Baked doughnuts: Take 2

My hubby gave me a nifty baked doughnut pan for Christmas, and I've been experimenting with different doughnut recipes this winter and spring.  I've been in a bit of a baking rut lately.  Every time I try a new recipe, I make a mistake and mess it up.  The other day, I added baking soda to a cookie recipe, but when the cookies didn't spread, I figured out that I should have added baking powder. (Or maybe it was the other way around. I have a hard time keeping the two apart!)

Further proof of my baking rut: My doughnuts were missing their holes.  I filled the cups too much, but I hate wasting batter!

But even though my doughnuts were holeless, they turned out to be my favorite baked doughnut recipe so far.  I found the baked doughnut recipe on Shutterbean, if you want to check it out.  Instead of an extra large egg, I used a large egg, since that's what I have in my fridge, and it turned out terrific.

My husband requested chocolate frosting, so I used a recipe I found in an old copy of King Arthur Flour's Baking Sheet.  I'll include the recipe at the end of this post.

I had some leftover buttermilk and blueberries in my fridge, so I decided to mix up the same doughnut recipe but add blueberries.  Another good choice!  I topped the doughnuts with a lemon juice-powdered sugar glaze, which turned out a little too runny.  Next time, I'll try to mix up a thicker glaze.

And again, these doughnuts are missing the holes!  I hate wasting batter.

Here's the recipe for the chocolate glaze.  If you give these a try, let me know how they turn out for you.  Enjoy!

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Chocolate glaze

• 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbls. butter
• 1 Tbls. plus 1 tsp. light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about 1/2 C. glaze.

Garden update: May 2013

It's an understatement to say that the weather hasn't been very cooperative this spring.  Right after I took these photos, an unseasonably late storm covered my tulips in 3 inches of snow.  I can't complain, though, because we need the moisture after last summer's drought.

We're doing a lot of yard work this spring. We finally cut down the old wisteria vine that tore the shingles off our back porch.  I'll miss the spring blooms, but I won't miss how the vine covered the back of our house every summer.  Anyhow, that's why our yard is looking a little rough in my photos. That, and the snow.

I planted a few lettuce and radish seeds back in April.  Because the temps dropped right after I planted them, it took a month before they popped out of the ground.  But they're growing a little bit every day.

To get myself in the gardening mood, I bought myself a fancy pair of gloves at the farm store.  Don't worry. They'll get dirty soon enough!

I stopped at Holub greenhouse in Ames before Mother's Day and was surprised to find a nice selection of strawberry plants.  I planted them again in Stack-a-Pots. I had good luck with the everbearing strawberries last year. As long as I kept them watered and fertilized regularly, I had strawberries to pick all summer long.  I never really get a lot of strawberries, but it's still a fun backyard project.

Just for fun, I bought two varieties of ever-bearing strawberries: Fort Laramie and Tristar.  I'm curious to see how different they will be from each other.

My tulips are about done blooming now, but they were beautiful while they lasted.  I planted yellow, orange and red tulips to match my neighbor's same-colored tulips.  I wish the tulips would bloom all year!

How's your garden growing this spring?  Did the unusually cold weather slow or alter your gardening plans?  I still haven't planted my potted flowers yet, because the temps were close to freezing this last weekend.

Arizona trip: April 2013

In February, I traveled to Arizona for a work trip.  My mom, who lives in Arizona in the winter, invited me to come back and visit at the end of April, when the weather starts to warm up again.  So I made another trip a couple weeks ago. When I got off the plane, the temps in Phoenix were 90 degrees. The cactus were also blooming, which was a treat to see.

My mom also told me if I came back to Arizona later in the spring, we could visit northern Arizona when the snow melts there.  After a windy mountain drive, climbing up to 5,000 feet in altitude, we stopped for the night in Flagstaff.  We stayed at the Comfort Inn hotel, and we were greeted by this fireplace in the lobby.

We drove another 2 hours to our next destination: the Grand Canyon!

Obviously, my photos can't really capture the view.  But it was magnificent, and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather -- 60 degrees and sunny.

 

My stepdad got his finger in all the photos he took!

 

 The next day, we drove south to Sedona to see the gorgeous red sandstone rock formations.  My mom's friends recommended we take the trolley tour to really see the sites.

See the finger in the top left corner?

 Sedona really was beautiful.  Very touristy, but worth the trip.

In downtown Sedona, we bought a couple T-shirts, then stopped at an ice cream shop.  I had to try the prickly pear cactus ice cream.  Tasted a lot like strawberries.

More cactus flowers blooming when we got back to Phoenix.

One more photo from the Superstition Mountain Museum in Apache Junction.  See the finger in the photo? I wasn't kidding when I said every photo was like this! Oh well.

This is probably my last trip for a while.  There's nothing better than Iowa weather in the summer.  If only it would warm up already!  I'm waiting for the May snow to melt.