboard aspect of their gift, I taped a piece of chalk to the top of each jar. I'm pretty in love with how they turned out!

3-2-1 Cake Instructions

In a mug, mix 3 tablespoons dry mix with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Add any toppings, and enjoy!

The Not-Too-Crazy Detox

When people tell me they're on a strict, long-term diet I get completely mixed feelings. Example: the paleo diet. If a person tells me they are on the paleo diet, my first thought is always "this person is either clinically insane or has never been to the Cheesecake Factory," and my second thought is generally "that's really impressive, I want to try that!" .....until reality kicks in. I cannot even commit to watching The Mindy Project two weeks in a row, let alone change my entire diet permanently. I've always been curious about the benefits of detoxing, eating clean, and hitting "reset" on your system, but it all seemed too extreme!

Until now, every juice cleanse I read about or saw on Pinterest had some absurd requirement involved that would turn me off every time. Most of them sounded close to starvation while the others sounded like medical experiments without pay. This detox, however, is not too crazy.

Dr. Oz's 3-Day Detox Cleanse

End each day with a detox bath:

While hot water is running, pour 2 cups lavender epsom salt into bath.

Water should be at a comfortable temperature, but hot enough to trigger sweat.

Soak for about 15 minutes.

Benefits:

After doing this detox, my skin feels absolutely amazing and my complexion is glowing. My metabolism is running at lightspeed, I have more energy (without caffeine or sugar), and - drumroll please....

It eliminated that annoying last layer of fat over my lower abs. 

Seriously! Every girl's dream.

Going three full days without eating any solid food will also show you how much eating you do just because you want something to nibble on. You'll find yourself completely full and still wanting chips just because they're crunchy, and then you'll cut that habit out!

Tips:

1. These recipes make a LOT to drink- you will actually find yourself full before you finish them, but make sure you drink the whole thing each time.

2. DRINK WATER. Drink it all day long. Be sure to have at least two cups after each detox bath to avoid dehydration. I probably had about 15 cups per day.
3. Don't forget to sweat! During a detox, make sure to do light cardio each day. Breaking a sweat is what will release those icky toxins.

3. Make your smoothies ahead of time. They will store perfectly fine in a sealed container in the fridge. 

4. Use your coconut oil as lotion after each bath. It is solid in the jar but will melt with your body heat.

Give this a try! Feel free to ask any questions, and let me know how it goes!