Maple Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Internets, I think I have a problem. I am totally, completely, head-over-heels in love...so much so I can barely think about anything else. Every time I try to think about something else - like, say, when I'm lying in bed on a rainy morning with a hurricane swirling around outside - he sneaks into my thoughts, tempting me with his sweet, warm, seductive goodness.

Yes, I'm in love....with my donut pan :)

Seriously, this little item is one of the best inventions ever. I included my blueberry donut recipe in my blog about Maine , but I haven't written much else about how much fun I have with this pan. Traditional donuts are of course fried, and very tasty fried items they are too - love me a hot donut straight out of the fryer. (Okay, I love pretty much anything straight out of the fryer :) ). The donut pan is basically almost a sort of oddly shaped cupcake pan, with little posts in the middle of each depression.

my exact pan....from King Arthur Flour

Simply spray the pan with nonstick spray and fill with batter, and you'll shortly be enjoying all of the donut love with a fraction of the guilt. The donuts are dense - definitely of the old fashioned cakey type, not the yeast-risen Krispy Kreme type - and lend themselves to all sorts of flavor combinations. They bake fairly quickly...and nothing says love like a warm donut. Well, okay, not many things :)

The pans are available in a number of stores, but I happened to order mine from King Arthur Flour. They sell not only the pans but a variety of mixes that are actually pretty good - the chocolate one in particular is a knockout. However, you know us here at CO...gotta make it ourselves. Fortunately, there's lots of great recipes out there - including (I hope) this one.

The combination of maple and pumpkin is one of my very favorites (I make a killer maple pumpkin pie ), and I am lucky enough to live in New England where I have pretty good access to maple sugar. In a pinch, you could probably use light brown sugar and substitute a tablespoon of maple syrup for a tablespoon of the pumpkin - and definitely do the maple glaze instead of just dipping in sugar.

I should note that as compared to some other donut pan recipes, this batter is hella sticky - and they really don't smooth out as they bake and rise, so try and get the batter into the pan evenly if you want them level. A toothpick or a bamboo skewer work great for getting the batter around in the pan.

Enjoy !!

Maple Pumpkin Spice Donuts
makes 12 regular sized donuts*

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 heaping tsp. nutmeg
2 heaping tsps. cinnamon
½ cup maple sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 Tbl. buttermilk
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream together the maple sugar, canned pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla extract until the butter is well incorporated. With your mixer on medium low speed, slowly add the dry sifted ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until just barely combined. Be careful of over mixing.

Spray the donut pan with cooking spray and fill each donut mold halfway with the pumpkin batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until the exterior springs back when touched. Allow to cool completely.

Dip in maple sugar or cinnamon sugar while warm, or glaze with the following glaze when cool...both are awesome !

Maple Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl. maple syrup
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg

Mix until smooth and creamy, but still liquid - adjust ingredients as needed. Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze, then set on rack to dry.

Glaze will set better on completely cool donuts - though I did some warm and they were still pretty good. Just don't do it when they are roaring hot, or your glaze will melt.

*for mini donuts - bake 8-10 minutes.

Maine 2011

lobstah, buttah, what else do you need ?

Some good news, readers...I have FINALLY replaced my laptop !! Hopefully I can get back to blogging a little more regularly now...it's good to be back !! (Thank you Dad for Christmas in August, and Ma for a very generous birthday gift)

I have been asked so many times to "name my favorite meal". For a foodie, that question is nearly impossible to answer...like naming a favorite child.  Perfect meals are as much about timing as ingredients...what you're craving at any moment, what is fresh and available and irresistible and OMG MUST HAVE NOW !! I've had caviar and champagne at the perfect moment, and a perfect tuna melt just when I needed it most. Both could easily be my "favorite":

However, when absolutely pinned down to name my all time favorite meal, there's only one answer I can really give : lobsters and clams on the back deck of our family place in Cushing, Maine. My ties to this magical spot run old and deep - much more than I want to get into in this blog, which is really all about the food...so, let's discuss.

clam digging

nice haul !

"Local" is a huge buzzword in food circles right now...well, this seafood is about as local as you can get. The clams were dug on our own very rocky beach...no clam hoes for this group; you go with your fingers so you can tell the difference between the clams and the rocks. 70 clams were brought back up to the house, with half being turned into fritters and half being simply steamed...we can never decide which is better, so we always go with both.

fritters a'fritterin'

clam fritter with Cajun Remoulade

the best steamers on earth

As for the lobsters, 30 of the buggers were procured from a local lobsterman...but no sooner did they get to the house then my cousin Tom showed up with 70 or so tails. That is a hell of a lot of lobster, even for me...but hey, we're talking my favorite food here. None of this was going to go to waste !! We cooked every single one of them, turned some of the tail meat into my famous Lobster Mac + Cheese, everyone ate their fill of lobster in the shell, and we still had enough for everyone to take some home and make copious amounts of lobster salad. (Can't really give you a recipe for that...basically cooked lobster, just enough Hellman's to hold it together, and a TINY tiny dash of either Tabasco, cayenne pepper, or [my favorite] chipotle powder - not for heat, just to perk up the mayo) . Lobster lobster everywhere..

raw tails...

and cooked ones

lobster mac + cheese

my lovely sister

and brother-in-law

lobster rolls !

I'll leave you here with pictures of my other cooking in Maine...namely, blueberry donuts. I am in love with my donut pan...it really works like a charm : delicious baked donuts in the time it would take you to go stand in line at Dunkin's on a Sunday...and better for you by far ! Recipe follows.I so wish it was time to go back to Maine...

Blueberry Donuts
Makes 12

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup dried blueberries

cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (mix cinnamon into sugar to taste)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly grease a doughnut pan, or spray with cooking spray.  

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Beat together until well blended, then stir in blueberries.

Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while warm.