Raised Donuts

Here's another recipe from Marion Cunnigham's, The Breakfast Book, this time the recipe is for a classic, fried, bad-for-you treat, made good through baking. They're light, yeasted and delicious.

Makes about 2 dozen donuts plus holes

2 packages dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups all purposed flour, approximately

butter, melted
cinnamon-sugar (1/2 cup sugar, to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
powdered sugar

Sprinkle yeast over water, and let dissolve, about 5 minutes.

Put milk and shortening in a saucepan and heat until shortening is melted. Cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl put yeast, milk mixture, sugar, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and two cups flour. Beat until well blended. Add remaining flour and beat until smooth. Cover the bowl, and let double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Dust board generously with flour, and turn the dough out. The dough will be soft and sticky, but easy to work with the addition of flour. Pat dough out into 1/2 inch thickness. Using a three inch donut or biscuit cutter, cut out donuts (and donut holes) and place on a greased baking sheet, one inch apart. The donuts will continue to rise, though they don't spread much. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and let donuts rest for 20 minutes, uncovered.

Bake about 10 minutes, or a little longer, until they have a touch of golden brown. Remove from the oven. Brush them with melted butter. Roll them in either the cinnamon-sugar, or the powdered sugar, and enjoy while warm.

Bircher Muesli

Muesli comes from a Swiss word that means mush. And this muesli, coming from Marion Cunningham, is one sweet, delicious mush. Her recipe calls for blackberries as a topping, but you could substitute other fruit as well--raisins, blueberries, or you could do as I did and add some lovely figs.

From The Breakfast Book, this recipe serves one:

1 heaping tablespoon rolled oats
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cream
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small apple
1 handful blackberries

Soak the oats and water in a small bowl overnight. Just before serving, stir the cream, honey, and lemon juice into the oat mixture. Grate the unpeeled apple and quickly mix into the oats. Add the blackberries. Serve with brown sugar and cream.

Raised Waffles

Here is the best waffle recipe I have come upon. Crisp, light, and endlessly edible, Marion Cunningham knows what she is talking about. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to make these. Although the recipe is not a difficult or testy one, the batter needs to rise overnight .

From The Breakfast Book, makes about 8 waffles

1/2 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
2 cups milk, warmed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Use a rather large mixing bowl, as the dough will double in size during the rising process. Put the water in the mixing bowl and stir in the yeast. Let stand and dissolve about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight at room temperature.

The next morning, just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs. Add the baking soda, stirring until well blended. The batter will be very thin. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake the waffles until crisp and golden.

Any unused batter will keep for several day in the refrigerator.