Goodies By Anna

Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnuts

To celebrate the beginning of the fall season I made these spicy, pumpkiny Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnuts. I have this handy doughnut pan and like to use it whenever I come across a good recipe and these Pumpkin Spice Cake Doughnuts are terrific!

 

The doughnut is moist and filled with pumpkin flavor not to mention the fantastic vibrant orange color! I really gilded the lily by dunking these doughnuts in some browned butter then covering them with a super spicy cinnamon-sugar-brownsugar mixture. These spicy sweet pumpkin doughnuts are a perfect start to the fall season. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the entire basic recipe here. You will need a standard doughnut pan. Spray with Pam and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a plastic bag mix together 3 Tablespoons cinnamon, 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar and 3 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (I made this mixture up and it's pretty spicy, if you want less cinnamon just mix to taste) Set aside. 

Doughnuts: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder until smooth. Beat in the flour until just incorporated and smooth. Transfer batter to a measuring cup and pour into the doughnut wells of the prepared doughnut pan.

Fill each well approximately 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, check with a toothpick at the 15 minute mark to see if done. The doughnuts won't be as moist if you over bake them! Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. I run a sharp knife around the edges of each doughnut so that they release a little easier. Turn pan upside down and give a few taps to release the doughnuts. Let doughnuts cool completely on a wire rack before coating with browned butter and cinnamon mixture.

Browned Butter & Cinnamon Sugar Coating: Brown one stick of butter in a large sauce pan on medium high heat. Transfer the browned butter immediately to a small bowl. Dunk the cooled doughnuts quickly into the browned butter, shake off the excess and lightly blot on a paper towel. Place doughnut in bag with cinnamon sugar mixture and shake to coat. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Note: mix the browned butter after each dunk to keep it from separating. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

I've been trying out some ideas for this years Christmas treats and came across a terrific combination: cranberry, white chocolate and oatmeal. I took my most favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, swapped out the raisins and nuts for dried cranberries and white chocolate and turned the cookies into bars! The cranberries add a nice sweet-tart flavor and a pretty red color while the white chocolate adds a creamy sweetness that works well with the oatmeal texture.

Because these are bars instead of cookies they take less time to make and you have the option of cutting them into any size you prefer. I cut mine into sixteen medium sized bars that I individually wrapped in parchment paper but I think they would also be equally as nice cut into little bite-sized squares set out at a dessert buffet. Either way you slice them, these bars are a great addition to any cookie bakers repertoire. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the basic recipe here. Line a 9" x 9" baking pan with aluminum foil (leave an inch over-hang of foil) and spray with Pam. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I used 1 cup dried cranberries instead of raisins and 1 cup white chocolate chips instead of nuts. Make sure to use quick-cooking oats for this recipe.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter, shortening, sugars and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the quick-cooking oats, dried cranberries (1 cup) and white chocolate chips (1 cup). Mix until incorporated.

Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let bars cool in pan for 15-20 minutes then lift out of pan using the aluminum foil and let cool completely before cutting.

Piadina

 Piadina is a delicious italian flat bread prepared in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy where my father and his family comes from. My earliest memories of piadina center around warm italian summer evenings in Savignano Sul Rubicone, sitting outside on a bench at a long wooden table surrounded by dozens of relatives eating a warm piadina bread filled with fresh arugula and prosciutto.

Italians eat their main meal (pranzo) around 1pm and it is usually made up of 5 or 6 different courses consumed over a few hours! Most shops & stores close down around this time and don't reopen until 8pm! Later in the evening a light dinner (cena) is served and usually consists of salad, soup and frequently small sandwiches made from piadina filled with prosciutto and arugula with a sliced melon on the side. One of my dad's cousins owned a bakery in San Maura Mare and while we were visiting we ate fresh piadina filled with Nutella.

Piadina is definitely one of my all time favorite things to eat and its pretty simple to make. I like to enjoy it with thinly sliced salty prosciutto, a handful of peppery arugula and a spread of creamy dolce gorgonzola cheese. Trust me, this is fabulous. Here is how you can make your own.

You can find a terrific video of how to make piadina here. You will need a pizza stone to make the bread. You can also use a cast iron skillet on a stove top or even a pizza stone in the oven. We made our piadina on a pizza stone on a gas grill outside because my dad remembers my nona making the piadina on a hot stone over an open fire in the fireplace. Here is the basic recipe:

Piadina- make 4 piadina rounds

• 4 cups of flour (500 grams)
• 1/3 of a cup of olive oil (75 grams)

• 6 ½ oz of milk (or water) (200 grams)
• 1 Tbls of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

Put the flour into a large bowl. Create an indentation into which you can put the oil, the salt and the baking soda. Now add the milk which should be at room temperature. You can also use water at this point, or a mixture of the two. I use all milk. Add it a little at a time, and work it all together with a fork, then your hands. When all the ingredients have come together, you can knead the dough on a worktop for several minutes until a nice dough comes together.

Once it's properly kneaded, let it rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap in a cool place for at least a half an hour. This will allow the gluten to relax and make it easier to roll out the piadina.

Once your dough has rested take it and divide it into four equal pieces. At this point, on a lightly floured surface, work the piece until it's round, and then roll it out. (We are rolling out the dough with my nonas wooden rolling pin. It is very long and has actually been cut down shorter from its original length at one point. She used this rolling pin on a large wooden table to roll out various pasta and piadina.)

You'll be looking to form a disc of about 10 inches in diameter with a thickness of around 1/8".  Roll out all four discs and set aside. Place pizza stone on grill, lower the lid and heat on high until around 450-500 degrees. Place one disc on the pizza stone and pierce dough with fork all around to allow the insides to cook well. Let the first side cook for 2-3 minutes or until really browned.

Flip over and cook again until very brown. If any bubbles start to come up, pop with fork to flatten. Remove piadina from grill and cut in half.

Tent the two pieces together on a cutting board to allow cooling. Continue cooking remaining discs.

To make a traditional italian style sandwich, cut the piadina into quarters. Spread a little creamy dolce gorgonzola cheese on one side. Top with a piece of prosciutto and some arugula or other small greens. Place a second piece of piadina on top to form a sandwich. Serve with fresh slices of melon on the side.