Peach Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze (made with Chobani!)

Well, I did it. I went down the rabbit hole and I don’t think there is any coming back.

You guys, I made donuts. At home. In my itsy-bitsy kitchen. Life will never be the same.

I’ve been wanting to try donuts forever. But I’m kind of resistant to frying things and going out and buying a donut pan just seemed like an ordeal (right??). But those sentiments obviously didn’t last long. I am now the proud owner of a donut pan and can bake up donuts whenever I please.

And these donuts were fab. They were soft, flavorful and completely delicious. The peaches studding the batter added little bursts of summer, and the white chocolate glaze on top was a perfect compliment. I loved that these donuts were baked, not fried, to make them just a smidge healthier. AND. AND. They’re made with Chobani! And you know how I feel about things made with Chobani. Instantly healthy. #justaddgood. It’s a thing.

I can’t wait to try more donut flavors. I’m thinking something outrageous next time. Yup, I’ve definitely gone down the donut rabbit hole and there is no turning back.

Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 20 minutes | Total time: Approximately 45 minutes (with cooling and glazing)

Yield: 8-10 donuts

Donuts:

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• ¾ cup Chobani Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbs water
• 2 peaches, skin and core removed, diced

Glaze

• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 2 tbs heavy cream
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease a donut pan and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. Finally, add in the yogurt and water and mix well. Fold in the peaches. Scoop the batter in to the donut pan, filling the molds about 3/4 of the way full. Place in oven and bake for approximately 18- 20 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the donuts comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes then turn donuts out on to a wire rack and let cool until the donuts are easy to handle.

While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips together with the heavy cream until no lumps remain. Remove from heat and add in the confectioners sugar. Dip the donuts in to the glaze and set on a wire rack to let glaze harden just a little bit. Then engulf your delicious creations.

Source: Life Love Lemons.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I’m going to tell you guys right up front that I never would have thought to make these cookies on my own.

As it turns out, my boyfriend is a betting man and enjoys wagering my baked goods. Long story short, he bet, he lost, and I was enlisted to make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies for his co-worker.

All I can say is thank goodness. Without this lost bet, these cookies would never have been born and these cookies were straight up delicious. They’re soft, chewy, with perfect little chunks of salty crunch from the macadamia nuts and bites of sweetness from the white chocolate. The almond extract adds a little bit of exotic flavor that you don’t always get in cookies, but is soso good.

Seriously, I would make these again in a heart beat, bet or no bet. My mouth is literally watering as I type this.

Straight up deliciousness.

Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes| Baking time: 10 minutes| Total time (with cooking): about 45 minutes

Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown and white sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until combined. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the cornstarch, salt, flour and baking soda. Add these dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Scoop about 2 tablespoon balls of dough on to the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between each cookie.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are just barely firm and the centers are still soft. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Cake Balls

Sometimes I do weird things.

Like right now, my favorite breakfast is an apple with peanut butter. But I like to put as little peanut butter on the actual apple so I can justify eating more unadulterated peanut butter once the apple is gone. I think a normal person might consider bypassing the apple and just eat peanut butter, don’t you?

Also, after baking, I like to hide all of the small dirty dishes in the huge dirty mixing bowl so it looks like I have about 80% fewer dishes to do. Because it’s mind over matter when it comes to dirty dishes. They’re the absolute worst. Who’s with me?

Finally, sometimes, after a long day at work, I come home with an intense need to make cake balls. It’s so weird.

But, really, can you blame me? Cake balls are cake and frosting mixed together and covered in chocolate. These particular cake balls even have cherries in them.

AND they’re super inexpensive to make. Like, costs less than $10 inexpensive even if you have to buy every single ingredient at Whole Foods (but seriously, Whole Foods, I love you).

AND they’re so easy that I almost felt bad posting them. I felt like I was cheating on my labor-intensive cupcakes from the other day.

So, if you need something to bring to a party, bake sale, to impress your friends with, or if you need to reward yourself because you worked your buns off today, these are a great option. They arent’t the prettiest thing I’ve ever made, but put them on a cute plate that reminds you of Paris, and the rustic nature of the cake balls is forgotten.

Easy. Cheap. Delicious. Awesome.

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Bake Time: 20-35 minutes | Cooling/Assembly: 45 minutes

• 1 box cake mix, plus ingredients to make it
• ½ to ¾ can store bought frosting
• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp almond extract
• 2 bags white chocolate candy melts (I used Wilton)

Bake cake according to box directions. Let cool completely (you can throw it in to the fridge to speed things up!).

While the cake is baking, add the sugar to the chopped cherries and macerate them with a spoon, helping to release all the juices. Let sit at room temperature while the cake bakes and cools to allow the sugar to extract the juices further.

Using a fork, shred up the cake and pour the scraps into a large bowl. Add both the frosting and cherry mixture to the cake, adding enough frosting so that the cake comes together, about ½ to ¾ of the container. Add in the almond extract and mix to combine.

Wash hands thoroughly and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the cake mixture in to small balls, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter, placing the formed balls on to the baking sheets. Once you’ve used up all of the mixture, put the baking sheets into the freezer for about 15 mintues, until they’ve hardened up slightly (this makes them easier the handle).

In the meantime, melt the candy melts. One by one, coat the cake balls in the melted chocolate and place back on the baking pan to let the chocolate cool and solidify. That’s it! You’re done!