My grandma Sumner was the pie maker in our family. She showed up to every holiday with 2 of each flavor of pie… she had pumpkin and banana cream and chocolate cream and pecan and coconut cream. She always made sure that everyones special pie wishes were fulfilled. She was pretty special that way.

I’m not as nice as my grandma Sumner was! When one of my family members says “it’s not Thanksgiving without a Chocolate Pie” and another one says “we can’t celebrate properly without Pecan Pie on the table” I decide to get a little creative and make both wishes come true, in one pie. Meet Double Chocolate Pecan Pie, a new staple for your holiday meal!…

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The post Don’t Forget the Chocolate {Recipe: Double Chocolate Pecan Pie} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I’m not always the most giving mom. I mean, I know that there are people out there who would do anything for their kids… who want the best of the best for them. Of course, I want what’s best for my kids and I want them to do well in life and to succeed. I love them dearly and I would do almost anything for them. Almost…

When it comes to food, I just can’t seem to sacrifice the best for them. The best piece of steak would be gobbled down and not appreciated for it’s flavor by a 4 year old. My 9 year old is only concerned with how much he can get into his mouth in the shortest amount of time… he barely even tastes what he puts in there.

Why am I sharing this with you today? Because when it comes to doughnut holes from our favorite Daylight Donuts shop up the road, I always peer into each bag before handing them out and save the best of the best for myself. The doughnut holes that are perfectly cooked… not too done, still warm, and soft and fluffy. Most mom’s would probably give those to their kids, taking the doughnut holes that aren’t as stellar. But, I’m selfish and if I am going to spend any calories on doughnuts, those little gems need to be the best of the best to make it worth it!

My kids and I decided to make Homemade Yeast Doughnuts and doughnut holes this past weekend. They helped with cutting the dough and dunking the doughnuts into the glaze. Luckily, almost every single doughnut was the best of the best, so I didn’t have to be selfish mama. We could all enjoy soft, tender, warm doughnuts and doughnut holes without my inner struggle regarding my un-willingness to sacrifice the best doughnut holes for my kids.

Homemade Yeast Doughnuts & Doughnut Holes for the Bread Machine ABM

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Homemade Yeast Doughnuts

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 eggs
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• For the glaze:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

• Place the first 8 ingredients into your bread machine in the order recommended in the users manual (Mine suggests all liquid first, sugars next, flour and yeast last). Turn on and set to dough cycle setting.
• Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a floured doughnut / biscuit cutter, cut into desired shapes.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess.

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A couple of weeks ago, we were going to let my five year old choose what we had for dinner and she said she wanted Barbecue Hot Wings. I wasn’t craving hot wings prior to her saying that, but once the words were out of her mouth my own mouth was watering for hot wing. My husband and Kelly went to the store to get our dinner. In anticipation, I got the oven pre-heated and got the baking sheet all ready so that once they walked through the door, I could get the hot wings cooking right away.

Several minutes passed and Nick and Kelly walked in the door with their groceries. As soon as Nick pulled the groceries out of the bag, my face must have expressed my disappointment.  Instead of the tasty barbecued chicken wings I was now craving, out of the bag came Tyson chicken nuggets. Seriously? You can’t tell someone you are bringing home hot wings and then bring home chicken nuggets instead! Nick immediately said “Uh oh… ummmm… I’ll run back out and get some hot wings!” You can bet that I did not stop him.

Another craving hit yesterday but this time it was for cinnamon rolls. I had a class to facilitate last night and as tempting as it was to make cinnamon rolls, it just did not seem like the right thing for an evening class. I remembered reading about some cookies in Martha Stewart Living magazine that were inspired by classic cinnamon rolls. I decided to give Martha’s Cinnamon Swirl Cookies a try. First, let me say, the concept of these cookies is great and I can totally see their potential, but they just did not do it for me. The dough was delicious, but a pain to work with, and they were really hard cookies, not soft like I would anticipate a cinnamon roll cookie being like. The recipe says to bake the cookies for 19 minutes, which I think must be an error as my cookies were too brown after only 9 minutes. Either way, this is one pregnant craving that was not satisfied. Now, off to make some real cinnamon rolls!

Tried and True cinnamon roll type cookies from around the blogosphere. Should have gone to you all first!

• Cinnamon Bun Cookies from The Recipe Girl
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies from Bake or Break
• And not a cookie, but in tasty cake form – Buttery Cinnabun Cake from Picky Palate

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Cinnamon Swirl Cookies

Cinnamon Swirl Cookies from Martha Stewart Magazine

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• FOR THE DOUGH
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 2 large eggs
• FOR THE FILLING
• 2 ounces 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts toasted (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Make the dough: Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and orange zest with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture gradually, and beat until just combined. Divide dough in half, wrap each half in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or overnight).
• Turn half the dough onto floured parchment. Roll into a 10-by-12-inch rectangle, then trim edges straight. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Transfer rectangles on parchment to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm but pliable, about 10 minutes.
• Make the filling: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Crumble mixture evenly over rectangles. Starting on a long side, roll 1 rectangle into a log, and wrap it in the parchment. Repeat with remaining rectangle. Refrigerate logs for 1 hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake until edges are golden brown, about 19 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.

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