The Candid Appetite

Where Cooking Meets Photography

Cinnamon

Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I think I might’ve mentioned once or twice on here (more like a billions times, really) how much I happen to love doughnuts. Just in case you didn’t already know this about me, I love them more than life itself. Cross my heart and kiss my elbow. They’re my all-time favorite dessert/breakfast/treat/midnight snack/reason for living. I don’t really care much for chocolate or ice cream or cookies or cake—I’m totally lying because I still love them all just as much—but doughnuts? Doughnuts are an entirely different story. Doughnuts are my one true passion in life. Doughnuts are my body and soul. I can eat them like no one’s business. Night and day. Day and night. Prepare yourselves if doughnuts are anywhere present and I’m not offered one. I’ll go crazy. Probably flip a table over and destroy everything in sight, like Godzilla. That’s what doughnuts do to me. Just a warning though, if you do offer me one I’ll probably eat them all, without shame, and without so much as a second thought.

This year I’ve dropped the ball on the pumpkin recipe game. I’m sorry. It’s not as strong as it has been over the years. Do you remember this delicious Pumpkin Mac and Cheese? Yeah, it’s sort of out of this world. The perfect autumn dinner recipe to blow people’s minds. What about these ridiculously fluffy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies? Are you having withdrawals yet? Then you should probably make a batch soon. Eating just one isn’t an option. This year however, I kind of forgot how much I love this season and how obsessed I am with pumpkin. It dawned on me the other day that I hadn’t posted a new pumpkin recipe all year. We’re halfway through October already, and there was no pumpkin spice anything to be found. I needed to take care of that right away. 

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts sort of combine my three favorites; doughnuts, pumpkin and cinnamon. They’re so perfect I don’t know whether to eat them for breakfast before work, or as a snack in between meals, or even as a tasty dessert after dinner. It’s such a dilemma that the only logical solution I have is to eat them all day long. That way, I don’t have to fret too much about when is the right time to binge on doughnuts. The answer to which is, always. It’s always the right time to shove doughnuts in your face. I hope that’s the one valuable lesson you take away from me. Let’s get back to thinking up new ways to incorporate pumpkin into our lives. I’m not complaining. 

…

Read More

Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake with Oatmeal Cookie Crust

I realized something horrible the other day when I was looking through all of the recipes on the site. It dawned on me that I don’t have nearly enough cheesecakes on here as I should. As is necessary. I’ve clearly lost my mind because that’s something only a crazy person would do, or in this case, wouldn’t do. So I’m sitting there, pulling out my hair, asking myself, “Self, why do you only have two cheesecake recipes on this entire site?” I’ve been running my blog for almost three years now and I think it’s pretty silly of me to not have this place overflowing with cheesecake recipes by now. After all, cheesecake is the way of life. Cheesecake makes people do some crazy things. Cheesecake is the answer to all of our problems. And that’s the real truth of it all. 

I like to think that I blew up the internets when I unveiled my Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake last year. I sometimes believe that recipe in particular is what’s making me famous (not that Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich everyone is talking about). Even if I’m the only one who thinks that. I mean, what’s not to fall in love with? Bourbon and bananas and crushed Nilla wafers all mushed together into one delicious silky  smooth cheesecake?! It’s a match made in heaven. Perhaps it’s taken me a while to come up with a new cheesecake recipe because that one was so hard to beat. I knew bourbon banana pudding cheesecake was kind of a big deal and I didn’t want to give you another one until I thought up something bigger and better. After all, I am my own biggest competition. I need to constantly one up myself, for you guys. Everything I do, I do it for you. Don’t you forget that. (Okay so I took a little help from Bryan Adams just there, sue me). 

If you’ve been following my crazy antics on this blog for a while now, you’ll know that my all-time favorite spice/flavor is cinnamon. I’m kind of obsessed, but in the best possible way—probably not though, it might be bordering on an addiction. Anyhow, like I was saying, I love cinnamon, which is why there are so many cinnamon recipes on this blog. Do you remember this Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake? I do, and I never want to forget it. Don’t even get me started on these fun-to-make homemade Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop Tarts. It was always my favorite pop-tart flavor growing up. It still is. And of course for all those brave and adventurous followers, we mustn’t forget about the ultimate Cinnamon Raisin Bagels.  Not only was have I been severely lacking in the cheesecake recipe department but it’s about time for another cinnamon recipe. (Yes I did just post those Cinnamon Horchata Popsicles recently, but who’s asking?!) So without further ado, I bring to you, the world’s GREATEST cheesecake (you can quote me on that). It tastes just like a cinnamon roll and with all the great flavors of an oatmeal cookie at the bottom. I’m not complaining. I just never want it to end is all. 

…

Read More

Baked Blueberry Crumb Doughnuts

I was originally going to act like this recipe and post is no big deal. Yeah, blueberry baked doughnuts. So what? Oh yeah, I totally put a cinnamon crumb topping on them, doesn’t everyone? Scoff scoff. I was going to pretend to not even be excited about them, because that would be much cooler, right? The reality is, I’m not that good of an actor. Also I underestimated my love of doughnuts. I’m not even going to pretend that I don’t like those pillowy delicious treats and that this post isn’t a big deal, because it is in fact a very big deal. Monumental actually. Let’s all take a moment to ponder and comprehend the gravity of the situation we find ourselves in at the moment. The situation being that we’re all going to have to stare at these doughnuts for the next several minutes, and have to deal with the fact that they aren’t right in front of our faces. Why aren’t they right in front of our faces? Why aren’t we devouring them at this very moment? I mean, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. I’m convinced that blueberries and cinnamon are up in heaven, for sure. Just between the two of us though—you and I, don’t tell anyone else—I’m still very surprised that I was able to come up with such a delicious recipe, almost overnight. Sometimes I surprise myself, like whoa.

Right from the beginning, I knew I wanted to make another baked doughnut recipe, like the one before, if you recall (Baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Doughnuts) because that one actually changed my life forever. Maybe even in ways that I could never have dreamt of. So there I was one day last week, scratching my head and pondering as hard as I could, “What should my next post be? What can I make, but really what do I feel like eating?” Then BAM it all sort of made sense to me in an instant. It came to me in a vision-like dream. It hit me hard like a bullet (slight dramatization). I knew I needed to make these doughnuts because in reality my all time favorite doughnut is the cinnamon crumb doughnut. You know the kind? The yeast variety rolled around in a cinnamon crumb topping. It’s the best. I could go for a few dozen right now actually, but that’s a whole other story. They’re delicious and completely addicting. Like wake up in the middle of the night and eat about ten of them without realizing it, addicting. Then wake up in the morning and proceed to have another ten like if your life depended on it and you were about to win a medal for it. That’s the best kind of addiction to have, in my opinion.

So a few days later I was getting ready to make a batch of baked cinnamon crumb doughnuts for you guys—but let’s be honest it was really for me—when I realized I had a pint of fresh blueberries in the fridge. The only thing on the top shelf actually, and it was almost as if someone was telling me to make blueberry doughnuts at that very instant. A sign sent from I don’t know where. Probably from me because I’m like seventy percent sure I bought those blueberries in the first place. Several hours later I was devouring the best doughnut I’ve had in a very long time. Turns out blueberries and doughnuts are meant to be together forever, and if you don’t believe me, I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself. Be sure to let me know the moment you become addicted so that I can rub it in your face and say I told you so. I’m kidding, I wouldn’t really do that….I’d also throw in an “I Told You So” dance because that’s the way to do it.

…

Read More

Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake

Let’s talk about cake for a second. Okay, I lied. Let’s discuss cake for more than a second. If I had it my way, I’d only talk about cake. All the time. That’s the only thing thing on my mind. If someone asked me a specific question or was talking to me about a completely different topic, I’d respond simply with “CAKE!” I’d just shout it out to them. Scream it to their face. Part of me wants to do it just because I’d like to see what their reaction would be. The other part wants to do it because I love cake. I wouldn’t even care if it made sense or not. Cake makes perfect sense. ALL THE TIME. In reality, if I could, all I would talk about is butter and sugar and cinnamon. Talk about a love affair. Those three ingredients have my heart. Forever and always, I’ll never say no to them. Butter and sugar and cinnamon together is the stuff dreams are made of. Put those three together and I kid you not, you could solve all of the world’s problems in one easy swoop. Seriously though, it would make the world a better place. Just imagine if criminals had a piece of cake before they committed their crime, they’d change their mind and wouldn’t go through with it. That’s how good cake is. That’s the power of the cake. I’m probably exaggerating a tad. I mean not all criminals would change their mind after eating cake. But I’m sure a select few would. I say, give everyone cake. Cake for all.

I’ve been on a savory kick lately, as you can probably tell from the last couple of posts. I mean sure, potato tacos are freaking delicious. I ate about fifty of them, and I’m not even joking. Okay, I’m joking. It was more like forty-nine. Calzones? Why not? Give them to me. On cold rainy days, panini and roasted tomato soup is sort of my jam. But with all that being said, cake (cinnamon, sugar and butter) well that’s just hands-down-no-contest, a sure fire winner for me. All I want to do lately is stuff my face with cake. Cake of all kinds. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you’ll have noticed the chocolate bundt cake recipe I included in it. Ate all of that without even a second thought. If you read the newsletter—which you should have by now because I sent it out at midnight. What are you waiting for?!—you’ll also know that it was my sister’s birthday this week. Of course I made her a birthday cake. It was a chocolate hazelnut cake with a nutella filling. Ate it. Stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. So when I decided to swing things back to sweet on the blog, the only logical thing to make and shoot and share was a cake. Duh. Cake for life. I immediately thought to myself that all I needed in life at that very moment was sugar, butter and cinnamon. So guess what…I made a cinnamon sugar coffee cake. I wanted it to be simple and yet a classic recipe that you guys would want to make. I hope you want to make this cake because let me tell you, it’s a delicious breakfast cake. I should make an entire cookbook of breakfast cake. I’d call it “Yes I’m Eating Cake For Breakfast And No You Can’t Have Any.” Or something like that, it’s a work in progress. It would give me an excuse to recipe test and eat nothing but cake for breakfast without people judging me. (Like my mom and doctor). I’d say, “I’m just working on the book. I have to eat this cake because it’s research!” We’d all have an excuse to eat cake first thing in the morning once the book came out. I’d be the reason every kid (and a few adults here and there) would be demanding cake for breakfast. I’m okay with that. I could live with myself. Gimme that cake.

…

Read More

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Spring break is over and you’re back to the daily grind. Your normal routine has once again taken over your life. Although you knew something so wonderful could not last forever, and you’d inevitably be thrown back into the necessary, you still can’t believe how fast your break flew by. It was too good to last. Why is it that when you’re at such places as work or school, time moves so slowly? Yet when encountered in fun situations, as in weekends and breaks, time moves so fast it gets away from us? You ponder this as reality sinks in. Gone are the days of waking up late and not following a schedule. Of not having to get up at a certain time to do something you didn’t want to do. Of being forced to be a grown up and make decisions you’re not ready to make. You take with you the moments of happiness when you had your full day ahead with nothing to do but to relax and finally enjoy yourself. A week we like to call spring break to make school bearable for the next month or so. Outings to the beach, picnics at the park, road trips with friends, gatherings with family, and random trips to the movies are now just distant memories from the past.

On the morning of the first day back to reality, you muster up all your strength and force yourself out of bed. Only the prospect of a full day awaits you now and you begin to tell yourself that you can get through anything. You must. So you lazily and half-heartedly pull yourself together and look at the calendar hanging on the back of your bedroom door. Searching for the next break, holiday, or vacation. You’ll settle for anything at this point. You scour the weeks, that make up the month of April, yearning for some sort of relief. With no luck in sight, you settle for the coming weekend and tell yourself that two days are better than none. You shower, get dressed, and prepare yourself mentally. See? This isn’t so bad. Suddenly you realize you’ve taken too much time getting ready and complaining that you’re running late. One last look, you turn off the light, and rush downstairs.

You ponder. Leave and begin the day on the wrong foot with an empty stomach? Or risk the chance of being a couple minutes late so that you can fill your tummy? “I’ll focus better and be more alert if I eat something,” you convince yourself. Searching through the pantry, cupboards and fridge you think of all the prospects. Cereal sounds good, with ice cold milk. But no, not today. You’d have to grab a bowl from way over there and dirty a spoon. Too many steps for your brain to process at the moment. You have more important things to focus on. Granola bar, now that’s fast and convenient. Nah, you don’t feel like being healthy today. “I’ll start my healthy choices tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure.” And just when you’re about to give up all hope and forget all about breakfast, the corner of your eye catches something. A crystal cake stand, that you’ve never noticed before. Or at least not recently. You walk slowly toward it marveling at the treasure inside. You lift the heavy glass lid and are instantly hit with the aroma of cinnamon and spice, and what you discern as everything nice. Why, someone has left this wonderfully smelling streusel coffee cake for you to devour. For you to enjoy. Now isn’t that nice? Help yourself. Don’t mind if you do. You cut a giant slice and rush out the door. Now you’re ready for school. Now you’re more than prepared to make it through the day. By the look of the cake, and the smile on your face, it looks like you’re more than prepared to make it through the week; cake in hand

First thing we have to do is create the streusel filling and topping.

In a food processor, throw in the pecans.

 

Pulse a few times just to break them down slightly.

 

…

Read More