Seasons

Ahhhhh… can you feel it? Love is in the air.  As promised I have the recipe for the Vanilla Bean Heart Doughnuts that I featured last week with our Gift Gloss post.  These little gems are perfect for any Valentine goodie or gathering.  Don't worry, you don't have to make them heart shaped.  Any good donut baking pan will do.

I found my heart doughnut pan at Target if you want to make the heart shaped variety or you can find a good ole' round doughnut pan large or small at your local baking store or online. Here is the recipe that I used.

Vanilla Bean Doughnuts

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean

2 eggs slightly beaten

3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spry pan with non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and butter. Cut the vanilla bean length wise and using a knife scrape out the vanilla seeds and add to the mixture.  Mix just until combined. Fill each doughnut cup 1/2 full and bake accordingly.

large doughnut pan or heart shaped pan 10-12 minutes

mini doughnut pan 4-6 minutes

The top will only slightly brown and the doughnut will spring back when touched.  Let doughnuts cool in pan for a few minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Now my little secret is… I dip the doughnuts in melted chocolate to create that lovely glazed look.  The funny thing is I now prefer my doughnuts with a chocolate topping!  I used the red colored candy melts along with some white jimmies from Sweet baking & candy making supply. I prepared the chocolate according to package directions and then added a tablespoon of canola oil to the chocolate to thin it out a bit.  You'll have to check the consistency of the chocolate and may need to add a little more.  Just start slow until you get your desired consistency.  Don't worry, the chocolate will still set-up with the oil.  Carefully dip the doughnuts into the chocolate and then sprinkle the top with the jimmies.  Put doughnuts into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate sets-up. The lovely thing about the chocolate is that it makes it super easy to package your goodies without making a huge mess and they taste aaaaaamazing!!

What kind of goodies are you making this year? Here's another fun Valentine idea from WhipperBerry…

Heart shaped cookies with a free packaging printable.  Yes… I have a thing for heart shaped goodies!