Jenn's Baking Chamber

Doughnut Muffins

These were GOOD!  Especially right out of the oven!  They muffins were soft with a hint of sweetness and the outside was loaded with cinnamon and sugar.  I got this recipe here and followed it exactly with no problems.  I made regular sized muffins but mini muffins would be great because they would taste just like Timbits.  The recipe tells you to only dip the tops of the muffin in the melted butter which I highly recommend.  The warmth and grease from the muffin pan is enough for the sugar/cinnamon mixture to stick to the muffin.  Otherwise if you cover the whole muffin in melted butter it will get to soggy.  Happy baking and enjoy!

I was having a girls night the other week and I decided to make some treats for everyone to enjoy.  We usually eat a lot of junk food when we get together so I decided to make a treat that wasn't as bad to eat.  I found this recipe for Low-Fat Brownies from the Joy of Baking website.  The Brownies were good, very soft and chewy and full of chocolate flavor.  I would wait until the brownies compeletly cool before cutting into them because of their softness and I also kept mine in the fridge to store.  The link for the recipe is above, enjoy!

I like this Apple Pie recipe because it's a bit different than your classic apple pies.  This recipe includes different fruit juices incorporated into the filling which gives the pie a great hint of citrus taste.  I tried this recipe first but found that the filling was a bit too runny so I altered the recipe a bit and posted it below.

Apple Pie

1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
1/4 Cup corn starch
1/8 Cup orange juice
1/8 Cup grapefruit juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 apple (or pumpkin) pie spice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4-5 Cups of apples; peeled, cored, and cut
2 Tbsp butter, room tempur
Classic Crisco Pie Crust Recipe

1) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, corn starch, orange juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and nutmeg
2) Add apples and toss gently
3) Make pie crust and line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; then lightly brush the pastry with 1 Tbsp butter (this helps from the bottom crust getting soggy)
4) Gently pour filling into prepared pie crust; then cut the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter and spread evenly over filling
5) Roll the remaining pastry on top of pie; then cut vents on top of pie
6) Bake at 425F for 10 minutes then reduce heat 350 and bake for 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly
7) Let pie cool then serve and enjoy!

Who doesn't love Rum Balls during the holidays?  The best thing about Rum Balls is the longer they sit for, the boozier they get (if you can make them last that long).  This recipe is from my 'Joy of Cooking - All About Cookies' cookbook, the original recipe calls for bourbon but I used a spiced rum instead and they tunred out just great!  Happy Holiday's!

Rum Balls

1 Cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 - 1/3 Cup of rum (or bourbon)
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 1/2 Cups chocolate wafers (or vanilla), crushed finely in a food processor
1 Cup coarsley chopped pecans

1) Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder and set a side
2) In a seperate bowl, mix together rum and corn syrup
3) Mix together cocoa mixture and rum mixture until combined
4) Stir in crushed wafers and nuts into cocoa rum mixture until well combined (if mixture is too dry, add more corn syrup and if mixture is too wet, add more powdered sugar a little bit at a time.  This mixture should stick together well and keep their shape)
5) Roll mixture into balls and coat with powdered sugar
6) Ball can be kept at room temperature for 3 weeks or can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use (the longer they sit, they stronger they taste!), enjoy!