baked pumpkin maple cinnamon sugar donuts.

things i learned today:

1. it's important to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you at any given moment.

2. it's important not to wear a white skirt when working with orange or brown things in the kitchen, such as pumpkin and/or cinnamon.

3. making donuts is not hard, but it is not easy either.

...aaand i think that's it. i went to dance this morning to take one of my favorite classes and try a new one with a teacher i've been meaning to take for months now. i had a feeling i wouldn't love the second class, which came right after the first, but i'm glad i took it. i got a little tired and almost backed out, but i pushed through and i definitely feel like i got something out of it.

and then i got home and ate this delicious turkey, provolone, avocado, spinach and mustard sandwich on a whole wheat thin:

while eating my lunch and drinking a cup of tea, i found myself wanting to bake. i haven't baked anything (aside from that falafel loaf last week) in quite some time and i've got so many pumpkin recipes on my dash that they're taking up all the space! i can't even see my facebook link anymore...

no, but seriously. i found my recipe for whole wheat pumpkin donuts, and considering that a) i'm obsessed with pumpkin and b) i've been meaning to make donuts, not to mention c) the name of this blog...i thought it was perfect for today. i halved the recipe from here, took out the nutmeg 'cause i don't have any, and used extra baking powder instead of baking soda. and then made a maple cinnamon sugar glaze, of course :)

baked pumpkin maple cinnamon sugar donuts

(makes about 20 mini donuts)

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 Tbs skim milk

1/8 cup butter (or 2 Tbs)

1 tsp vanilla

beat butter, pumpkin and sugar in large mixing bowl until combined. add egg, vanilla and milk and beat. in a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. slowly add flour mix to pumpkin sugar mix.

when ingredients begin to combine, turn off mixer and use spatula to mix the rest together. be careful not to over beat.

spray the mini donut pan (or muffin tin) with pam or other oil, and use fingers to shape dough around the holes in the mini donut pan. warning: dough is super sticky.

bake for 7-8 minutes or until donuts are firm to the touch. let cool and place all donuts on a plate to be glazed.

in one bowl, combine a couple tablespoons of maple syrup and a splash of water to thin it out. in another bowl, combine a few tablespoons of white sugar and one tablespoon of cinnamon. stir together.

dip the top of each donut into the maple mixture first. when all the donuts are dipped, start dipping them into the sugar mixture. it is important to let the maple dry just a touch before dipped in the sugar, otherwise it will dissolve!

enjoy with warm with a cup of tea or coffee and be happy that autumn is here :)

xo jordan