Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie

I'm continuing to (slowly) slosh my way through a backlog of posts, and this is one that I have been meaning to get up on the blog for months.

Now, I love me some pumpkin, but oddly enough, I've never posted my go-to classic pumpkin pie recipe. And today is still not that day, unfortunately. But instead, I have another variation of pumpkin pie to post -- the "Impossibly Easy" kind.

Why? I'm glad you asked. Necessity. I needed a quick pumpkin pie recipe using the ingredients I already had on hand in my pantry, which did not include pie crust, or butter or shortening, which precluded me from making a from-scratch crust (also working against me was the time factor). But, what I did have on hand was Bisquick.




Ah Bisquick. Can we take a minute to talk about Bisquick? You'd love to? Great!

Bisquick, in a nutshell, is a pre-mixed baking blend that includes flour, a leavening agent, and a fat source. The brandname stuff uses baking powder, hydrogenated oil and salt, but you can actually make your own using one cup of flour, 1½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter. And according to Betty Crocker, it can be used in pretty much any baked good from pancakes to sausage balls. I've had both of those, although I haven't tried the myriad of other Bisquick recipes. And they're good...especially the sausage balls. But that's for another day.

Back to the Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie.

The premise is this: impossibly easy because you mix every ingredient together in one bowl, then dump it into a pie plate and bake it. While baking, the Bisquick sinks through the custard and forms a crust (of sorts) on the bottom all on its own, and voila! A pie so easy that it is ridiculous (although I'm not sure about the "impossible"). By the by, this pie used to be called "Impossibly Pie," not "Impossibly Easy Pie" when it was first introduced in 1978. The original flavor was coconut custard, and I'm assuming the name was a reference to the surprising way the Bisquick settles into a crust. I'd love to be able to tell you why Bisquick does this (and I did try to find out) but I could not find a definitive answer. I'm assuming the Bisquick sinks because the flour granules are coated in fat...but don't quote me! Somewhere along the way, "Impossible" was remarketed as "Impossibly Easy," probably to emphasize the, you know, ease of it all. The recipes were expanded to include a number of different sweet and savory pies, including pumpkin.

Now, I have to admit that I didn't follow Betty's custard recipe here. It was enough for me to know that the Bisquick would sink through the custard, so I used my own custard recipe, and just added Bisquick. 

The recipe is just as easy as it sounds: mix,

and bake.

It is hard to see in the pictures, but it really does form a crust, albeit a thin one:

Since my custard was thicker that the original recipe, I toyed with the idea of adding more Bisquick, but I decided against it. I'm not sure if it would all have settled out, and I didn't want to take the chance.

The filling really is the star here, and that's just fine with me, although part of me missed a traditional crust. I don't think this would replace my go-to traditional pumpkin pie recipe (although the custard recipe I modified for this is almost exactly what I use in my go-to recipe). But for what it is -- an easy, quick pumpkin pie with minimal ingredients, it can't be beat!


Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1 can (15 oz) puree pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (low-fat is fine, if you wish)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C bisquick
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice (or cloves, if you prefer)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Grease (cooking spray is fine) a 9" pie plate -- I used glass
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Pour into pie plate
4. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 350F (without opening oven), and continue to bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, until center is set and dies not jiggle.
5. Cool on wire rack. 

Applesauce Spice Cake

My LO was supposed to be a Thanksgiving baby, due to arrive on November 21st. But he had very different plans. I actually went into labor on Halloween, the day after Sandy passed through when we still had no power, and I didn't end up delivering until 2 days later courtesy of an emergency c-section.  Toss in coming home to 4 downed trees on our property after a week in the hospital, and it has been a very busy month!



Autumn is normally my favorite baking season, but this year, the season almost entirely passed me by, between the last few tiring months of my pregnancy, working at my two jobs until the last minute, and all of the events around my LO making his debut. Because he was so young, we just had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at our house, with my parents and my FIL. And my parents cooked the whole thing and carted it to my house. Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cornbread pudding, veggies and cranberry sauce. Seriously, they are amazing.

But for the first time in a long time, I really really really felt like baking something. After all, it was Thanksgiving. And I hadn't had the energy to bake anything in forever. But I had to stick with things that I already had all the ingredients for, because at the time, I was still not allowed to drive after the c-section. Luckily I keep myself pretty well stocked in fall baking staples such as spices, etc. And I also had applesauce, because I was craving it late in my pregnancy. And that's when I remembered a recipe I had seen on Smitten Kitchen's website for a Spiced Applesauce Cake. I already had all of the ingredients, it featured one of my two favorite autumn baking ingredients, and it made an 8x8" cake -- a perfect size for an intimate dinner for five. I just adjusted the spices to suit my tastes, and in no time at all, I had a lovely and easy holiday cake from scratch.

First, you combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, salt and spices) together and set them aside. Then you cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until nice and fluffy, a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. After that, add the applesauce.

Then add the flour mixture slowly and mix until just combined, and then stir in any nuts (I like pecans, the original recipe called for walnuts). At this stage, the batter will look lumpy and curdled, which is how it should look.

Spread the batter into a sprayed pan and bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, until golden.

Once the cake is cooled, you can add frosting. There is a lovely homemade icing recipe on Smitten Kitchen's site, but I have to admit that I cut a corner here and used cream cheese frosting from a tub (Betty Crocker brand). And you know what? It was still delicious. So don't be afraid to save yourself some time.

This cake got great reviews from the attendees of my humble first Thanksgiving dinner post-birth. The texture was great, the prep was easy, the taste was pure autumn. All in all, a great little Fall cake, all the taste of an apple spice cake with a fraction of the work.

My son approves!

Applesauce Spice Cake

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (about 13 ounces or 365 grams) unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup toasted and cooled pecans or other nuts, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, salt and spices) together and set them aside
3. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until nice and fluffy, a few minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. 
5. Add the applesauce, mix to combine
6. Add the flour mixture slowly and mix until just combined, and then stir in any nuts
7. Spread the batter into a sprayed pan and bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, until golden.
8. Frost when cooled

Zucchini Bread

I happened upon this recipe, which I modified slightly from Paula Deen, when I had an overabundance of zucchinis to consume from last year's farm share (more about farm shares in another post). It is a simple and tasty quickbread recipe that will yield 2-9x5" loaves, plenty to eat and share!

Start by grating some fresh zucchini. Then begin by combining ingredients. First, premix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, spices, baking soda and sugar) together. 

Then, in a separate bowl, combine the wet (oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice). 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix (can do by hand) until well combined and moistened throughout. Then, fold in the nuts, if you are using them (I used pecans because that's what I had on hand -- yum). 

Bake in 2-9x5x3" loaf pans (otherwise known as "standard loaf pans" -- the 8x4" loaf pans are 1 lb pans) for about 60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

A note about the sugar: I've made this bread using a variety of sugar amounts, from 1 cup to 3 cups. It depends on what taste you are going for. 1 cup of sugar is hardly sweet at all, and would pair well with a glaze or icing. 2 cups is moderately sweet, and 3 (what the original recipe called for) is very sweet, like a zucchini pound cake. I personally like 2 cups the best, half brown and half white, but that is my tastebuds. My husband prefers the 1 cup version. Don't be afraid to experiment.

I like this recipe for several reasons: 1) It's tasty; 2) It's easy; 3) it keeps well; 4) It yields 2 loaves, which means it is plenty to feed a crowd; 5) It's different, I've found that people still are surprised when you tell them that you've baked zucchini into a sweet bread. It is also a fantastic way to use up excess zucchini, especially if you have a lot of it (it is always plentiful in the summer, especially if you have a garden or participate in a farm share). I'm fairly certain you could bake the same exact bread with the yellow variety of summer squash, as its texture and taste are roughly equivalent, but I've never personally tried it.

Having said that, I do have to be honest and say that I'm not sure if I would go out of my way to make this bread if I didn't have excess zucchini on hand…but this bread also makes a great base for other types of quickbread (I added apples instead of zucchinis in a previous post, and it was a yummy autumn treat). So if you have excess zucchini, or if you just want to try your hand at zucchini bread, this is a great recipe. And if you want to use it as a base for another type of quickbread, have fun experimenting and be sure to tell me how it turns out!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. 
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. 
5. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans (9x5x3"), sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.
1. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Cinnamon Apple Quick Bread

I am waaaaaaay behind on the posts I had hoped to make. I still have an entire summer's worth of farm-share related blogs to get to, but I'm going to not even think about those until after this holiday season is done.

Although I love yeast breads, the joy and simplicity of a simple quick bread never ceases to amaze me. After I went on my annual apple-picking excursion, I wanted to try some new things with my apples. The first recipe I settled on was an apple quick bread, which is a variation of Paula Deen's zucchini bread, which I became well-acquainted with this summer during my farm share, when I had zucchinis coming out of my ears. At the time, I thought the base would be good for other fruit or veggie mix-ins, and I was right. With a little tweaking, I made this recipe work beautifully for apples.

But first, a little interlude (or skip down for more baking!):

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, hand's down. Not only do I love Halloween-themed treats, but I love Halloween tradition as well.  Last year, around this time, I paired my Halloween and Fall-themed posts with little blurbs on the background of some common Halloween tradition and/or lore, including the history of Halloween and trick-or-treating, vampires, zombies, jack-o-lanterns, and bobbing for apples. This year, even though I am starting a little late, I am continuing that tradition with this latest topic:

"So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat."

This is my 6 month old kitty cat, Severus (as in Severus Snape, because I'm a huge nerd), and he and his brother Magnus hold my heart in their paws. I've always been a dog person, growing up I had a wonderful German Shepherd, and I never seriously contemplated owning a cat. But, I always promised myself that if I did ever get a cat, he would be jet black from the tips of his ears to the bottoms of his paws. There's just something about them that draws me in. So what more perfect Halloween interlude than to examine the superstition surrounding Halloween and

Throughout history, the attitude towards cats in general has been one of dueling extremes. In ancient times, particularly in Egypt and Rome, cats were revered. In Egypt, they were the earthly representatives of the goddess Bastet, while in Rome, they were often worshiped as household gods. The ancient Christians had a tradition that a tabby cat kept the baby Jesus warm when he was born, and in gratitude, the Virgin Mary bestowed the characteristic "M" on his forehead.

But during the Dark and Middle Ages, this began to change. In 1232, the Pope suggested that cats might in fact be agents of the Devil. Although no one is sure what caused this shift in attitudes, the fact that cats are nocturnal animals with highly reflective eyes that seem to glow and aloof demeanors probably didn't help matters any! Many cats were burned at the stake along with their owners during medieval witch hunts. One high-profile example in the 17th century was the story of Charles I and his favorite cat, which happened to be black. Charles I was very attached to his kitty, so the story goes, and even assigned guards for its protection.  When it died, he allegedly exclaimed that his luck had gone, and the very next day, he was arrested. His subsequent execution resulted in the (temporary) overthrow of the British monarchy, and only did more damage to the reputation of black cats. In the latter part of the 17th century, New England witch hunters in Salem and elsewhere became convinced that cats, particularly black ones, were familiars -- that is, the spirits in animal form that collude with and assist witches.  These early attitudes gave rise to most of the black cat superstitions we are familiar with today, such as: having bad luck if a black cat crosses your path; a black cat at a funeral meaning another family member will die; and just the general bad luck that was believed to follow black cats around. It also gave rise to the classic Halloween icon of a black cat silhouette. 

Even though we live in modern times, some superstitions unfortunately die hard, because a study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science looking at adoption rates in  CA animal shelters found that black cats have the lowest adoption rate out of all coat colors. All Halloween playfulness aside, this is heartbreakingly unfortunate for all the sweet black kitties out there that desperately need love. If you're ever in a position to welcome a cat into your home, and you have a choice of a black one, please seriously consider taking him or her since statistics show that it is unlikely that someone else will come along to adopt him. :-(

And now, back to baking!

Cinnamon Apple Bread

This recipe is ridiculously easy. So easy that I hardly have any pics to go with the post. First, start with some apples. I used Fuji exclusively, because that is what looked good at the orchard, but generally I like to have a mix of apples.  Either dice them up or shred them using the biggest openings on your shredder. I chose to shred because it goes quickly, and I always get lazy when I'm dicing, and I end up with progressively larger and larger pieces...

Mix a little lemon juice into those cut apples, to slow down the oxidation (browning).

Pre-combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. A note about the sugar: I've made this bread using a variety of sugar amounts, from 1 cup to 3 cups, which is why there is a range in the recipe listed below. It depends on what taste you are going for. 1 cup of sugar is hardly sweet at all, and would pair well with a glaze or icing. 2 cups is moderately sweet, and 3 (what the original recipe called for) is very sweet, like apple pound cake. I personally like 2 cups the best, half brown and half white, but that is my tastebuds. My husband prefers 1 cup.

Beat the eggs together with oil and water in a separate bowl, then mix in the apples (and nuts if you want them).

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together.

Then, take 2-9x5" loaf pans, spray them with butter spray, and line the bottom with parchment. Spraying before you put the parchment on the bottom helps it to stick to the metal. Then give the top of the parchment a little spray as well. Don't skip the parchment step, believe me, I only tell you to parchment-line something if it is really necessary. Then, divide the batter between the two loaf pans, and bake at 350F for about 50 minutes (as a range, I'd say anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour). Keep baking until a tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for ten minutes before de-panning and cooling fully.

This bread is a yummy and fragrant bit of Fall, studded with apples and walnuts, and swirled with spices. It would probably be delicious with a caramel glaze, but that involved going to the store, so I didn't bother. As-is, however, 2 loaves got devoured in a single day at my work. If you have apples, and you want to make more than just pies and crisps, consider making this bread!

Cinnamon Apple Bread

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 C apples, shredded
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 eggs
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1/3 C water
• 3-1/4 C AP flour
• 2 C sugar (1C brown, 1C white)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 C nuts, pecans or walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Shred or dice apples, and mix with lemon juice
3. Beat together eggs, oil, and water. Stir in apples and nuts
4. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and spices in separate bowl
5. Combine wet and dry ingredients
6. Line the bottoms of two 9x5" loaf pans with parchment, and spray bottom and sides of pans
7. Divide batter evenly between 2 pans and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until tester comes out clean 
8. Cool in pan for ten minutes, then de-pan
9. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pie

I. Love. Pumpkin. Pie. In fact, let’s be honest: I love pumpkin anything. But pumpkin pie is the very pinnacle of all pumpkin desserts as far as I’m concerned. I used to make a traditional pumpkin pie every year, but last year I went in a different direction, rolling out a brand-new type of pie, and haven’t looked back since. This new pie, the Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pie, is my definitive holiday pie. It is like three desserts wrapped into one, and although it might sound busy, this pie has the most wonderful blending of flavors that results in my favorite Thanksgiving dessert.

I had always been intrigued with pumpkin cheesecakes, but I had never tried to make one before. The pie I am going to describe is a little different from a regular pumpkin cheesecake in that the cheesecake layer and the pumpkin pie layer are kept separate, with a pecan layer on top. This concept was originally inspired by Bakerella, who made a similar pie on her blog. But after reading the comments posted about that recipe, a lot of people complained that the recipe failed to give a filling that solidified properly. So I decided to try my hand at making this pie, keeping the distinct pumpkin, pecan and cheesecake layers, but completely revamping the recipe itself, starting from the ground up. The results I got were just wonderful, and that’s what I’ll be sharing in this post.

First, you need a pie crust. Deep dish if you can, there will be a lot of filling. I used the Sarah Lee 9” deep dish frozen pie crust, and it was still frozen when I filled it (although it sat on the counter after I had filled it with the cheesecake layer, and while I was assembling the pumpkin layer – maybe 10 minutes. Feel free to use your own recipe if you want, just keep a closer eye on how the crust browns, because my directions are for a crust that is partially frozen.

The first layer that goes down is the cream cheese. Start with your cheese softened, maybe sitting out at room temp for 30-45 minutes or so, cut up into cubes in your mixing bowl. Once the cheese is a little softer, you beat it with the sugar until it is well combined and not lumpy. 

Add the vanilla and a dollop of sour cream (a slightly rounded tablespoon), and beat until incorporated. Add the egg, and beat until combined and the lumps are pretty much gone. Try not to overbeat. Then, pour the cheesecake layer into the bottom of the crust.

Now for the pumpkin layer. I personally like adding each spice individually, as opposed to the pumpkin pie mix. I also freshly grate the nutmeg before I use it, and although that isn’t strictly necessary, it smells and tastes wonderful.  Combine the pumpkin, sugar, spices, salt, egg and whites in a bowl, and whisk until thoroughly combined. 

You can do that by hand, it is easy enough to combine. Then, layer the pumpkin mixture on top of the cheesecake mixture carefully. I would spoon it on gently, and then spread it out. Gently.

At this point, you put some aluminum on the crust to protect it from over-browning, and pop it into a 400F oven. After 5 minutes, and without opening the door, turn the oven down to 375F and keep baking for 25 minutes.

While it is baking, assemble the pecan topping. Combine the pecans, brown sugar and maple syrup in a bowl.

 Be sure to use real Grade A maple syrup, not the stuff you typically buy for pancakes. No Log Cabin or Aunt Jemima!

After the 25 minute bake time is up, take the pie out of the oven. You are going to be putting the pecan topping on quickly, you don’t want the pie to cool down too much. Remove the shield so that you can sprinkle pecans right to the edge of the crust, and start sprinkling the topping evenly all over the pie. I typically use all or almost all of the topping. Taking the shield off will also give you an idea of how much the crust still needs to brown. I leave those judgments up to you, because each crust and oven might be slightly different.

Put the shield back on if you think it is necessary, and pop the pie back in the over for another 20 minutes. After that time is up, try to take a peak (without opening the door if you can manage it) and see how the crust is doing. If you took the shield off, is it browning nicely or getting overdone. If it is getting overdone, put the shield back on. If you left the shield on, is it not browning enough? If not, take the shield off. This will really depend on your oven. Using the same exact crust, at my parents’ house, I had to leave the shield on the entire time to prevent excess browning, but in my apartment I took the shield off after the topping went on, and they both turned out great. The best advice I can give is just pay attention to the crust.

Let the pie bake for a further 10 minutes (so, 1 hr total bake time), then remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack for cooling. 

Let the pie cool down at room temperature for at least an hour, if not more. If you cover it to put it in the fridge while it is too warm, you will end up with condensation building up on the inside of the cover, making the crust and pie top soggy. It doesn’t have to be completely 100% room temp before you put it in the fridge, but make sure the bottom is no more than slightly warm. If you are worried, you can do what I do and check the cover about an hour after I put it into the fridge. If there is condensation building, wipe it off with a paper towel.

This pie needs to chill for maybe 5 hours minimum, but I highly recommend overnight. It’ll make slicing and serving so much easier, plus, it just tastes better when it is thoroughly cold.

Again, this pie: my favorite rendition of pumpkin pie. The flavors are complex, and so are the textures, but you have the strong pumpkin coming through, complemented by everything else. If you are a pumpkin pie fan, consider adding this to your holiday baking list this year!

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Pie

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

•  1-9” deep dish pie crust, frozen or fresh (see notes in above text)

 Cheesecake Layer

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 slightly rounded tbls sour cream
• 1 egg

 Pumpkin Layer

• 15 oz can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• ¾ C sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp allspice or cloves
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/3 C evaporated milk
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites

 Pecan Layer

• 1 ½ C pecans, chopped
• ½ C brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbls pure maple syrup

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Beat cream cheese with the sugar until it is well combined and not lumpy.
3. Add the vanilla and a dollop of sour cream (a slightly rounded tablespoon), and beat until incorporated.
4. Add the egg and whites, and beat until combined and the lumps are pretty much gone. Try not to overbeat.
5. Pour the cheesecake layer into the bottom of the crust.
6. Combine the pumpkin, sugar, spices, salt, egg and whites in a bowl, and whisk until thoroughly combined (can do by hand).
7. Layer the pumpkin mixture on top of the cheesecake mixture carefully. Spoon it on gently, and then spread it out.
8. Put some aluminum on the crust to protect it from over-browning.
9. Bake it into a 400F oven for 5 minutes then, without opening the door, turn the oven down to 375F and keep baking for an additional 25 minutes.
10. While it is baking, assemble the pecan topping. Combine the pecans, brown sugar and maple syrup in a bowl and stir to combine well.
11. After the 25 minute bake time is up, take the pie out of the oven.
12. Working quickly, remove the shield and start sprinkling the topping evenly all over the pie.
13. Put the shield back on if you think it is necessary
14. Put the pie back in the over to bake for another 20 minutes.
15. After the time is up, try to take a peak (without opening the door if you can) and see how the crust is doing. Decide whether to use the shield or not based on the level of browning
16. Let the pie bake for a further 10 minutes
17. Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack for cooling.
18. Let the pie cool down at room temperature for at least an hour before covering and storing in the fridge
19. Overnight chilling yields the best results

Apple Cider Doughnuts (Oct '10 Daring Bakers Challenge)

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge (my first participation in a while) was extremely exciting for me: doughnuts! I've always wanted to try my hand at doughnut making, and I even have one of those baked doughnut pans although I've yet to use it. For this challenge, I decided to give it a try, and I decided to fry them, despite having never deep-fried anything in my entire life. This process was a definite learning experience, but a lot of fun, and the doughnuts were super-tasty.



I chose apple cider as the doughnut flavor I wanted to make, which leads us to another historical Halloween interlude:

Bobbing for Apples 

Apple bobbing, the practice of diving for apples submerged in buckets of water, and pulling them out with one's teeth, has a long history -- over 2000 years of it! The Romans conquered Britain in circa 43 A.D., and when they did so, they brought many Roman customs and traditions with them. One such tradition was the festival of Feralia, a public celebration of the Manes (Roman spirits of the dead) which marked the end of the Parentalia feast honoring dead ancestors. The second custom was the worship of Pomona, the Roman goddess of plenty, namely fruit and fertility. Worship of Pomona was especially prevalent during the Roman harvest season. Although Feralia was held at the end of February in Rome, eventually both Feralia and Pomona worship became merged with the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain in Britain. Apples in particular were of special mystical significance, because if one cuts an apple in half, there is a pentagram clearly visible, studded with apple seeds. The belief that apples were tied to fertility and could predict the future led to the superstitions that the first person to successfully bob for an apple would be the first to marry.

As another interesting historical aside: when English settlers first came to America in the late16th and early 17th centuries, they found only crab apple trees, which are indigenous only to North America. The colonists brought seeds with them to plant apple trees, but these early orchards were largely failures because there were no honey bees to pollinate the blossoms. In 1622, the first shipment of honey bee colonies to the New World landed in the Colony of Virginia, with additional shipments of honey bees landing in Massachusetts Bay in subsequent years.

Cider Donuts

I decided to make apple cider doughnuts, because to me, it is one of the most definitive Autumn foods. There really is nothing like a warm apple cider doughnut on a crisp Fall day at an orchard while you pick pumpkins and/or apples. So, I decided to try and replicate the cider doughnuts at my local orchard, and to do it, I modified a cider donut recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

This recipe isn't hard, but it can be time-consuming, and it definitely isn't a "one-bowl" recipe. The key is to have all of your equipment and ingredients out and ready to go, so you're not scrambling later on.

The first thing you need is some good-quality apple cider. I got mine at my local orchard.



You then take a cup and a half of this cider, and reduce it down to 1/4 C. It is hard to judge how much volume you have in the pan, but when it doubt, it is better to reduce it to a smaller volume than you need rather than leave it at a bigger volume -- if you end up with less than 1/4C of reduced cider, you can always bring the volume up with unreduced cider if need be. When I was doing this, it was getting late, so I reduced the cider, covered it and stuck it in the fridge overnight. You can do the same, and it'll shave a little time off of the entire process.

Take the dry ingredients, spices, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and combine it in a bowl so that it is ready.

If you need to clabber milk to make buttermilk (1/2 tbls of lemon juice or white vinegar in 1/2 C milk for 10 minutes), now would be the time

Then, cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, and beat each one until incorporated.

Then, add the reduced cider, buttermilk, and vanilla to the mixture on low, and beat until just combined.

Add in the flour in gradually (can do in batches of 2 or 3), and beat until just combined

Then, parchment line and generously flour 2 cookie sheets. Take your dough, and deposit it on one of the cookie sheets, sprinkling flour on the top of the dough and on your hands. Pat the dough down in a rough rectangle until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Add more flour to your hands and to the top of the dough if it is a little sticky.

This dough needs to firm up in the freezer for about 30 minutes. The surface of the dough should be stiffening when you pull it out. You have 2 basic options for cutting the dough: 2 circular cutters from a set of biscuit cutters, or a doughnut cutter. For this recipe, I used the 3" biscuit cutter on the left, and a second 1" cutter to make the holes. I did this because the only doughnut cutter I could find was 2.5" and I wanted something a little larger. In retrospect, 2.5" would have been fine too.

Take these cutters and carefully cut your holes in the dough. Make sure to flour your cutters or the dough will stick. I found that a nice side-to-side turning motion once you've cut down to the bottom of the dough helps release the dough from the cutter.

Then, you carefully transfer the doughnuts and holes to the second cookie sheet. If the dough seems to be too soft, pop the dough back in the freezer for 10 minutes before you try transferring them.

Once the doughnuts are on the second sheet, pop them into the fridge for a half hour or so. If you have leftover dough, you can repeat the process, re-chilling in between.  In the meantime, now is a good time to get the oil heating. You want to assemble a deep pot with a deep frying thermometer attached to the side, with the probe end deep down but not touching the bottom of the pot.

For this recipe I used solid Crisco shortening as per a suggestion by Smitten Kitchen that using solid shortening will make the end product less greasy since it is solid at room temperature. But you can use whatever oil you feel comfortable with -- just be sure to research the flash point of whatever you are planning to use (i.e. the temperature at which the oil becomes ignitable). You want enough oil to be 2-3" deep in the pan. The temperature range you are shooting for to fry the doughnuts is somewhere between 350F and 365F -- if the oil is too cool, the dough will absorb too much, and if it is too hot, the outside will cook too fast, leaving a raw doughy center.

It'll take a little while for the oil to melt and come up to temperature, so now is a good time to think about doughnut toppings. These doughnuts happen to taste great bare, but here are 2 different potential toppings you might want to try (recipes below): cider glaze (confectioner's sugar and cider); and cinnamon sugar.

Now is also a good time to prepare a blotting station for the newly-fried doughnuts. You can reuse that first cookie sheet that you used to pat the dough onto -- just line it with fresh parchment and add several layers of paper towels.

I have a confession to make: my oil was probably closer to 325F, but I was getting impatient so I started frying. They turned out great, and they didn't absorb too much oil -- I'm not sure if this was a function of using solid shortening, or a function of an uncalibrated thermometer, or perhaps a function of the fungible nature of deep frying...

If you're not sure whether the oil is at the right temperature, test it out on one of the doughnut holes. Give it a few minutes after it comes out of the oil and drains before you cut it open to have a looksie. If it is cooked through without being oil-logged or burned on the outside, you are good to go.

Now you are ready to start frying the doughnuts. Carefully add one or several doughnuts to the oil, but don't over-crowd the pan. Keep a close watch and flip it over when it gets golden brown, anywhere from 30-60 seconds (mine took about 45). Then flip it over and let it cook on the other side an addition 30-60 seconds. When you flip it, do it gently, the doughnut is not quite set yet. And when you lift it out of the oil, also be gentle, it'll only firm up as it blots and drains on the paper towels.

When you are done, you end up with a doughnut, after it has blotted and cooled enough to handle (they are hot when they come out of the oil!!), that is ready for a topping. Topping is best done while the doughnut is still warm. Whether you dip just the tops of the doughnuts or the whole doughnut (as I did) is totally up to you!

Cinnamon sugar:

And cider glazed:

As you can guess, I made more cinnamon sugar doughnuts than cider glazed ones, because that is how I traditionally see cider doughnuts topped...but I have to say that I really liked the glazed ones too! They both are great for different reasons: the glaze really brings out the taste of cider, while the sugar ones have that great texture. The people who sampled my doughnuts were split down the middle 50/50 on which topping they liked better, so my advice is to split the batch evenly between the two toppings. I've been mulling over combining the two (glazing and then dipping in cinnamon sugar), but I'm not sure if this would be a little too sweet.

All in all, this challenge was a complete success. This recipe yields doughnuts that are satisfyingly apple cidery, and taste even better than ones from an orchard. The process is a little involved (so is the clean-up), but it is totally worth it, especially if you're like me, and Fall is the most wonderful time of the year!

Recipe

Ingredients


For doughnuts:

• 1 1/2 C apple cider, reduced to 1/4 C and cooled
• 3 1/2 C flour, plus additional for cookie sheets, and dough
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C buttermilk (clabber 1/2 C milk with 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar for 10 minutes)
• Vegetable oil or shortening for frying

For cider glaze (mix until smooth):

• 1 C confectioner's sugar
• 2 tbls apple cider

For cinnamon sugar:

• 1 C sugar
• 1 tbls cinnamon

Directions

1. Reduce apple cider to 1/4 C, and set aside to cool
2. Combine all dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a bowl and set aside
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
4. Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined
5. Slowly add the reduced cider, buttermilk and vanilla on low, and beat until just combined
6. Add the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions, mixing until just combined.
7. Turn dough out onto a parchment-lined and floured cookie sheet, and pat down until it is 1/2" thick
8. Freeze for 30 minutes
9. Cut out doughnuts and holes with chosen cutter, and transfer to second parchment-lined and floured cookie sheet
10. Place doughnuts in refrigerator for 30 minutes
11. Heat oil to 350F-365F
12. Gently place one or several doughnuts and/or holes in the oil to fry. Fry the first side 30-60 seconds until golden brown, then flip and fry the other side an additional 30-60 seconds.
13. Remove with steel mesh frying skimmer onto a paper towel-lined cookie sheet and allow to blot. Repeat for all doughnuts and holes.
14. Assemble toppings and dip the warm doughnuts into the topping of your choice (can dip tops only or entire doughnut)

Happy Baking!

Obligatory Daring Bakers blog check line: " The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious."