Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) (8 page)

CHOCOLATE BAKED DOUGHNUTS

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

cups unsweetened cocoa powder
(I used Hershey’s)

1 and ¾ cups all-purpose flour
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

¾ cup white
(granulated)
sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

½ cup milk

cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup
(1 stick, 4 ounces,
¼
pound)
salted butter, melted

1 cup
(a 6-ounce bag)
semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Spray the wells in a 12-cup doughnut pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
(I used two 6-cup doughnut pans)

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the cocoa powder and all-purpose flour together at low speed.

 

Place the sugar in the bowl and mix it in on low speed.

 

Add the baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well.

 

Mix in the eggs, one at a time.

 

Add the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

 

With the mixer running, drizzle in the melted butter and continue to mix until the doughnut dough is smooth.

 

Take the bowl out of the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Give the doughnut dough another stir by hand.

 

Use the rubber spatula to mix in the chocolate chips by hand.

 

Spoon the dough into the indentations in the doughnut pan, filling them a bit over ¾ full.

 

Bake the doughnuts at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle baked part of one of the doughnuts comes out clean.

 

Take the doughnuts out of the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Cool them for 1 to 2 minutes.

 

Loosen the edges of the doughnuts by running a table knife around the circles. Then use potholders to pick up the pan and tip them out onto the wire rack.

 

Sugar/Cocoa/Cinnamon Coating:

2 Tablespoons white
(granulated)
sugar

½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon
(optional)

 

Quickly fill a bag with the white sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon
(if you decided to use it)
. You must coat your doughnuts while they are still warm so that the coating will stick.

 

Shake the bag to mix the ingredients and then place the warm doughnuts, one at a time, in the bag and shake them in the sugar/cocoa/cinnamon mixture. Then take them out and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

 

Alternatively, you can coat your doughnuts with chocolate icing, but you must let them cool completely. If you try to frost warm doughnuts, the icing will slide off.
(I know. I tried it!)

 

Chocolate Icing:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(6-ounce package)

2 Tablespoons salted butter

2 Tablespoons cream

 

In a microwave-safe bowl that’s large enough to hold a doughnut, combine the semi-sweet chocolate chips, salted butter, and cream.

 

Heat the contents on HIGH for 1 minute.

 

Leave the bowl in the microwave for one minute and then stir the contents with a heat-resistant rubber spatula to see if the chips are melted. If they’re not, heat in 30-second increments until you can stir the icing smooth.

 

Quickly dip the tops of the doughnuts in the bowl of chocolate icing. Place them on a sheet of wax paper to cool.

 

Jo Fluke’s Note: If you want to coat the entire doughnut, place it in the bowl and turn it over with a fork. Do this one at a time, transferring each coated doughnut to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

 

If you’d like to sprinkle chopped nuts on your doughnuts, do it now, before the chocolate icing has hardened. You can also put on sprinkles if you wish, or even shredded coconut.

 

Let the doughnuts sit until the coating has hardened. Then eat and enjoy.

 

These doughnuts are best eaten on the first day
(which has never been a problem in my house!)
If there are any leftovers, put them in a covered container and eat them the next morning for breakfast.

 

Yield: 12 yummy baked doughnuts.

 

Jo Fluke’s Note: I got my baked doughnut pans directly from the manufacturer, Wilton. They’re easy to find over the holidays, but most kitchen stores don’t carry them year-round. Look online if you can’t find them by searching for “baked doughnut pans”.

ANY FLAVOR BAKED DOUGHNUTS

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

2 cups all-purpose flour
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

¾ cup white
(granulated)
sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
(freshly grated is best, of course)

2 large eggs

½ cup milk

¼ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup
(1 stick, 4 ounces,
¼
pound)
salted butter, melted

 

Spray the wells in a 12-cup doughnut pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
(I used two 6-cup doughnut pans)

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the all-purpose flour and the white sugar together at low speed.

 

Add the baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.

 

Mix in the eggs, one at a time.

 

Add the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

 

With the mixer running, drizzle in the melted butter and continue to mix until the doughnut dough is smooth.

 

If you are making flavored doughnuts, mix in the flavoring you want from the list below:

 

Orange doughnuts–1 teaspoon orange zest

 

Lemon doughnuts–1 teaspoon lemon zest

 

Coffee doughnuts–1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

 

Peanut butter doughnuts–1 cup
(6-oz. pkg.)
peanut butter chips

 

Butterscotch doughnuts–1 cup
(6-oz. pkg.)
butterscotch chips

 

White chocolate doughnuts–1 cup
(6-oz pkg.)
white chocolate chips

 

Cherry Doughnuts–½ cup chopped maraschino cherries, patted dry

 

Cranberry Doughnuts–½ cup chopped dried cranberries

 

Jo Fluke’s Note: for Orange or Lemon doughnuts, you may want to use 1 teaspoon of the orange or lemon extract for 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract.

 

If you are using chips to flavor your doughnuts, take the bowl out of the mixer and mix in the chips by hand. If you’re using zest, just add it to your mixing bowl with the melted butter.

 

Spoon the dough into the indentations in the doughnut pan, filling them a bit over ¾ full.

 

Bake the doughnuts at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle baked part of one of the doughnuts comes out clean.

 

Take the doughnuts out of the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Cool them for 1 to 2 minutes.

 

Loosen the edges of the doughnuts by running a table knife around the circles. Then use potholders to pick up the pan and tip them out onto the wire rack.

 

If you’d like a simple coating for your doughnuts, quickly fill a bag with 3 Tablespoons of white
(granulated)
sugar. You must coat your doughnuts while they are still warm so that the sugar coating will stick.

 

Place the warm doughnuts in the bag, one at a time, and shake them in the sugar. Then take them out and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

 

Alternatively, you can coat your doughnuts with Powdered Sugar Glaze, Flavored Powdered Sugar Glaze, or Chip Icing. Let the doughnuts cool completely first before you begin to make your glaze or icing.
(If you attempt to frost or glaze warm doughnuts, the icing or glaze will slide off.)

 

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

2 cups powdered
(confectioners)
sugar
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it—no need to sift unless it’s got big lumps)

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Flavored Powdered Sugar Glaze:

2 cups powdered (
confectioners
) sugar
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it—no need to sift unless it’s got big lumps)

¼ cup fruit juice

1 teaspoon flavor extract

 

(For orange use orange juice, for lemon use lemon juice, for cherry use maraschino cherry juice, for cranberry use cranberry juice. You can also add a half-teaspoon of zest to the orange and lemon if you wish.)

 

Combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan large enough to hold a doughnut. Heat on MEDIUM, whisking until the glaze is smooth.

 

Pull the saucepan off the heat and dip a cooled doughnut into the glaze. Flip it over with a fork to glaze both sides. Extract the doughnut with the fork and set it down on a sheet of wax paper to dry.

 

When the glaze has “set” on your doughnuts, you can re-dip them if you re-heat the glaze in your pan.

 

Any Flavor Chip Icing:

1 cup chips of your choice
(6-ounce package)

2 Tablespoons salted butter

2 Tablespoons cream

 

In a microwave-safe bowl that’s large enough to hold a doughnut, combine the chips, salted butter and cream.

 

Heat the contents on HIGH for 1 minute.

 

Let the bowl sit in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir to see if the chips are melted. If they’re not, heat in 30-second increments until you can stir the icing smooth.

 

Quickly dip the tops of the cold doughnuts in the bowl of icing. Place them on a sheet of wax paper iced side up.

 

Jo Fluke’s Note: If you want to coat the entire doughnut, place it in the bowl and turn it over with a fork. Do this one at a time, transferring each coated doughnut to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

 

If you’d like to sprinkle chopped nuts on your doughnuts, do it before the icing has hardened. You can also put on sprinkles or decorators sugar if you wish.

 

Let the doughnuts sit until the coating has hardened. Then eat and enjoy.

 

These doughnuts are best eaten on the first day
(which has never been a problem in my house!)
If there are any leftovers, put them in a covered container and eat them the next morning for breakfast.

 

Yield: 12 yummy baked doughnuts.