Maple Bacon Doughnuts (and Chocolate Iced Doughnuts too!)

One day I had a super craving for doughnuts. And bacon. Together.

I love the taste of crisp bacon and I'm always looking for ways to incorporate it into everything. When I first heard of bacon in desserts I was a little disgusted. But once I had my first bite of a maple bacon cupcake, I was changed forever. Since then I have been trying to sample as many bacon flavored desserts as I can. This is truly the perfect way to end (or start) your day!

Since I was too lazy to put on a clean pair of pants, I decided to make some Maple Bacon Doughnuts myself.

And it hit the spot.

I also made Chocolate Iced Doughnuts because, well, chocolate.
 


I had never made doughnuts before. Frankly, the thought of deep frying anything sort of terrified me. The combination of hot oil splashing and not having the right tools made it a daunting task. I decided to take the plunge. The craving was too strong.

It wasn't as difficult as I had thought! Once you get a rhythm going, deep frying isn't so hard. Now whenever I need a doughnut fix, I follow this easy recipe. I'm thinking a blueberry cake doughnut next, or cinnamon sugar...

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1.5 cups milk 
1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsalted butter or shortening
5 cups all purpose flour
Oil for frying


Maple Topping:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp warm water

Chocolate Glaze Topping:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla


1. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it site for about five minutes, until foamy.

2. Mix together the yeast mixture, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and butter. 

3. Slowly add the flour, one cup at a time, until your dough no longer sticks to your mixer. Remove from mixer, and knead dough for about five minutes. Place the dough into bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise until doubled.

4. Roll out to 1/2" thickness and cut with doughnut cutter. If you don't have one, make one like me (I used a large circle cookie cutter and large piping bag coupler! hehe). Cover and let doughnuts rise again until doubled.

5. Heat oil in deep fryer and fry doughnuts until golden brown.

6. Fry bacon and set aside.

7. To make Maple Glaze, mix all ingredients together. That's it!

8. Dip donuts in glaze and then sprinkle cooled, chopped bacon on top.

YUMMMMYYYYY!!!

To make Chocolate Glaze:

1. Combine chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in double boiler until melted.

2. Add vanilla.

3. Dip donuts in cooled chocolate glaze, and add sprinkles if desired.

Chocolate Toffee Cake Bars

Cake bars are a beautiful thing. They're denser than cake, yet lighter than a brownie. They've got those crispy edges and those chewy middles. Plus, the flavor possibilities are endless. I hadn't delved too much into the cake bar world before this. I had never tried one that really wowed me. This one caught my attention however. The toffee bits are what really pulled me in. Heath bars are one of my favorite candy bars and I have been trying to think of a way to incorporate Heath baking bits into a dessert. This is the perfect way to do that.

These were GOOD. Really good. Actually, the dough was almost better than the bar. I may have eaten a good 1/3 of the dough before it ever got in the oven. I started with a basic chocolate cake bar and tossed in the toffee bits. This gave it the perfect crunch to stand out from the chewy bar.

The original recipe I made left me with a very thin bar, and that's just not my thing. So, here, I have doubled the recipe for you.

 Ingredients: 

1 box white, chocolate, or yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup chocolate chips
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan. Start by browning your butter (find my post on how to do it here).

2. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat the brown butter (while still hot) and both sugars until combined. Then add the vanilla and mix.

4. Add the chocolate chips. The hot butter will melt them. Add the eggs very slowly, one at a time, so as not to cook them!

5. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Then add the toffee bits until combined.

 DOUGH SO GOOD.

6. Press into your greased pan.
 

6. Bake about 30 minutes. When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar if desired. I also dusted it with cocoa powder.

Double Salty Caramel Cheesecake Bars

While I'm on a caramel kick, I thought I'd throw one more recipe out there. Salty caramel is one of the best flavor combinations around and I'd like to incorporate it into every dessert ever. Since cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert, this was right up my alley. I'm usually not a fan of flavored cheesecakes. Plain cheesecake is my all time favorite. But one bite of this and I was hooked. Caramel is one of those flavors that pairs with just about any dessert.

 

This is a "double" caramel bar because not only is there a salty, sweet caramel topping but the cheesecake has caramel mixed right in. This is the perfect recipe to kick off the fall season!

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

10 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter

Cheesecake:

2 8-oz packages cream cheese

1/2 cup caramel sauce (you can use my recipe for Caramel Paste, omitting the cornstarch)

1 cup white sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:

1/2 cup caramel sauce (you can use my recipe for Caramel Paste, omitting the cornstarch)

Sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover an 8 x 8 pan with foil and spray it with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients for the crust in a bowl.

2. Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan. Bake about 10 minutes. Make sure you let it cool.

 

3. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time until full incorporated. Mix in the caramel and vanilla and stop mixing when just combined. Pour mixture into cooled crust.

 

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes until it turns a golden brown.

 

5. When cooled, spread caramel sauce over the top and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

Homemade Caramel Paste

Caramel paste is something you probably have never heard of. It is exactly what you're thinking. It's a thicker caramel sauce. Caramel paste came along like all great inventions, by accident.

The first time I attempted to make caramel sauce, I had issues with it thickening. Being the newbie that I was, I didn't wait long enough for it to get to thickness it was supposed to be. Five minutes in, I freaked out at the site of the watery boiling brown stuff on my stove top. In desperation, I added cornstarch, hoping to thicken it up. Still nothing. Another five minutes later, it had thickened to about five times what it originally was. I had a thick caramel paste that I didn't know what to do with.

After much pondering, I came up with the perfect use. I added it to vanilla buttercream to make caramel frosting. I always had problems making caramel buttercream using caramel sauce because it would make it too runny. Caramel paste is the perfect solution!

The great thing about this recipe is that if you omit the cornstarch, you have caramel sauce!


Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 cup white sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. Make sure you have all your ingredients nearby. You have to move fast when making caramel, so as not to burn the sugar.

2. Pour sugar and water in a pan over the stove and when it begins to melt, stir it slowly.

3. Bring it to a boil. Continue to stir, about five minutes.

4. Slowly add heavy cream and continue to mix. At this point, the mixture will bubble a lot! Watch it to make sure it doesn't overflow.

5. Keep mixing another five minutes and then add cornstarch and vanilla.

6. Remove from heat. It will thicken more as it cools. 

7. Use as desired. Best used in frosting or spread it straight on some cake!

Chocolate Salty Caramel Cupcakes

Caramel? Check.
Chocolate? Check.
Sea salt? Check.

You can't get much better than salty caramel. But wait, salty caramel and chocolate? Yeah, that's the stuff. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe for these cupcakes, Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake. It's the lightest, moistest chocolate cake you'll ever have the pleasure of eating. I topped it with caramel buttercream and a sprinkle of sea salt. It's even better than it sounds! The only way this cupcake can get any better if there was a drizzle of caramel sauce on top. Making a mental note of that for next time.

I decided to make the caramel from scratch and, boy, was it amazing. I'll post the recipe for that very soon. You can also use store bought caramel sauce or melted caramel candy, but I prefer making it from scratch.


Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Caramel Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Caramel Paste (or store bought caramel sauce)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
Sea salt to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the flour, sugar cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

 

 
2. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to your flour mixture. Then, add the coffee and mix until just combined. Bake in cupcake tins for for 15 to 18 minutes.

3. Beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.

4. Add the caramel. Mix in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. beat until light and fluffy.

5. Pipe on top of cupcakes and sprinkle with sea salt.

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Buns

Mmm....cinnamon buns (or rolls, whatever you prefer to call them). Sweet, sticky, gooey cinnamon-y. Gives meaning to life, you might say.

Instead of subjecting yourself to 900 calorie Cinnabon, you can try these! Okay, they're not a whole lot better nutrition wise, but definitely not as bad. And they taste just as good!

This is by no means a copycat Cinnabon recipe. The sauce on this cinnamon bun is less thick and slightly sweet and milky and the brown sugar flavor is a lot more prominent. I honestly prefer these to Cinnabon. Something about making everything from scratch and knowing exactly what goes into it makes them taste just a little better. I never liked making any kind of dough before this. Yeast is not my friend. I conquered my fear for this recipe though because, hello, it's a cinnamon roll. Yum.

Brown sugar, cinnamon, sweet glaze. Yeah, if these pictures don't make you drool, you might want to get that checked out.



Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 package or 1.5 tsp instant yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)

Glaze
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon


1. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat. Mix in butter until melted. Let it come to room temperature (stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes if you're impatient like me). 

2. In another bowl, mix together 2 1/4 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. 

3. Mix in the water, egg and the milk/butter mixture. Beat thoroughly. 

4. Add the rest of the flour in small additions until the dough just comes together.

 

5. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 7 minutes. 

  

6. Transfer the dish to deep bowl and cover it with a damp towel for 10 to 15 minutes. 

7. In a separate bowl, mix together the cinnamon, brown sugar, and soft butter. Set aside.

8. Roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. 

9. Spread the brown sugar mixture onto the dough, reaching all the corners. 

10. Roll up the dough. Cut into equal size rolls, depending on the thickness you desire. 

If any excess brown sugar comes out, spread it on the top of the dough.

Raw dough never looked so good.

11. Place the rolls spiral side up on a greased 9x13 baking sheet. It is okay if they are touching. Cover the pan with your damp towel and let it rise until the dough has doubled. This should take about 30 minutes. 

12. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

Glaze-less rolls... still yummy looking.

5. While baking, prepare the glaze. Sift confectioner's sugar in a small bowl. Pour condensed milk over it and mix well. Mix in the lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over baked buns while warm.