The Best GF DF Donuts EVER!!!

Cinnamon has been making gluten-free donuts for our parish for the past year and half.  It is quite the commitment each Saturday.  I am sure there are Saturdays that she would rather spend the three hours it takes, doing something else, but she knows it makes a difference.  It allows people a chance for fellowship and community over a simple offering of coffee and donuts.  It makes a difference for a segment of society that usually has to bypass such offerings.  It is a little thing, but it does make a big difference to those of us who can't eat gluten. 

 A few weeks ago when two little girls approached her and asked her if she made the donuts, she smiled and said yes.  They replied, "Thank you for making the donuts.  We can't eat the other kind.  We are gluten intolerant too!"  Cinnamon just smiled, but later as we were leaving church she slid her arm around my waist and said in her soft voice, "That is why I make donuts each week." 

She has made a variety of donuts.  Double chocolate topped with coconut, apple-cinnamon, plain topped with chocolate icing and sprinkles, maple flavored, lemon glazed, chocolate raspberry donuts to name a few.  Lately, she has begun to make her own recipes.  A few weeks ago she developed the best donut to date:  Vanilla Glazed Chocolate Chip Donuts!

I admit that after church I will eat a donut or two.  Yes.  Two.  They are small!  I have enjoyed all her baking, but these new donuts are in another category!  The three or four category.  The "sneak another" category.  I don't know what it is.  It is the perfect storm of ingredients and I have trouble walking past the kitchen without sampling.  That is not like me, but they are that good.  The best part: not only are they gluten-free, they are dairy free too!

And bless her heart, she is allowing me to share them with you!!!

Vanilla Glazed Chocolate Chip Donuts:

2 cups Gluten Free Mama Almond Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
8 Tbsp Earth Balance (I use the soy free kind)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk beverage like So Delicious or Trader Joe's
1/2 cup dairy free mini chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar.  Mix together.  Scrape down sides of the bowl.  Add eggs, vanilla, and coconut milk.  Mix together.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Add chocolate chips and stir.

We make these with this mini donut maker.  Follow the "baking" instructions according to the manufacturer.

VANILLA GLAZE:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp coconut milk beverage

Stir all ingredients together until combined.  Dip donuts into glaze and then let sit on a plate to dry.

 

 

Enjoy one or two.....or maybe three..... with a steaming cup of coffee or tea!  Thanks, Cinnamon!  They are delicious!!!

Inside My Kitchen

Today, I awoke to a light skiff of snow on the ground.  I am so not ready for snow!  I have things to do and places to go!  That first snow always brings out the crazy drivers.  You know, the ones that think snow is a white version of dry concrete and drive accordingly.  The snow melted quickly, but tonight as I write, it has started again in earnest and we already have an inch and a half of that fluffy stuff.

Since I didn't have any where to go today, I decided to make a delicious pot of soup and a batch of dinner rolls using a recipe from Bette Hagman's bread recipe book.

I used the Basic Featherlight Rice Bread recipe for the dinner rolls.  They turned out beautifully.  I love the flour mix for this recipe.  It is light and fluffy without any grittiness!  It makes great bread and rolls!

Don't they look yummy!

Since we were baking today, Paprika decided she wanted to have another go in the kitchen, but this time she wanted to make muffins.

She made Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins using the Namaste Muffin Mix.  I buy the mix from Amazon's Subscribe and Save.  The current price is $24.71 for 6 bags of mix.

The mix is very versatile and I have used it as a base for lemon poppy seed, apple, cinnamon almond, blueberry, and chocolate chip muffins.  You can make 12 muffins for approximately $4.11 plus any added ingredients.  This is great for the budget, especially since gf muffins in the freezer section can run $7.00 for four muffins!  I make a batch of these and keep them in my freezer to take out when we need them.

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins:

1 Package of Namaste Muffin Mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup of oil
1 cup of Orange Juice
1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare muffin tins with paper liners or lightly grease.

Mix the eggs, oil, and orange juice in a medium sized mixing bowl until combined.  Add the muffin mix and stir until it is well blended.  It should not be lumpy.  Add the chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake 12-15 minutes or until the tops turn golden brown.

Thanks for the delicious muffins Paprika!

So, while today was definitely cold outside, inside my kitchen it was warm.  My kitchen was full of laughter and scrumptious smells.  My kitchen was filled with the hum of conversation and the clink of pans and the scrape of spoons.  Today my kitchen was warm and filled with love.  A perfect way to spend a Saturday!