Chocolate Sprinkle Donuts

I've mentioned before that now I have a donut pan, donuts are super easy to make. No frying, no hot oil to deal with, and no messy stovetop from oil spills. Yay, and donuts just seem to make people happy, or at least the people I know.

These delicious, super chocolaty donuts have a chocolate glaze on them, and are then dipped in colorful sprinkles. They are fun, cheerful, and perfect to make and eat on a rainy Seattle day.


Recipe for Chocolate Sprinkle Donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Glaze:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
big pinch salt
4 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
multi-color sprinkles

For the glaze:

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a donut pan with a light coating of nonstick baking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together until all of the ingredients are well combined. Use a small spoon to portion batter into the prepared doughnut baking pan.  Each doughnut mold should be about two-thirds full.  Bake doughnuts for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the doughnuts comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Allow to rest for five minutes before inverting doughnuts onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Allow doughnuts to cool completely before glazing.
Repeat the baking process until all of the batter is turned into doughnuts.
To make the glaze, in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Add 2 tablespoons of milk and all of the vanilla extract.  Whisk to combine.  Mixture may be thick.  Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is thick but still pourable.
Dip each donut about halfway down into the chocolate glaze. Place on a wire rack, and then sprinkle on colored sprinkles in whatever heaviness you want.
Let the donuts sit for a few minutes to settle.

Makes 10 donuts.


Enjoy!!

Inspired by Joy The Baker

Making Chocolate Tarts With Delicious Milky Way Caramel Bites



I happen to be one of those people who are crazy about chocolate. I love chocolate anything, but a chocolate dessert is my absolute favorite. And a dessert made with chocolate and caramel candy? Yes, please!!

I just bought some cute little mini tart pans and have been thinking about making chocolate tarts for awhile now. Although I've made a couple of lemon tarts and other kinds, I've never tried making a chocolate one.

When I was shopping recently at Walmart, I made a trip down the candy aisle and found one of my favorite candies in the world, Milky Way.

But these were not regular candy bars, they were Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites. So cute, and the perfect snack size for myself and my grandchildren. I have been eating Milky Way candy bars since I was a kid, and I just frankly adore them.



 These are just so cute, and I decided to make my chocolate mini chocolate tarts with them as an ingredient.

 I can remember my own Mom using candy in her desserts, and they were always so delicious.

I try hard to be the best "Nana" I can be, and in my book, that includes providing yummy treats for my four grandchildren. I didn't doubt these little tarts would be a big hit with them.

I have to say that Walmart has a fabulous candy aisle, and it's pretty easy to find your favorites.

Not only did I find Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, but Snickers and 3 Musketeers Bites, as well.

With three kinds to choose from, I can definitely #EatMoreBites in these kinds as well.
#CollectiveBias.

The thing that I have found about making tarts is that making the filling is the easy part. The hard part is getting a light and flaky tart crust. You don't want to mix the dough too much or it will end up being tough.

I wanted the Milky Way Simply Caramel bites to be inside the filling, and on top. You can never have too much of a good thing!!

I put some into my mini food processor and chopped them up so that they would blend easily into the chocolate filling and create a rich chocolate and caramel dessert. Then I used larger pies to go on top of the tarts, as a finishing touch.

Honestly, making tarts used to intimidate me. They seemed like such a fancy dessert, and I only ever ate them at a restaurant or someone's house that was an excellent cook.

But they really aren't that difficult to make, and I'm so happy I made these. Were they good?

Yeah, they were super good!! And I'm totally going back to Walmart and picking up more Bites, this time in not just the Milky Way Simply Caramel, but the Snickers and 3 Musketeers kind, too.

Here's my recipe for Chocolate Tarts With Milky Way Caramel Bites


Ingredients for Tart Shells:

 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

 Combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and mix together with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir flour into butter mixture to make a smooth dough, but do not over mix.
Press dough into a 8 mini tart pans refrigerate  for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake tart shells until light and golden, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Ingredients for Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup good quality baking cocoa
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, ground up in a food processor

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil and whisk for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Whisk in finely chopped chocolate and caramel bits. Refrigerate filling until chilled. Spoon into tart shells, and top with sliced Bites pieces.

I dusted the shells with powdered sugar before filling them, but this is completely optional.

Makes 8 tarts.



If you'd like to try Milky Way Simply Caramel Bites, or the two other available kinds, Walmart is offering two great money-saving coupons for you to use.

Receive $0.75 off when you buy (2) 2.83 oz. bags or $3.00 off when you buy (2) 6 oz. bags or larger

• $3.00 off 2 link:
• http://coupons.walmart.com/?cid=18153148
• $0.75 off 2 link:
• http://coupons.walmart.com/?cid=18153149

You can also join the #EatMoreBites Twitter Party on Friday, March 14, from 1:00-2:00 PM EST for a chance to win $550 in Walmart Gift Cards. 



Fighting dirt with Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle #MrCleanMorePower #sponsored

*This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Mr. Clean

Like most moms, cleaning is a part of my daily life. It seems I am cleaning something at some point all day long. Not all of the cleaning is down and dirty stuff, sometimes it is things like cleaning faces or simple spills. Those tasks are a simple swipe of a rag and we move on. But when our kitchen table is also used as an art table, getting rid of the stains and marks can be tough.

My children are in a marker phase, where to them, coloring and drawing with markers are way better than crayons. They don't always find and use the washable ones either (see above photo)! My 7 year old things that he needs a permanent marker, just to make sure it really sticks of course!

To clean our dining room/everything table I used Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle to wipe away all of the dirt, grime and marks. I filled up my bucket with water, added the liquid cleaner and went to work.

What I love about Mr. Clean Liquid Muscle is that with a squeeze of the bottle, when the exact amount needed was dispensed, it automatically stopped! No guessing needed. So simple. And look my table is looking shiny and clean! How about you, where does dirt and grime seem to live in your home?

Italian Sausage, Noodle, and Kale Soup

I seriously can't seem to stop making soup. I hadn't made it in years, and once I got started, my family loved it so much that I'm happily making it quite often.

It seems that the heartiness of those onions, carrots and garlic that are the beginnings of so many soups, are actually quite comforting on a cold winter day in the kitchen.

I could eat Italian sausage for breakfast, lunch and dinner, that's how much I love it. It's quite delicious in this soup, and the kale adds a healthy boost to it.

I shied away from kale for a long time, but now I'm a big, big fan. It adds texture and heartiness to so many dishes, and it is just so good for you.

Easy Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I've made plenty of sugar cookies, but I've never made chocolate ones. These were a real winner with my grandchildren who said they tasted like brownies, and they would have eaten all of them if I had let them.

I think these are best when they are still warm from the oven, and paired with a cold glass of milk.

The recipe is easy, and the next time I make these, I'll double the recipe. I'm putting them on the list to make when I need a cookie that is fudgy, delicious, and quick to make.

Recipe for Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:


 Preheat oven to 350. Put the sugar in a  shallow dish and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until well mixed. Add the egg and egg yolk, and mix until combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix until just combined.
 Roll the dough into 20-24 balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Roll each ball in the sugar, then place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake 10-12 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack.


Adapted from The Baker Upstairs


Enjoy!!