Snowed in + Donut Adventures

       

     New York is currently under attack from a supposed massive snow storm, and so far, its coming down pretty hard. Today was my first day of a new semester and my uni closed early, and called a cancellation of all classes for tomorrow. I had to go in for one class at 9:35 this morning. I was wide awake by 6, and I barely slept last night because I had the brilliant idea of underestimating the power of really strong coffee late yesterday evening, combined with nerves/anxiety for the first day of class. My class went really well, though. It was Mental Health Care & Services. I'm always really nervous meeting new professors, they can truly make or break a class. Not even the amazing reviews on ratemyprofessor.com could calm my nerves, but so far, they seemed to be right. My professor was extremely friendly and approachable, and explained that he wants everyone to feel comfortable in our class. Good things, good things.

So this snow, I've already shoveled three times. I better have arms like Michelle Obama after this storm if its anything like its hyped up to be.

While many people are super cranky and complainy about the snow, I'm actually pretty excited to be "snowed in". It's forced slow-down and relax time with family, for many people.

Also, plenty of hot beverages and cozy socks. I think the snow is really pretty, so I'll be spending a lot of my day looking out the window. 

Anyway, I decided to play with my new donut maker today as I was intensely craving a chocolate glazed donut. I got this gem for Christmas and it makes five mini donuts (doughnuts? donuts?) in just minutes. 

I haven't made chocolate glazed doughnuts yet so I was researching recipes for baked chocolate glazed donuts with good reviews. So, I stumbled upon Amanda's recipe on her blog, Running with Spoons, and I was pleased to find good reviews, and a healthified recipe. Even better. As long as they don't taste healthy.

The original recipe uses an actual donut pan for the oven, but I didn't see how there could be an issue with just using my mini donut maker. With a few slight changes along the way, I was so happy with the results! I added more sweetener because I love really sweet donuts. they were cakey, delicious soft donuts. Believe it or not, once I made them sweeter, they were very similar to the chocolate glazed donuts from Dunkin Donuts.

Adapted from the lovely Amanda @ Running with Spoons

Ingredients:

-1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

-1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar or equivalent sweetener, depending on your sweetness preference

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-dash of salt

-1 egg

-1/4 cup milk of choice

-1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

-2 tbsp melted coconut oil

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until just combined. The mixture will be quite thick so don't be alarmed (I suppose that's why they're called "dough"nuts, not "batter"nuts).

Transfer the dough into a ziplock bag or piping bag, cut a corner, and pipe the batter into the donut maker and close it. The little light will go off when they're cooked, which should be about 2-3 minutes.

If you do not have a donut maker, take a look at the method for the original recipe on Amanda's blog, which provides instructions for a donut pan.

For the glaze: you can either mix ~3/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract~

OR mix protein powder of choice (I tried Cellucor Cor-fetti Cake Batter) with milk of choice to a very thin consistency and pour over the donuts. 

So glad I decided to go with this recipe! Will be using it in the future! 

I shall spend the rest of the day in my jammies, reading, blogging, drinking copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate, and getting some much needed relaxation in before the start of a busy semester.
I made donuts. I say it's been a productive day so far.