Apple Cider Donuts

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Apple Cider
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Solid Vegetable Shortening
2 Large Eggs
½ Cup Buttermilk
3½ Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Nutmeg
Vegetable Oil or Shortening for frying.

Before baking starts, set up donut making stations to streamline the process and keep everyone from stepping on each other’s toes.

Step 1: Mixing Station

At the first station, put a few of your Home Maven friends in charge of heating the cider and mixing the ingredients together in bowls to create the dough. If you’d like, you can reduce several cups of cider (one for each batch you plan to make) beforehand to speed up the process.

Friends stationed here will follow these instructions:

* Boil 1 cup of apple cider in a small saucepan for 8 to 10 minutes or until cider is reduced to 1/4 cup; let cool.
* In a large bowl, beat sugar with solid shortening until smooth. Add eggs and mix well, then add buttermilk and cooled cider.
* In a medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to liquid ingredients; mix ingredients just enough to combine.

Step 2: Donut-Cutting Station

At the second station, set up an area on a flat surface with a lightly floured board for cutting and shaping dough. Place baking pans covered in wax paper or parchment nearby for finished donut shapes.

Friends stationed here will follow these instructions:

* Transfer dough to the lightly floured board and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 3-inch donut cutter; re-roll the excess donut holes and cut scraps back into the dough.
* Refrigerate formed donuts on baking sheets for about 20 minutes to help firm the dough prior to frying.

Step 3: Frying Station

If you want to work at a faster pace, you can provide two frying pans at this station so more donuts can be fried at once. Also provide plates with several layers of paper towels for draining the donuts after frying.

Friends stationed here will follow these instructions:

* Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep (3-inch) pan; heat to approximately 375°F or until the oil is bubbling.
* Fry several donuts at a time, turning once or twice until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
* Remove and place on paper towels for draining and cooling.

Step 4: Cinnamon and Sugar Station

Have one or two helpers put the finishing touch on the donuts by supplying large plastic zip-top bags containing a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Once the donuts have drained and cooled a bit, they will shake up the donuts in the bag. Finished donuts can be placed on a wire rack to continue cooling.

For an added touch, have friends at this station pour the excess apple cider into a large saucepan and heat with cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves and orange peel. Since they won’t have much to do right away they can keep an eye on the hot apple cider and stir occasionally. Not only will it add warm festive fragrances throughout your home, it makes a tasty complement to the donuts.

Pumpkin Buns

I found this one on Lisa's Craft & Food Blog. She has some great ideas and recipes you should look through.

I am always looking for new ways to use pumpkin so I HAD to post this one. Enjoy!

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 15 oz. solid packed pumpkin
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt

Filling: 1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze: 2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in karge bowl. Add 1 teaspoon sugar; let stand til foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the eggs, butter and pumpkin.

Gradually add 5 cups of the flour and the salt, scraping side of bowl, until soft dough forms. Turn out onto floured surface and knead remaining 1/2 cup flour onto dough. Dough will be soft.

Grease a bowl; add dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Coat 2 13x10 inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Make filling: Mix butter, sugar and brown sugars, cinnamon in a bowl.

Punch down dough. Roll out half onto lightly floured surface to form a 16x10 inch rectangle. Spread with half of filling. Starting on one long side, roll up jelly roll fashion. Pinch seam to close. Repeat with second half of dough and filling.

Cut each log crooswise into 12 generous 1 inch pieces. Arrange 12 pieces, cut side down, in each prepared pan. Cover with plastic; let sit in a warm spot until buns double in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pans and bake buns until they are golden brown and bubbly, 28-33 minutes. Tranfer to wire rack; let cool 10 minutes.

Glaze: Blend confectioners sugar and milk. Drizzle over buns. Serve warm.

Parker House Rolls

Makes 3 dozen

• 1/2 cup melted (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more melted butter for brushing bowl
• 1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) milk
• 2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Directions

1. Brush a large bowl with butter; set aside. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over 1/4 cup milk. Let stand until soft, about 5 minutes. In another large bowl, combine butter, sugar, salt, remaining 1 1/4 cups milk, and egg. Whisk to combine. Whisk in yeast mixture.


2. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in prepared bowl, turning to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.


3. Punch down dough. Cut into 2 pieces. Invert bowl over dough, and let rest for 10 minutes. Working with one piece at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12-inch square, about 1/3-inch thick. Cut into six 2-by-12-inch strips. Cut each strip into three 4-by-2-inch rectangles.


4. Brush rectangles with butter. Using the handle of a butter knife, crease rectangles slightly off center. Fold at crease. Arrange in rows, slightly overlapping, on buttered baking sheet, with shorter side facing down. Allow at least 1/4-inch of space between rows. Cover and let stand until doubled in bulk, 20 to 30 minutes.


5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush rolls with melted butter. Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 17 minutes, if baking a single strip, about 25 minutes if baking 3 strips at a time (1/4 sheet pan). Remove from oven and brush once more with melted butter.


6. For freezing: shape rolls; arrange in same manner on parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer to freezer until frozen. Transfer to freezer bags. When ready to bake remove from freezer, arrange on buttered baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until defrosted, and doubled in bulk about 2 1/2 hours. Cook according to step 5, above.

Delicious Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

2.5 c. warm water
2 TBS. Sugar
2 TBS. Yeast
2 tsp. salt
5 TBS. butter or margarine
6.5 c. flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix water, sugar and yeast, let rise 15 min. (I usually put it in a stainless steel bowl and put in on the center of the stove, because it's getting warm and it helps it rise faster). In a large bowl mix flour, butter, and salt. Then add yeast mixture, and knead until dough is soft. I usually add about 2 TBS. of olive oil to the bowl, or you can use any other kind of oil, this helps it from ticking to the bowl. Let it rise in a warm area until really light.

This is a GREAT basic dough for bread, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls.

Bake for 15-20 min.at 400º for crusts & rolls

For Bread bake for 30 min. at 350º degrees.

Cinnamon Roll Fillings

1C Brown Sugar
5Tbsp Cinnamon
1 stick butter

Remove the margarine from the refrigerator once you've started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.

After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15" by 24" (38 cm by 61 cm) rectangle.

Mark off 1" along the 24" edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any Margarine or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened Margarine over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1" edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.

Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1" clean edge. The clean 1" edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24" roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2" long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we've found it easier to use dental floss. (We use cinnamon flavored dental floss just for dramatic effect!) Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.

Line your baking pans with parchment paper. Place 5 rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart. (One roll in each corner, and one in the center.) Cover with a lint free cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer.

After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310°F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335°F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4oz Cream Cheese - room temp
1 stick butter - room temp
1¾C Confectioners Sugar
1tsp Vanilla (preferably Alcohol Free)
1/8 tsp lemon flavoring (preferably Alcohol Free)

in a bowl cream together cream cheese and butter for 6 mins. Add 1 Cup of the powdered sugar and mix for another minute. Add the remaining sugar and again min for 1 minute. Lastly add the flavorings and again mix for 1 minute.

Transfer the finished frosting to a convenient covered container and refrigerate it. Once the rolls are finished baking, frost them while they're still very warm and serve them immediately. Yum, yum!

Cinnamon Dough

*Okay this is not an edible dough but a craft dough that smells DIVINE! I had a friend use this dough to make a craft with ginger bread people cut outs and she decorated them in fabric and added them to a wreath. The scent of apple & cinnamon lasted all season. This would be perfect for some easy tree ornaments that kids could cut out and make.

1 cup ground cinnamon
1 tbls. ground nutmeg (optional)
1 tbls. ground cloves (optional)
3/4 cup apple sauce
2 tbls. tacky glue

Combine dry ingredients, add applesauce and glue.

Mix until well blended.

Work mixture in hands for 2 or 3 minutes to form a ball.

Knead on cinnamon sprinkled surface until it holds together well.

Cut out ornaments, use a straw to put a hole for hanging.

Dry on wax paper, turning periodically so cutouts stay flat and do not dry unevenly. Refrigerate any unused portion in a sealed container.