This Week for Dinner is officially FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. Happy 15th birthday, Blog! To celebrate I have a gift for you all: Gram Maynard’s Homemade Hot Fudge Recipe. This recipe was a big part of the beginning of this journey…

When I started the blog 15 years ago, I only had one child, blogs weren’t a thing, and I had an old iMac Nate found at work to use in the kitchen (I truly had no idea why I would use a computer in the kitchen). My good camera was a film camera, so I used a point-and-shoot digital camera for the blog (please do not judge the early photography on the blog, it’s mortifying). The blog began with a list of dinners I made on a regular basis and a few weekly menus to share with my brother, who was still in college. 

Then I noticed a curious thing – people were actually visiting the blog. I decided to design a logo, spruced up my free Blogger blog, and asked friends to share the link with other friends. I promised those who shared a copy of Gram Maynard’s homemade hot fudge recipe. They were asked to not publish the recipe anywhere. It was our little secret. 

Fast forward to today. I have three children (the youngest of which is TEN), I’m a professional food writer and photographer, I am now an excellent recipe writer, I received all kinds of work over the years through the blog, I met all kinds of people and had crazy amazing experiences, I started a podcast, and I am still posting my weekly dinner menu. Most importantly, you are still here sharing your menus and cooking right alongside with me. I’ve experienced ups and downs personally and, through it all, my family still had to eat. I may not have always been cooking because, well, life. But every week the community on this blog kept the food game going. I have been oh so grateful.

So…thank you. And to show my thanks, I am finally publicly sharing Gram’s homemade hot fudge recipe! She was such a giver, it’s what she would have wanted anyway. To be honest, it’s good for you I waited 15 years because it’s written much better than it was back when I was secretly emailing it to friends. 

Funny enough, I cannot find my DSLR camera charger, so today’s photographs are done with the modern version of a point-and-shoot, my iPhone. I will probably come back and reshoot this recipe once that damn battery is charged because, man, there’s nothing like a real camera.

While today is a celebration of 15 years as well as decadent chocolate, I am of course posting my weekly menu! You know the drill…share your menu in the comments below! 

A note on this recipe: Gram had a few “ors” throughout the recipe, where you could kind of choose which ingredients you wanted to use. I have settled on my choice of ingredients and am sharing my version of the recipe. Also, the heating instructions in the recipe are important for texture, so take your time and follow the directions. This truly is my favorite hot fudge sauce ever. Nothing else ever compares. (Thank you, Gram. I miss you every day.)

Gram Maynard's Homemade Hot Fudge

 

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Homemade recipe for hot fudge from Barbara "Gram" Maynard, one of the best humans to walk this planet. We miss you, Gram.

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 5 ounces evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed small or medium pot, melt butter and baking chocolate over medium-low heat.
2. Keeping the heat at medium-low, whisk in the sugar and evaporated milk. Sift the cocoa powder into the pot and whisk thoroughly.
3. Raise heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking almost constantly.
4. Raise heat to medium-high and whisk constantly until mixture is boiling and sugar is completely dissolved, which will take ~ 2-5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Let cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Mix in salt and vanilla.
7. Serve over ice cream, bread pudding, fresh strawberries, or whatever you like rich amazing chocolate served on.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator.
Makes around 3 cups.

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MONDAY:

• Naan Pizza

TUESDAY:

• Indian Butter Chicken
• Roasted cauliflower
• Lentils

WEDNESDAY:

• Rigatoni with Italian Sausage in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

THURSDAY:

• Leftovers

FRIDAY:

• Rachel Sandwiches

SATURDAY:

• Takeout night

SUNDAY:

• Super Bowl Sunday! Menu TBD with our friends and family, but for sure we will have Mexican 7-Layer Dip, Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Chex Mix

Looking forward to seeing your dinner plans for the week! As always, thank you for sharing and for being here!

A few weeks ago, the team from Big G Cereals at General Mills sent a cute football-themed package, complete with Rice Chex and ingredients to make treats for Super Bowl Sunday. I recently learned I have a wheat allergy, which means I can no longer partake of all the delicious baked goods I normally make. As a result, I’m now on the lookout for great wheat-free desserts to try to soothe my wheat-free sorrows. When Nate saw the Chex package, he was like “You should make those scotcheroo bar things.” And I was like, “Remember, I’m allergic to peanuts, too?” UGH. Can I eat nothing??? But then I had a thought: cashew butter. And thus Casheweroos were born! And, while casheweroo is fun to say, it’s super hard to spell, so you can also just call these babies cashew rice Chex treats with sea salt, which is kind of a mouthful, too, actually. I’m apparently really good at naming things.

Cashew rice Chex treats are a lot like scotcheroos, except you use cashew butter instead of peanut butter and you sprinkle the top with coarse sea salt to make them extra tasty. Cashew butter is a bit more expensive than peanut butter, but it’s worth it. These treats taste awesome, similar to scotcheroos but without an overpowering peanut flavor, which some people don’t love. This recipe is perfect for people with peanut and/or wheat allergies, too!

For the topping I used one bag of chocolate chips. If you want a thicker chocolate layer on top, feel free to double that amount or do a combo of one bag of semisweet chocolate chips with one bag of butterscotch chocolate chips (which will taste more like scotcheroos). No matter how you decide to do the topping on these cashew rice Chex treats, I promise it will taste delicious!

Also, if you are making these for Super Bowl Sunday, you can turn the treats into little footballs with a bit of white frosting. Just buy the frosting in a tube to keep it super simple and fast and draw lines on top of each treat like so. Thanks for the great idea, General Mills!

Without further ado I give you Casheweroos!

Casheweroos: Cashew Rice Chex Treats (Gluten-Free, Peanut-Free)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

These casheweroos are inspired by scotcheroos, that classic treat recipe that uses peanut butter. With no wheat or peanuts to be seen, this recipe is great for people with those allergies.

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 18

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup (light or dark, doesn't matter)
• 1 cup salted cashew butter
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (if your cashew butter is unsalted, use ½ teaspoon salt instead)
• 8 cups Rice Chex
• 1 12-ounce package good quality semisweet chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli or Guittard)*
• Coarse sea salt

Instructions

1. Butter a 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside.
2. Add Rice Chex to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Mix the sugar and corn syrup together in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until sugars are melted together. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
4. Add the cashew butter and ¼ teaspoon salt to the pot and stir until well mixed.
5. Pour sugar-cashew butter mixture over the cereal in the mixing bowl and stir until well and evenly coated.
6. Pour cereal mixture into the baking pan and press firmly and evenly into the pan. Getting your hands wet with water helps with the process so the treats don't stick to your fingers as you press.
7. Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring at each 30-second interval, cooking until chips are fully melted.
8. Pour chocolate over the top of the Chex bars, spreading evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle coarse sea salt evenly over the top.
9. Place in fridge until chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Remove from fridge and store at room temperature, covered.
10. It is much easier to cut the bars if you remove them from the pan and place on a cutting board. Using a knife, cut all around the edge of the pan then carefully lift the treats out of the pan onto the cutting board. Cut into 6 rows by 3 rows.

Notes

Optional: If you want a thicker chocolate topping, use two bags of chocolate chips. If you want the topping to taste more like the original scotcheroo treat that inspired this recipe, use one bag of chocolate chips and one bag of butterscotch chips.

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I can’t eat dairy right now (in the process of figuring out some allergy stuff). Therefore, I think the best way to torture myself is to share a recipe that is all about dairy.

This sweet ricotta cream recipe is divine. The sweet ricotta cream is perfect paired with fruit, especially berries, peaches and the like. And while I am one who usually considers nothing to be dessert unless chocolate is involved, this ricotta cream served with fruit is definitely dessert enough for me. That is saying something.

Now go and enjoy! And eat an extra bite for me!

Ricotta Cream

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Pair with your favorite fruit to create a rich yet light dessert that everyone will adore!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Fresh fruit of your choice

Instructions

1. Using a spoon, mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla well in a medium bowl. Some ricotta cheeses are firmer than others - adjust by adding additional cream if the mixture seems too thick.
2. Pair with sliced or chopped fruit of your choice - berries are wonderful as well as fruits like mango and peaches. Layer the ricotta cream with fruit for a pretty parfait, or simply just scoop everything into a bowl willy nilly. Either way it will be delicious!

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Today is This Week for Dinner‘s 11th birthday! How is that even possible? ELEVEN YEARS. Pretty soon my blog will be a teenager, which means I need to enjoy these last moments before it starts talking back and asking for a phone and stuff.

I pretty much celebrate every blog birthday with chocolate. Last night I remembered a cookie recipe from my pre-blog days that my mother-in-law Pat gave to me. I decided to pull out my old recipe box, dig through the cards and find it. I made the cookies and everyone in the family loved them. The main difference with this recipe is that you blend the oatmeal before adding it to the dough, giving the cookies the flavor of oatmeal with a different texture than what you’re used to with oatmeal cookies, a texture that we all love.

And, yes, I am sharing yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe. I know, I know, how many versions can one blog hold? Apparently a lot.

You may notice from the photos that I used Guittard’s chocolate wafers as opposed to chips. Wafers or chips both work fabulously in this recipe, but I do love the layered effect that the wafers give to the final cookie. However, if you don’t have chocolate wafers on hand, good ol’ fashioned chocolate chips are just as delicious!

Happy birthday, Blog! And happy baking, everyone!

Blended Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Modified from a very old Mrs. Fields' recipe that my mother-in-law shared with me many moons ago. I have altered the recipe in several ways, but the oatmeal trick definitely came from Mrs. Fields!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 4 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 2½ cups rolled oats
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 12-18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or wafers (12 ounces is a normal amount; 18 ounces is if you really like chocolate!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375º F.
2. In a stand mixer or large bowl using a hand blender, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat another 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. In a blender, blend the oats until it resembles a very coarse flour.
5. Add oats to cookie dough and blend on low until just combined.
6. Add flour and blend on low until just combined.
7. Stir in chocolate.
8. Form dough into balls (approximately 2 tablespoons per ball). Place on ungreased cookie sheet or cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (I use a Silpat). Press down gently on the dough balls to flatten them a bit. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until bottom edges are a golden brown.
9. Dough balls may be frozen. Add a few minutes to cooking time if baking from frozen.

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Here’s the thing with today’s rice crispy treats. When you look at them they look like normal, everyday, boring rice crispy treats. And then you take a bite. And you’re like, “What am I eating!?!?” You’re eating sea salt and brown butter rice crispy treats, that’s what. And they are so good.

I discovered this recipe thanks to my friend Nikki, who is also the reason that the SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake is in all of our lives. We went camping with Nikki and her family this summer and she brought these for dessert on the beach. As soon as I took a bite I knew she had done something different with the recipe. Sure enough brown butter was involved. And lots of it. The original recipe that Nikki uses is from Joanne Chang’s Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook. I have adapted it and my version is below. (You can see the original recipe on Epicurious.) I use vanilla bean paste to get that wonderful vanilla bean look and flavor but without messing with the pods, which I never have on hand anyway. I also added coarse sea salt to the mix because coarse sea salt always makes everything more delicious.

By the way, if you don’t really like rice crispy treats then I don’t think these are going to miraculously change your opinion. They are still rice crispy treats after all…but they have a really wonderful salty-sweet flavor and I myself can’t get enough of them! Enjoy!

Sea Salt and Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Adapted from Joanne Chang's "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe"

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 32

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) salted butter
• Generous ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus a bit more for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 2 10-ounce bags large marshmallows
• 10 cups rice crispy cereal

Instructions

1. Spray a 9" x 13" baking pan with oil and set aside.
2. Heat a very large pot over medium heat on the stovetop. While pot is heating, gather all of your ingredients so they are ready to go.
3. Cut butter into squares and add to heated pan. Cook, stirring regulary, for about 7-10 minutes until the butter has browned. For the first 5 minutes or so there will be a white foamy layer on top, then that will start to disappear, then the butter will start to bubble and foam up again. The butter will brown sometime after this happens. It will look light brown below the foam and have a lovely nutty aroma. Be sure to cook until butter just turns brown (you have to really look because the foam on top can obstruct your view. It is helpful to cook the butter in a light-colored pan so it's easier to see the color of the butter.)
4. As soon as the butter has browned, reduce the heat to low and stir in the salt and vanilla paste. Mix well then add the marshmallows, cooking over low heat and stirring constantly until all of the marshmallows have melted and you have a smooth mixture.
5. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove. Add the rice crispy cereal and stir well to coat. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Using wet hands, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan.
7. Sprinkle the top with just a bit of sea salt.
8. Let cool 1 hour before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Makes 32 1½" x 2" squares.

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The very first recipe I ever made on my own was my Grandma Blomquist’s Brownies. I was in 5th grade and the experience was very memorable for me, not just because I burned both some chocolate and my arm in the process, but also because the brownies came out great, starting a lifetime of brownie baking.

Last week when Cate was in charge of dinner, she asked if she could bake something for dessert on one of the nights. Of course I pulled out my grandma’s brownie recipe. I’ve never written a post about the brownies, but I did put the recipe on the blog ages ago with a cute picture of 2-year-old Cate stirring the batter. Last week when Cate baked her first batch of brownies, I took a few photos for a Babble post I’m working on. Today, as I got this post ready, I stuck the photos side by side and it made me smile. It also made me a little sad. Where did my baby go?!

I needed to take some nice photos of the brownies for this post, so I asked Cate if she could whip up a batch for me. She happily complied. I’m kind of loving this whole Cate cooking thing, especially since her “thing” is brownies.

These brownies are on the fudgy side of the brownie continuum, with a delicious crispy crust on top. It’s a basic, reliable and wonderful brownie recipe. Although, the brownies always taste best when my Grandma Blomquist or Cate bakes them!

Grandma Blomquist's Brownies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

My grandma's recipe that my family has been making FOREVER. Fudgy with a crusty top!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 ounces baking chocolate (substitution: 6 tablespoons cocoa + 2 tablespoons butter)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 well beaten eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease/butter an 8" x 8" baking pan.
2. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. Add corn syrup and baking chocolate and stir until all melted. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in sugar.
4. Stir in eggs after the sugar has been mixed in.
5. Stir in baking powder, vanilla and salt. Slowly stir in the flour until well combined.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, until fork comes out clean.

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Today is all about chocolate.

When we were on Cape Cod a few weeks ago, my mother-in-law Pat made a chocolate cake, complete with homemade frosting that was TO DIE FOR. When it comes to cake, I generally like the cake more than the frosting. Not in this case. In this case the frosting, well, takes the cake. (Sorry! Couldn’t resist that one.)

And, if you’re looking for something to put that perfect chocolate frosting on, let me introduce you to the one pan chocolate cake. This recipe comes from a 2009 issue of Everyday Food and was originally called “dump cake,” since you just dump everything in the pan and then bake. The cake turned out beautifully.

There’s only one drawback to the cake recipe: since you mix the ingredients directly in the pan, you can’t butter and flour the pan ahead of time. This means you’ll be serving the cake directly from the pan. Plus, you kind of have to scrape the servings out with a spatula to keep them in one piece, and the first slice of cake will be a bit tricky to get out of the pan. Because of this, the one pan cake may not be the best choice for serving guests or for special occasions. Or maybe it is. You decide. All I know is that this cake recipe is easy and delicious, and maybe that’s all that matters in the end.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Recipe from my mother-in-law Pat, adapted from the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder container

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2½ - 2¾ cups powdered sugar
• ⅓ cup milk

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave, in 20 second increments until butter is just melted.
2. Whisk in cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
3. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the bowl. Using a hand mixer, start on low and beat in the powdered sugar, increasing the speed to medium and mixing well. Add half of the milk, following the same blending technique. Add 1 more cup of the powdered sugar, mixing as described, then the rest of the milk, mixing once again starting on low and increasing to medium speed.
4. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar (this brings you to 2½ cups) and blend well, starting on low then moving up to medium speed. If you want the frosting to be a little thicker, add up to ¼ cup more of powdered sugar.
5. Makes enough frosting for a 9" x 13" cake.

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One Pan Chocolate Cake

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Originally from a 2009 issue of Everyday Food, written in my own words

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 cup cold water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In an 8-inch square casserole dish or baking pan (I like to use a pyrex casserole so I can see if the batter is full mixed), whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the middle, then add the vegetable oil, vanilla, vinegar and water in the center. Whisk those ingredients together, then start to incorporate the dry ingredients, whisking until well combined.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a fork or toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely before frosting. If you use the chocolate frosting recipe above, you will have some frosting left over.

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Honestly, I don’t love using the word “crack” when describing food, but today I’m breaking my rule. Here’s the deal. Nate called these coconut almond fudge bars “crack” after his first bite, which is saying something. Nate is nothing like me. He can pass on dessert. I DON’T GET IT. But this dessert? He was rendered as useless as I was in its presence.  That alone should tell you how good these bars are!

I wanted to create a special recipe for my candied coconut almonds. The kids and I were watching some TV food show where they featured a bar from a bakery in Cambridge, MA. My bars are nothing like what we saw on TV, but they did get my creative juices flowing. And the result was, well, crack.

These bars have a crust that is sort of like a cookie crust but also really not at all like a cookie crust. The texture is coarser but still holds together and is all buttery and wonderful. Then comes a perfectly fudgy layer that could really be eaten on its own, but why would you do that when you can sandwich that fudgy goodness in between so much other goodness? The top layer consists of candied coconut almonds. Fair warning: coconut almond fudge bars can get a little messy because of that top layer. I recommend using a plate. But even if you don’t use a plate, the mess is totally worth it.

Also, these bars are better fully cooled because everything sets up so nicely. But if you cannot wait and have eat them warm out of the oven, use a fork and go ahead and indulge in the buttery, chocolatey, gooeyness.

Feel free to call these bars whatever you like. Go the proper route and call them Coconut Almond Fudge Bars. Or go the Momofuku route and call them Crack Bars. I’m good either way.

Coconut Almond Fudge Bars, i.e. Crack Bars

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

These bars are irresistible, with a cookie-like bottom layer, fudgy middle layer and candied coconut almonds on top!

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 9-12

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 7 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (use whole wheat for the best texture!)
• ½ teaspoon +1/8 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk (this will be half of a 14-ounce can)
• 1½ cups candied coconut almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with hand mixer, beat together on medium speed the brown sugar and 6 tablespoons of the butter for 3-5 minutes, until well mixed and lighter in color.
3. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
4. Add the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and baking soda and mix just until combined.
5. In an 8" x 8" baking dish, press the sugar-flour mixture into the bottom of the dish to form an even layer. Set aside.
6. In a small bowl combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, remaining 1 tablespoon butter and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir well until all chocolate is melted.
7. Spread chocolate mixture over the cookie layer.
8. Sprinkle candied coconut almonds over the chocolate layer, then press that layer down into the chocolate with your fingers. Whatever doesn't get pushed into the chocolate will remain loose even after cooking, so you want to carefully work it to get as much pressed into the chocolate as possible. But don't worry if there are loose pieces!
9. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting and serving.

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Confession: I’m not that into fruit pies, cobblers or crisps. I mean, they’re okay but not my first choice. Nate, on the other hand, goes weak in the knees over a good apple crisp and loves those other fruity desserts almost as much. That’s really saying something because he rarely goes weak in the knees over food. This is just another of the many ways in which he and I are complete opposites! (Shout-out to the ever wise Paula Abdul.)

But there are a few fruity desserts that I can get on board with. This Apple Bavarian Torte is one of them. The recipe has been hiding on my blog since Day One, but I have never written a post about it or photographed it for you. Honestly, I’m usually making this torte late the night before Thanksgiving so photographing has never been an option!

Since autumn is in the air I decided it was a good time to finally give this apple recipe the attention it deserves. It is SO GOOD. Even this apple dessert hater loves it.

A friend named Sarah gave me this recipe nearly 15 years ago. (Sarah is also the one who gave me the pizza crust recipe that I still use to this day. I sure am glad I met Sarah!) Sarah got this apple Bavarian torte recipe at a Pampered Chef party and that’s about all I know about it. Well, besides the fact that it’s amazing.

(>> Find out more…)

Right now we are at my in-law’s home in New Hampshire. My mother-in-law Pat is the best mother-in-law on the planet. No joke. Yesterday as my sister-in-law and I slept in, she played with all the kids and even sewed THREE skirts. She’s Super Grandma.

This morning she made Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Drops with my nephew Colby. He was complete engaged the entire time they were cooking, it was adorable. And the doughnut drops were DELICIOUS. Because they’re fried, as doughnuts should be! (Sidenote: A baked doughnut is NOT a doughnut. It’s a muffin posing as a doughnut. You need OIL to make a doughnut a doughnut! Okay, ranting done.)

We also renamed these doughnut drops “Turkey Leg Donuts,” because a large quantity of them looked like, you guessed it, turkey legs! Sadly, I didn’t photograph any of the turkey leg donuts. What was I thinking?!

Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Drops (a.k.a. Turkey Leg Donuts)

 

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From a magazine but I can’t tell which one from the cutout Pat has in her recipe box

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• Oil for frying
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a medium to large heavy saucepan, heat 2 to 3 inches oil to 375. (Pat note: make sure you heat it to the right temperature!)
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in milk, oil, vanilla and egg with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot oil. (Pat note: make sure it really is just by TEASPOONful.) You can cook 5 to 6 at a time. Fry doughnut drops 60-90 seconds on each side until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
4. Mix ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together and roll hot doughnuts in the sugar mixture.
5. The recipe says this makes 30-36 doughnut drops. I suppose it’s right, but I can’t believe how FAST we ate them, it seemed like about 10!

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