Raised Apple Cider Doughnuts

½ cup warm water
2¼  tsp yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg, room temp
1  tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp cloves
3 cups apple cider (reduced to 1 cup)
4 Tbsp butter, softened
vegetable oil

1. Combine water and yeast and ½ cup flour in a bowl of mixer, mix until combined. Let proof for 10-15 minutes.

2. Add egg and spices to the proofed sponge and mix until incorporated. Add reduced apple cider, butter, and 2 cups of flour. Once incorporated, add one cup flour and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl (add more flour if needed). Knead (mix) for 4-5 minutes. Set aside and let rise until doubled.

3. Put dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to ½-inch thickness. Cut out doughnuts. Set on a baking sheet and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

4. Pour 2-3 inches of oil in a cast iron skillet, deep fryer, or electric fryer. Heat to 350º. Carefully drop doughnuts into your fryer. Let them cook for about 30 seconds on each side, or until they are golden brown. 

5. Dust doughnuts in cinnamon sugar and enjoy!  

Shortcake with Strawberries

For many years, my husband would ask me to make him strawberry shortcake for his birthday and I’d turn my nose up and say, “Are you sure?” What was wrong with me? I should have been willing to make him anything he requested because it was his birthday, even if it didn’t sound very good. But guess what? Strawberry shortcake is delicious. Don’t be like me, make it soon and you won’t regret it.

For dough:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into small pieces

Lemon zest of one lemon

3/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup cream

For fruit:

1 1/2 lbs strawberries (or any fruit really)

3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice (from half a lemon)

Whipped cream:

1 2/3 cream

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 cup sour cream

DOUGH

1. Set oven to 400 degrees F and line baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silpat). Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix. 

2. Cut butter into small pieces and mix into flour mixture with fingers making pea-sized bits and flat pieces while mixing. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk cream and sour cream together. 

4. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the cream/sour cream mixture into the well. Mix (but don’t overmix!). 

5. Pat the dough into a square 1” thick. Cut it into four pieces. Stack the pieces on top of each other and flatten making a rectangle about 8”x4”. Cut into eight pieces. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar per biscuit. 

6. Place biscuits on baking sheet and then in the freezer for 10 minutes to ensure biscuits rise instead of splay when baking. 

7. Bake for 20-22 minutes. 

FRUIT

8. Cut up fruit and mix together with sugar and lemon juice. Let sit while biscuits bake. 

WHIPPED CREAM

9. Using an electric mixer (or your most powerful arm), whisk together the cream with vanilla and sugar added. When almost mixed to the point where peaks are beginning to form, add the sour cream and whip to peaks (I prefer to mix a bit beyond this, but do what you like). 

PLATE

10. Let the biscuits cool for 15 minutes. Cut the biscuits in half with a serrated knife. Place whipped cream then strawberries on bottom half (be generous), then top with the other half. 

11. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from bonappetit’s recipe of

Simple Strawberry Shortcake.