Copycat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ~ Adapted

I am linking up at Metamorphasis Monday
and these other Awesome Parties!

I used to love to buy doughnuts in the grocery store.  I was single and lived alone so there wasn't even a need to hide them. 

Then I met  Mr. Homegrown.  He grew up in Winston Salem, home of the Krispy Kreme.  He changed my life.  He introduced me to the Hot Now doughnut at Krispy Kreme.  Nothing has been the same since.  I no longer buy doughnuts in the grocery store.  Why bother?  They are nothing like a good Hot Now doughnut from Krispy Kreme.  There are no words to really describe how yummy and heavenly a Hot Now doughnut is from Krispy Kreme.  If you have not tried one, go get one.  Sit in the parking lot and wait for the big red "Hot Now" sign to light up and run in there and get you some.  You will be forever changed.

Since String Beane was diagnosed with severe a milk allergy when he was 7 months old, I think I have read every ingredient label there is!  I have not found a doughnut yet that does not contain milk.  It is sad really.  Poor guy does not know what he is missing.  I ran across this recipe for copycat Krispy Kreme doughnuts and knew I wanted to give it a try.  I modified the recipe to milk free ingredients so it would be safe for my little beane.  I will list the recipe in the original state and just tell you what I substituted.  They really were delish.  They will not put Krispy Kreme out of buisness or anything, but they are worth your time to make.

Ingredients

2 pkgs. regular or rapid rise yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (I used Vanilla Soy Milk)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening

5 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil

Creamy glaze (or chocolate glaze) - recipe below

Directions

Dissolve yeast in the warm water.  Add milk, salt, eggs, shortening, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat on a low speed for 30 seconds, scrape the sides! Then beat on medium for 2 minutes, making sure to scrape occasionally.  Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
Cover and let rise for 50 to 60 minutes or until doubled.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness.  

Cut into donuts. Cover and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes.  Heat oil (I used a skillet) to 350. Add donuts in batches and fry until golden brown on both sides.  

Remove and drain on a paper towel.   Then dip into glaze (if you do chocolate, let them cool after the creamy glaze and spread chocolate glaze on top).  

Creamy Glaze Recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter (I used Fleishman's Unsalted Margarine)

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4-6 tbsp. hot water

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, then remove from heat.
2. Stir in sugar and vanilla.
3. Then add water, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you want. (If you do chocolate glaze, you add in melted chocolate as well).

This makes a ton of doughnuts!  Next time I will cut the recipe in half.  The glaze on these doughnuts is wonderful.  I am trying to think of what else I can use that on!  If you can think of something let me know.

All the little Beanes like the doughnuts.  None of them were overly impressed though.  I blame it on the fact that they have never really eaten doughnuts before and were just in some sort of shock.  Whatever.

Caramel Apples ~ Dairy Free

Today I am so excited to be participating in The Improv Cooking Challenge with The Lady Behind the Curtain.  The challenge was to come up with any recipe that included caramel and apples! 

Fall is a fun time of the year to cook with caramel and apples.  In honor of our recent visit to the State Fair, I am posting my recipe for Milk Free Caramel Apples.  You can modify this recipe to suit your likings.  Just change the toppings around and Viola` you have a masterful creation!

I adapted a few of the caramel recipes I found on the web to make it safe for String Beane.  My version of Caramel Apples does not contain milk.  Whilst this is very important to me to make sure all the super cool things I covet and figure out how to make are safe for String Beane, it does not seem to be important to him.  When he gets home from school today, he is likely to look at the totally wonderful looking Caramel Apples and remind me that he does not like apples.  I don't think liking apples is the point of a yummy Caramel Apple.  The apple is just sort of the vessel necessary to hold the caramel and yummy toppings. 

  These Caramel Apples could have been a lot cuter if I had taken my time and gone to Wal mart to get some Halloween sprinkles and the little bottles that you can squirt melted chocolate out of.  I just used what I had here and made the caramel apples that I had been inspired to make.  Feel free to plan ahead and use really cool toppings for your Caramel Apples. 



I made three Caramel Apples because I had three apples.  Duh. 

Ingredients

Apples

1/2 cup butter (I used Fleishman's unsalted Margarine)

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Karo Syrup (I used dark because that was what I had here)

Toppings can be anything you want!  I used Semi Sweet chocolate chips, sprinkles, and marshmallows.

Directions

Heat the margarine, brown sugar and Karo syrup in a sauce pan until boiling.  Stir constantly.  Boil for 1-3 minutes. 

Dip and twist the apples around in the caramel until they are coated.  Roll the caramel dipped apple in the toppings. Place them on a plate lined with wax paper.  I found it the easiest to do one apple at a time so the caramel does not set too much for the toppings to stick. 



Chocolate Carmel with Marshmallows



Caramel with Semi Sweet chocolate Chips



Caramel with Sprinkles


I had a great time making these.  A few things to note:  I think I would have been happier with the end result if I had used a Green apple.  But it is hard to be impulsive if you go to the store and buy the proper ingredients.  I had red so I used red.  I also would have liked to have gotten some of the little squirt bottles and drizzled melted chocolate and butter scotch all over these.  As it stands, you can see with the chocolate caramel apple with marshmallows, I used a spoon and accidental dumped drizzled the chocolate caramel over the apple.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder right? 

I can't wait to see String Beane's reaction when he sees them.