Apple cinnamon doughnuts
Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup apple cider
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp apple butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsalted butter
8 cups vegetable oil
½ cups sugar
Instructions
1. Place flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl and whisk. Set bowl aside. Coat a second bowl with vegetable oil.
2. Place yeast and one teaspoon sugar in a medium bowl. In the microwave, heat half a cup of apple cider until warm and stir into yeast and sugar mixture. Let sit for approximately five minutes, or until mixture foams.
3. Whisk remaining sugar, apple cider, egg yolks, apple butter, and vanilla into yeast mixture.
4. Add yeast mixture to the first bowl. Stir until the dough begins to form a ball.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured surface. Cut unsalted butter into pieces and distribute throughout the dough. Knead for about eight minutes until the butter is fully incorporated.
6. Form dough into a ball, and place in oiled bowl, coating dough in oil. Cover bowl with damp towel and let dough rise for about two hours.
7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
8. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out until a quarter of an inch thick.
9. Cut out three-inch diameter circles of dough and place on baking sheet about ¼-inch apart. Repeat with any remaining scraps of dough.
10. Cover dough with a damp towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.
11. Heat eight cups of oil in a pot over medium heat. Fit a wire rack over a second baking sheet and set aside.
12. Add four pieces of dough to oil and fry for about two minutes, flipping half way in between, until golden brown. Remove doughnuts with slotted spoon, place on rack, and repeat with the remainder of the dough. Between each set, use tongs to take the cooked doughnuts and coat with sugar, then return to rack.
13. Let doughnuts cool before eating!
—Matthew Shepherd
Peppermint schnapps hot chocolate
Ingredients
4 oz peppermint schnapps
5 tbsp sugar
4 cups water
4 tbsp cocoa powder
4 candy canes
whipping cream
Instructions
1. Slowly add 1 tbsp sugar while beating whipping cream, slowly adding 1 tablespooon sugar until peaks form.
2. Boil water in a medium sized pot. Stir in cocoa powder and remaining sugar.
3. Add peppermint schnapps and stir.
4. Pour into individual mugs and top with whipped cream.
5. Garnish with candy cane and enjoy!
—Marlee Vinegar
Gingerbread popcorn
Ingredients
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup popcorn kernels
¾ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 200o F.
2. Warm oil in a large pot on medium heat and drop three “test” kernels in until popped. Add the rest of the popcorn, shaking the pot constantly.
3. Once popped, remove from heat and set aside.
4. In saucepan, combine butter, sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt over medium-low heat until mixture looks syrupy.
5. Let the mixture bubble, stirring constantly so it does not stick to the pan, and add baking soda.
6. Pour over popcorn.
7. On a baking sheet lined with parchment, spread the popcorn evenly and bake for 1 hour, gently mixing it approximately every 15 minutes.
— Alessandra Hechanova
