{ love letters }

Special delivery for Aidan's Valentine's Day class party. 

{ kitties for chloe }

Happy 3rd birthday, Sweet Chloe. We love you.

{ a whale tale }

{ birthday color }

{ zumba }

{ green bay packers }

{ iowa hawkeyes }

{ tennessee titans }

{ Minnie's Bowtique }

{ purple & chevrons }

For Baby Madeline's first birthday.

{ Stoli Salted Karamel Appletini }

A fantastic fall cocktail. And only 2 ingredients. Perfect-ness.

Stoli Salted Karamel Appletini

Ingredients

• 2 parts Stoli Salted Karamel Vodka
• 3 parts apple juice

Process

1. Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into martini glass.
2. Garnish with red apple slice.

{ baked pumpkin cake donuts with vanilla glaze }

I've been wanting to buy a donut pan for several months -- I finally found one.

So I took my first dip into the culinary pool of baked donuts this afternoon when I made a batch of pumpkin cake donuts with vanilla glaze. Obviously the baked donut variety doesn't have the same texture as its yeasty, deep-fried cousin, but it's a sweet treat that's lower in calories (each one has 158 calories) and easier to make.

Next time I'm adding bourbon to the glaze.

Baked Pumpkin Cake Donuts with Vanilla Glaze
adapted from DoesNotCookWellWithOthers

Ingredients
Donuts

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze

• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Process 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Place flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add diced butter. Pulse about 10 times to cut in butter, until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. Add baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Pulse 3 or 4 more times to combine. Pour mixture into a large bowl.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, eggs and vanilla.
6. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Dough will be very thick.
7. Scrape mixture into a large piping bag or a quart-sized plastic bag. Snip the bottom of the pastry bag or the corner of the plastic bag, leaving about a 1/2" opening.
8. Pipe dough into molds (about 3/4 full).
9. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Donuts are done when they spring back after being gently pressed.
10. Remove from the oven and cook in pan for 3 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
11. When ready to glaze, place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in milk and vanilla until smooth.
12. Take one donut at a time and dip top into glaze.
13. Flip over and place on wire rack. Repeat with remaining donuts and let sit until glaze hardens.