2 Christmas Recipes: Biscotti & Donuts

I decided to share two wonderful recipes I have made for Christmas. The biscotti I made for a Christmas eve treat and everyone loved it. It tasted wonderful dipped in coffee or hot chocolate. The donuts I made Christmas morning for breakfast. When I was a child, my grandmother used to make donuts on Christmas morning and dip them in white sugar. It was a great, basic way to enjoy home made donuts. Now, I have a new way and I have to admit, I do like it a lot better. I plan to make these every Christmas morning for Zoey as a tradition.

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. pumpkin spice
4 tbsp. butter, thinly sliced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Using your hands, mix and work in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

2. Spoon 1 tbsp beaten eggs into cup; reserve. Add chocolate chips, vanilla, and remaining beaten eggs to flour mixture; stir until evenly moistened. With hand, knead mixture a few times in bowl until dough forms.

3. On floured surface, with floured hands, divide dough in half. Shape each half into a log; flat on the bottom, rounded over the top. Place logs on a cookie sheet. With pastry brush, brush tops and sides of logs with reserved egg. Bake logs 30-45 minutes. Bake time depends on thickness of logs. Cool logs on cookie sheet on wire rack 10 minutes.

4. Place logs on cutting board. With serrated knife, cut warm log crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. Place slices upright, 1/4 inch apart, on cookie sheet(s). Bake slices 15 minutes to allow biscotti to dry out. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks. (Biscotti will harden as they cool.) Store biscotti in tightly covered container. Enjoy dipped in coffee :)

Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Ingredients

2 cans large buttermilk biscuits
Peanut oil
Cinnamon sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1/4 c. cocoa powder

Directions
1. Heat 2 inches peanut oil in a large pot to 350 degrees F. (I didn't have a way to test the temp, so I heated the oil on medium heat and put a donut in to test how fast it cooked. I adjusted the temp from there)

2. Set the cinnamon sugar on a small plate or in a shallow bowl and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and milk. Set aside. This is the chocolate glaze.

4. Lay out the biscuits on a cutting board and with a small round cookie or biscuit cutter (or a film canister works perfectly!), cut out a hole from the middle of each biscuit. Fry them in the oil until golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side. You can even fry the donut holes. Adjust the temp as needed so the donuts don't fry too quickly and burn.

5. Drain on paper towels, then toss in the cinnamon sugar and ice with the chocolate glaze. If you want to add sprinkles, do it right away because one the glaze sets, the sprinkles won't stick. I did half with the icing and half with just the cinnamon sugar.

Mommy's Pancakes

This morning I woke up with a hankering to bake or cook something semi-sweet and straight up homemade, from scratch, for breakfast. My first thought was my chocolate chip pumpkin spice bars, but alas, the only ingredient I was missing was the chocolate chips. I decided to think outside the box a little and to look up a basic recipe for homemade pancakes, knowing I'd rewrite part of it... but I needed a place to start. I was missing one ingredient I wanted to add, and next time I will add it... but for now, I'm writing it into the recipe. I have to admit, these pancakes were by far the best pancakes I've ever had. They were exactly what I wanted and so easy to make. I had all the ingredients on hand, as most of you probably do as well. I'm going to post the recipe template and then my changes. Behold, Mommy's Pancakes:

Old Recipe

1 egg

1 c. flour

3/4 c. milk

2 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

My Recipe

1 egg

1 c. flour

3/4 and 1/8 c. milk

2 tbsp. oil

2 tbsp. cinnamon sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients first, then add the wet ingredients. Use a 1/4 cup to make perfect-sized pancakes. This recipes yields 7-8 pancakes. Top with butter and light karo syrup.

The ingredient I was out of was the brown sugar. I was so disappointed and quite shocked that I was actually out and had not replaced it. I think the brown sugar would add a little extra sweetness for the most perfect pancakes. You'll notice I changed the regular sugar to cinnamon sugar, added vanilla, and also an additional 1/8 c. of milk. I noticed in the original recipe that the consistency of the batter was much too thick. So I added that extra 1/8 and it made a perfect batter.

My original idea was to use the pumpkin spice mix in the batter instead of using the cinnamon sugar... but when I saw I had the cinnamon sugar on hand, I decided to go that route instead. I may, at some point, decide to give the other way a whirl. But for now, this recipe is mine, and I hope you find time to make it. I named it Mommy's Pancakes since I am becoming a mommy and it's increasingly important to find fun/easy recipes that my child will love. What kid doesn't like pancakes, anyway? (Don't answer that question.)

6 Weeks of Pregnancy & Spiced Tea

I'm 6 weeks today. Every Sunday marks a new milestone, a new list of baby developments, and the same question in my mind... Is my baby really growing as the book says it is? In 2 weeks & 2 days, I'll find out for sure. But anytime I doubt myself, I remember my symptoms are still there. They're still intensifying and that has to mean something right?

Lately, instead of waking up once in the middle of the night to pee, I'm waking up three times. The past two mornings, I have woken up at 5:00 a.m., on the dot, with a nausiating hunger. One little pack of Cheez-Its and I'm ready for more sleep. Today I bought a box of Cheez-Its to keep by the bed. When I first sit up in bed, I feel like I have bricks hanging from my boobs. Yes, bricks. I am not exaggerating, I cry every time. But once I get going, I'm fine. It (mostly) goes away. Because of this agonizing pain, I am often too lazy to get up to pee in the middle of the night, which has caused Glenn to chastise me... "You're going to get a UTI!" Nah.

Today, I was extremely exhausted. I'm not sure if it's just the pregnancy, or the fact that I also spent all day painting our office/guest room yesterday. I came home from church this afternoon, and instead of eating lunch and making my grocery list like usual, I passed out on the couch for a few hours. It was much needed. But instead of feeling refreshed when I woke up, I felt sedated.

I thought I was going to have my first bout of sickness when I started to eat dinner. Thanks to my pastor mentioning spaghetti during service today, I had to have some for dinner. I made a heaping plate because I sure love my spaghetti, and I suddenly didn't feel right... I wasn't really sick feeling, just... off. Glenn noticed I wasn't devouring my meal like I should have been, considering I had not eaten anything since 9:00 this morning. He started to ask if I was going to be sick, if he could get me anything, or do anything for me... I assured him I was fine, just didn't feel good since it had been so long since I had eaten. And I was fine... minus a little heartburn, I was good to go. I ate the spaghetti and then enjoyed a hot cup of spiced tea.

Now I feel fine. Glenn pulled out my big tub of fall decor so I am almost ready to set it all out. Perhaps I will after this blog. ;) In the meantime, I'll leave you with my favorite spiced tea recipe... but this literally makes a LOT so you have to get a huge container to keep it in. Once you try it, you'll be in spiced tea heaven. The funny part about this? There is only 2 Tbs of "tea" in the entire recipe. Enjoy!

Spiced Tea

20 oz. Tang powder

(or other powdered orange drink)

20 oz. Lemonade powder

2 Tbs Instant Tea

2 c. Sugar

2 tsp. Cinnamon

2 tsp. Ground Cloves

Mix a couple spoonfuls of tea into hot water (to taste)

*Note: The tang and lemonade will have to be measured out in an oz. measuring cup because they do not come in 20 oz. sizes... that is the one flaw of this recipe, but don't hate, I didn't invent it. ;)

Opa! Greek Salad & Pepsi

I have perfected my Greek Salad. Since the Greek Salad craving began 7 days ago, I have eaten 5 of them: 2 home made, 2 from Panera, 1 from Athens Family Restaurant. Mine is the best.

Romain Lettuce (rich in folate!)
Cherry Tomatoes, sliced
Tomato Basil Feta (pasturized of course)
Kalamata Olives, pitted & sliced
Banana Peppers, sliced
Grilled Chicken, diced
Greek Vinagrette Dressing

Toss & Chow.

Did I mention that Amanda has plagued me with her famous Pepsi craving? Don't worry, I'm drinking decaf. It's not the same, but it'll due.