Jelly Donut Cupcakes

How embarrassing! December seems to have flown past us somehow. Kayleigh and I managed to get dreadful colds once again this year. Bill thought he was going to miss out but with a little help from my niece at Christmas, he got to enjoy all the sneezing, fever, sore throat fun, too!



We decided that we had to post one more thing before the year ends so we have picked another recipe out of Veganomicon. I've made about 10 recipes from this book now and there was only one we didn't like and several that we loved!



Hope everyone has fun tonight! Kay and I will be partying alone since Bill is working. We have plenty of desserts to get us through the night (or at least until midnight!) so we're happy. Bill, not so much!

Jelly Donut Cupcake

1 cup milk (we used soy)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup canola oil (we used vegetable)

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

about 1/3 cup jam, jelly or preserves

powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the milk, vinegar and corn starch into a measuring cup and set aside (to get curdled-looking). Line a muffin pan with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Create a well in the center to pour your wet ingredients into.

Stir the milk mixture with a fork to dissolve the corn starch and then pour it into the flour mixture. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Place a heaping teaspoonful of jam on the center of each cupcake. It will sink in during the baking.

Bake 21 - 24 minutes until the tops are firm.

Let cool completely on wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Try not to eat all of them in one sitting!

Here is Kay stealing the cupcake that I was trying so hard to photograph!

Kay: These are really good. I think they taste much better than jelly donuts from Dunkin Donuts.

Mom (Dana): In the book, she says to use the cheapest, most generic jelly you have. We had little bits of several jellies and jams left in the refrigerator so we used the last of those.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Giant Latkes

I actually saw this recipe on Everyday Italian yesterday and even though she called it a Parmesan Potato Pancake for Christmas brunch, it looked like a great big latke to me so that is what I made for the first night of Hanukkah. I apparently was completely distracted when taking the picture though, and it didn't occur to me to move the pizza cutter!

This was really good though and much less labor than typical latkes. It won't replace our usual recipe but it is a nice change.

To partially make up for the bad latke picture, here are some other ones, although the quality isn't much better!

Here is Kay with a gift from her grandparents. We were surprised by a pile of gifts from them in our family room when we got home today. This is clothes for Kay's webkins polar bear.

Here are me and Kay playing dreidel after dinner. Kay won in a matter of minutes!
Happy Hanukkah everyone!!

Giant Latke

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 pounds potatoes

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Warm the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until tender, another 2 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Transfer the onion and garlic to a large bowl.

Peel the potatoes. Grate them using a food processor. Using a kitchen towel or cheese cloth, wring out the potatoes, removing as much of the liquid as possible. Add the potatoes to the bowl. Add the Parmesan and basil. Stir to combine (I used my hands.)

Warm the oil remaining in the pan from the onions over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the potato mixture. Using a spatula, press the mixture firmly into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.

Place a large plate over the pan and flip the latke out of the pan. Heat the remaining oil over high heat again. Slide the latke back into the pan and cook the other side for 15 additional minutes over medium heat.

Slide the latke back onto the large plate. Cut as you would a pizza. Serve topped with sour cream, applesauce, or both.

Serves 4.

Kay: This was good. It tastes like our other latkes but I still like the smaller ones better. I like Hanukkah not just because of the gifts but because we play dreidel and spend time with our family. I liked the gifts from my grandma and grandpa and from my parents too though!

Mom (Dana): Do not even attempt to make any kind of latke without a food processor. Seriously!! Although they are good, they are not worth the complete back-breaking effort that would be required to grate those potatoes by hand.