too hot to bake but not too hot to make homemade jelly doughnuts!!!

french buttermilk breakfast puffs

Where have these been all my life???

You'll ask yourself the same question after making and eating these french breakfast puffs. They're a cross between a muffin and a cinnamon-sugar cake doughnut. And most importantly, delicious!!!

I've made these twice. The first time, I followed the original recipe from Betty Crocker. BC's recipe called for vegetable shortening in the batter. I went with it because when I'm making recipes for the first time, I try and not to stray too far off of the original recipe. Today when I woke up at my Dad's house, I had the urge to make them again. This time I used butter instead of vegetable shortening and buttermilk instead of whole milk. Both recipes were successful and produced something yummy.

Get these on your table for Christmas morning or sooner. You'll thank Betty Crocker and me for bringing this recipe to your attention.

French Buttermilk Breakfast Puffs
adapted from Betty Crocker & the blog Spoonful
makes 9

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ***Try and grate the fresh stuff from a whole nutmeg seed.***
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CINNAMON-SUGAR TOPPING
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter the bottoms of a standard muffin tin. Set aside.

Melt 6 tablespoons butter. Set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and nutmeg. In small bowl, whisk the egg until it's foamy and light. Mix the buttermilk with the cooled melted butter. Add the whisked egg and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Pour your wet ingredients into the flour well and with a spatula fold the ingredients together.

With a 2-ounce cookie scoop, equally scoop batter into your prepared muffin tin.

***This recipe yields 9 and 1/2.....for the cook. :) ***

I always drop an ice cube in my muffin tins if all of them are not filled with batter. This keeps the tin evenly heated.

Bake your muffins for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes rotate your pan and bake for 5 - 7 minutes more. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes. 

In the meantime, melt the butter for the topping and mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Once the muffins have cooled enough to handle, dip the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then roll the tops, sides and bottoms in the cinnamon sugar.

These breakfast puffs are best served warm. 

You'll aslo find yourself eating them at room temperature too!!! AND IF you have any leftover, they could be frozen in a ziplock bag. But that's doubtful.....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

faux dough & batter

It's my 50th post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Almost nine months ago I started this blog mainly because everyone always asked me what I was baking lately in my kitchen. I'm not afraid to share my recipes and I hope other bloggers and chefs that I have borrowed from don't mind either...... :)


Today's post is super special to me because I have been "baking" (or should I say "making") my treats with non-edible ingredients. You know, less on the lips and easy on the hips.....I secretly always knew I wanted to be a baker at a very young age. Growing up my sister and I used to play "bake shop" with my miniatures and we used to make mini treats out of dough or clay. I also grew up in a family who loved to bake and my Mom always baked or even sometimes bought me and my sisters special cakes for our birthdays. 

Yesterday I was part of a celebration for someone that is super special to me and I "maked" these.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASSIUS!!!

doughnut plant

My idea for my baking blog was NOT to share my "food experiences", but since I happened to pass the doughnut plant in the Chelsea Hotel I just had to stop in to pick up a couple of these famously fried treats.

I introduce you to the peanut butter doughnut filled with blackberry jam & the salty peanut cake doughnut.










We have been eating these doughnuts for YEARS!!! Their original location is on the LES (the Lower East Side for all you non-NYers) and just blocks away from my husband's dentist. How convenient. Get your teeth cleaned and grab a doughnut. :) Seriously, I WILL travel to eat one of these, and I have! I drag every family member or friend who visits us down there just to taste and try as many flavors as we can. And WE DO because these are not just doughnuts. These are THE BEST doughnuts!!! I could talk for days about these things, but if you live in any of the 5 Boroughs, I highly recommend you grab your Metro Card and head towards the LES or Chelsea. And if you're heading to NYC, get this on your list of "places to eat" because you don't want to miss these.....