Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) by Joanne Fluke Page B

they’re not, heat in 30-second increments until you can stir the icing smooth.
     
    Quickly dip the tops of the doughnuts in the bowl of chocolate icing. Place them on a sheet of wax paper to cool.
     
    Jo Fluke’s Note: If you want to coat the entire doughnut, place it in the bowl and turn it over with a fork. Do this one at a time, transferring each coated doughnut to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
     
    If you’d like to sprinkle chopped nuts on your doughnuts, do it now, before the chocolate icing has hardened. You can also put on sprinkles if you wish, or even shredded coconut.
     
    Let the doughnuts sit until the coating has hardened. Then eat and enjoy.
     
    These doughnuts are best eaten on the first day (which has never been a problem in my house!) If there are any leftovers, put them in a covered container and eat them the next morning for breakfast.
     
    Yield: 12 yummy baked doughnuts.
     
    Jo Fluke’s Note: I got my baked doughnut pans directly from the manufacturer, Wilton. They’re easy to find over the holidays, but most kitchen stores don’t carry them year-round. Look online if you can’t find them by searching for “baked doughnut pans”.
     

ANY FLAVOR BAKED DOUGHNUTS
     
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

    2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
    ¾ cup white (granulated) sugar
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
    ½ teaspoon salt
    ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best, of course)
    2 large eggs
    ½ cup milk
    ¼ cup sour cream
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound) salted butter, melted
     

    Spray the wells in a 12-cup doughnut pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (I used two 6-cup doughnut pans)
     
    In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the all-purpose flour and the white sugar together at low speed.
     
    Add the baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.
     
    Mix in the eggs, one at a time.
     
    Add the milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
     
    With the mixer running, drizzle in the melted butter and continue to mix until the doughnut dough is smooth.
     
    If you are making flavored doughnuts, mix in the flavoring you want from the list below:
     
    Orange doughnuts–1 teaspoon orange zest
     
    Lemon doughnuts–1 teaspoon lemon zest
     
    Coffee doughnuts–1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
     
    Peanut butter doughnuts–1 cup (6-oz. pkg.) peanut butter chips
     
    Butterscotch doughnuts–1 cup (6-oz. pkg.) butterscotch chips
     
    White chocolate doughnuts–1 cup (6-oz pkg.) white chocolate chips
     
    Cherry Doughnuts–½ cup chopped maraschino cherries, patted dry
     
    Cranberry Doughnuts–½ cup chopped dried cranberries
     
    Jo Fluke’s Note: for Orange or Lemon doughnuts, you may want to use 1 teaspoon of the orange or lemon extract for 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract.
     
    If you are using chips to flavor your doughnuts, take the bowl out of the mixer and mix in the chips by hand. If you’re using zest, just add it to your mixing bowl with the melted butter.
     
    Spoon the dough into the indentations in the doughnut pan, filling them a bit over ¾ full.
     
    Bake the doughnuts at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle baked part of one of the doughnuts comes out clean.
     
    Take the doughnuts out of the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Cool them for 1 to 2 minutes.
     
    Loosen the edges of the doughnuts by running a table knife around the circles. Then use potholders to pick up the pan and tip them out onto the wire rack.
     
    If you’d like a simple coating for your doughnuts, quickly fill a bag with 3 Tablespoons of white (granulated) sugar. You must coat your doughnuts while they are still warm so that the sugar coating will stick.
     
    Place the warm doughnuts in the bag, one at a time, and shake them in the sugar.