Hey hey my lovely readers!
I hope you are all having a great week so far. I’ve been getting up SUPER early this week to be at work by 6:30am and it is kicking my butt! I laid down around 4pm today for a short nap and woke up TWO hours later…ugh!
But anywho, you didn’t come here to hear me complain, go ahead and break out those party hats and noisemakers…
It’s time for What I Ate Wednesday!
Hey guys!
Thank you so much for the sweet comments on yesterday’s Christmas inspired pancakes. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one ready for the season a bit early this year…now to get to work on my Christmas list! 😉
But first, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a hot steamy cup of perfectly roasted coffee?
Coffee haters remain silent…you’ll kill the mood.
How about chocolate cherry cake doughnuts coated in a mix of cocoa and powdered sugar?
Yes? No? Maybe?
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was sent two free bags of Peet’s Coffee to taste and asked to pair it with a breakfast, brunch, or dessert dish.
I had never tried Peet’s coffee before and honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first after I discovered that both the Cafe’ Solano and the Cafe’ Domingo were medium roasted coffees.
I like my coffee like I like my men…
Hot, smooth, and STRONG!
Luckily neither blend disappointed. They both have such a depth of flavor that I’ve never tasted with other brands. I may have just found my new favorite coffee! 😉
After trying my first cup, I knew exactly what I wanted to pair it with, but without any clue as to how to make my own doughnuts…I may be the “Queen of Pancakes”, but a baker, I am not….I took a little help from a pair of twins who know their way around a doughnut pan.
As soon as I saw the Baked Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnuts on The Healthy Diaries, the gears in my head started turning and it wasn’t long before I made the recipe my own!
Chocolate Cherry Cake Doughnuts
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes, plus cooling
Keywords: bake breakfast snack dessert cocoa whole wheat pastry flour
Ingredients (7 doughnuts)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well to break up any cocoa clumps (not to be confused with “lady lumps”).
3. In a separate bowl, add whisked egg, yogurt, extract, oil, milk, and cherry juice and whisk together until combined.
4. Carefully stir in the chopped cherries.
5. Transfer batter to a large zip top bag, cut one of the corners off and squeeze batter into doughnut pan.*
6. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest doughnut comes out clean.
7. While doughnuts are baking, whisk together the cocoa and sugar in a large bowl (the larger the bowl, the less chance for a cocoa-sugar coated kitchen).
8. When done, immediately turn doughnuts out onto a cooling rack. One at a time, coat them with the cocoa/sugar mix and then allow to cool…or devour one right away like I did! 😉
*My batter was actually enough to make 7 doughnuts so I poured the batter into a mini muffin pan and made makeshift “doughnut holes.”
Fresh out of the oven
Can you see the specks of cherries?
All dusted up and ready for coffee dunkin’
But don’t think you have to be a coffee lover to enjoy one of these for breakfast…as a snack…or a late night nibble…try dipping them in hot cocoa!
Because, let’s face it, you can never have too much chocolate! 😉
What is your favorite hot beverage during the cold months?
Are you a “dunker”?
So I’m sitting here typing up this post while listening to Christmas music on Pandora radio.
Yes, I am well aware that it is only October.
No I’m not in any hurry to drag out the Christmas decorations…in fact, I have absolutely NO CLUE where I’m even going to put my tree in the new house…but there’s just something about hearing good ol’ Frank tell me that he’ll be home for Christmas that makes me smile.
It also makes me want to bake!
And well, since gingerbread cookies aren’t exactly breakfast fare, I did what any normal person pancake addict would do…
I made gingerbread cookie PANCAKES!
Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 minutes
Keywords: fry breakfast whole wheat pastry flour ginger Pancake Sunday winter fall
Ingredients (Serves 2)*
Instructions
1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk well.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
5. Pour batter into greased skillet, forming 6 small-medium-sized pancakes.
6. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until edges start to turn crisp.
7. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until done.
Nutrition facts for pancakes only.
I layered my cookies pancakes with some Greek yogurt that I spiked with vanilla bean extract and a few drops of stevia and dusted the whole plate with a bit of cocoa and powdered sugar
It’s beginning to look taste a lot like Christmas! 😉
Do you like listening to Christmas music out of season?
I’m sure I’ll be ready to pull my hair out by the middle of December, but I usually get in the mood a bit early every year.
Do you start dancing like a Charlie Brown character when you hear upbeat Christmas songs?
No? Just me? 😉
