Baked Apple Cider Donuts with Cardamom Cinnamon Sugar

donuting.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts 

with

Cardamom Cinnamon-Sugar.

Donuting, or to donut. Its a verb.

If you live in New England, come fall, you go apple picking. I'm pretty sure it's a law in most states. Like, if you don't go a guy in a tricornered hat shows up at your house on horseback and takes you at musket point. Either that or a hefty "apple-picking non-compliance" fine will be levied against you, probably hand delivered to your house by a guy wearing knickers and ringing a bell. So apple picking we go. Because, and I admit this grudgingly, its actually pretty fun. If you can get past the hordes of screaming children, ridiculous shtick-y corn mazes, and annoyingly packed hayrides full of suckers (hayrides are indeed for suckers, unless they're free. that's all I'll say on that subject), standing in a sun-soaked apple orchard, wearing a seasonally appropriate (!) sweater and picking fruit right from the tree is pretty much the best thing about fall. Throw donuts into the mix and the enjoyment level skyrockets. Sadly, for the more plant-based among us farmstand apple cider donuts are not an option. This has been an annual, almost soul-crushing disappointment for me. So this year, instead of giving the side-eye to every overjoyed person around me eagerly shoving apple cider donuts into their facehole, I took action.
Apples were picked, donuts were baked, and the "autumn in New England" circle was completed.



that sparkle tho...



found. and the one that got away.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

with

Cardamom Cinnamon-Sugar

(makes one dozen)

dry:

1 1/2c whole wheat pastry flour

2/3c light brown sugar

1/2tsp ground sea salt

1tsp baking soda

1Tbsp ground cinnamon

wet:

1Tbsp finely ground flax seed + 3Tbsp boiling water

1tsp vanilla extract

3/4c applesauce

3Tbsp apple cider

1/3c canola oil (or other neutral oil)

topping:

1/4c unrefined sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp finely ground cardamom

Raspberry-Cashew Cream Cheese Pinwheels in a Coconut Oil Crust

my head hurts and everything smells like berries...

Raspberry-Cashew Cream Cheese Pinwheels

in a Coconut Oil Crust.

worth it.

Did you ever have one one of those delayed hangover mornings where you don't realize the full extent of your hungover-ness until you undertake a way too massive baking project? C'mon, anyone? This is not a situation I find myself in too frequently as of late; sadly (?) my reckless "party like a rock star all night then bake vegan treats all morning" days are waning. But the weekend will ALWAYS call for baked goods and in that two day span I will, on occasion, go a little to hard at the brown liquor. And yeah, on some mornings those two things can create slightly unpleasant overlap. Last Saturday was a full day and night of social consumption but I jumped out of bed the next morning bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and almost annoyingly pumped to make use of my handpicked raspberry haul from the previous week. I had battled many a bee for those perfect little berries and they were destined for greatness. So tea was made and dough was cranked out like nobody's business. Then the fatigue set in. My eyeballs started to feel dry and the thought of continuing to move my body in any way at all became massively unappealing. But I was already in too deep, raspberry pinwheels were the chosen course of action for the morning and there was no turning back. The rest was a blur of whirring food processor blades, berry-stained fingers and uncontrollable sweating, but at the end there they were.

All pink and swirly, and totally worth it.

This is life in the fast lane, my friends.

It's not for everyone, but for those that can handle it...

Party like an aging rock star, make raspberry pinwheels, rest, repeat as necessary.

Or sub out the whole party thing and just make the damn pinwheels.

Your head will hurt way less and there are still delicious baked goods at the end.

do what the sign says.

seasonal rituals: u-pick at sunshine farm in sherborn, ma.