Vanilla & Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Just last week I was telling a friend that I was done blogging. I explained to her that I hadn't felt inspired recently and didn't feel like taking pictures of food anymore. And then, 36 hours later, I made these. Silly me. I guess all it took was one bite of these cinnamon-sugar-vanilla-butter-donuts to get me back in the game.

DONUT INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/14 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

VANILLA-CINNAMON-SUGAR-TOPPING INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
seeds of 1 vanilla bean

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Fold together and do not over-mix.

Pour into donut pan and fill each mold approximately 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for ~10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then remove donuts from mold and let cool.

Once cool enough to handle, prepare the topping by blending together the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean seeds. Dip each donut in the melted butter (on all sides) and then coat with the cinnamon vanilla sugar. Let the topping set, then serve and enjoy!

Raspberry Coconut Oatmeal Bars

I haven't really been blogging much in the past 5 months.

Or at all.

This is, in part, due to the fact that I have been lacking in inspiration. The rest is due the recent influx of busy and exciting new things happening in both my personal and professional life, including applying to and matching at a predoctoral internship, finishing graduate school, and prepping for my move to NYC in 6 weeks!

I've been so busy that I rarely spend Sundays in my kitchen like I used to. But, today I had just that kind of day. I've missed these Sundays and have decided to make them a priority in the future. I made these raspberry coconut oatmeal bars to bring to my very last meeting on campus tomorrow, and thought I'd snap a photo and post it. The best thing about these bars is that they are sweet enough to be dessert, but have a distinct oatmeal/jam flavor, so they can also pass for a breakfast-on-the-go. I plan on eating them for both breakfast and dessert tomorrow. I hope you enjoy them as much as I already have! Recipe from http://amandeleine.com/.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided in half
12 oz. seedless raspberry jam/jelly

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take half of the coconut and spread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven, stirring every 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

Using a food processor, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add in the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture forms a dough. Pour into a large bowl and mix in the oats and toasted coconut with your hands. Remove 3/4 cup of the dough and set aside. Press the rest into the bottom of a parchment-lined and greased 9x13 pan. Next, spread the raspberry jam in an even layer on top. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the jam then sprinkle the rest of the coconut (untoasted) on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bars are golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool completely, then cut into squares. Serve and enjoy!