Bet You Had Smell-o-vision Now!

I have been wanting to bake all week, but between work, prior commitments, and Willow's activities, it just didn't happen. But today - Saturday (I love Saturdays!), my house smelled wonderful.

What did I make?

Cinnamon Bread...



You would not believe how fantastic this smells - like cinnamon rolls without the icing. Trust me when I say it is taking all my willpower to now cut off a piece of this bread - it is for french toast tomorrow morning!

Then I needed to make a dessert for our Saturday dinner at my in-laws' house. Andrew, Willow, and Piper had given me a donut pan for mother's day...

So, I made Baked Apple Cider Donuts - a messy enterprise, but worth it in the end.



I didn't have the apple butter the recipe called for, but I did have pumpkin butter, so I used that instead. Seeing as Andrew, his brother, and his Dad all had two each, I think they were a hit. I did learn two things in making these:

1) Pay attention to not overfilling the donut pan - they expand quickly and if you have overfilled the pan, you just end up with vaguely-donut-shaped blobs.

and

2) Let the donuts cool a bit on the rack, and then put them on wax or parchment paper to put the glaze on... or else you will be prying the donuts off the cooling rack with a spatula and have a huge sticky mess on the table.



Definitely will be making these again!