Apple cider donuts and donut holes

You know those incredibly perfect donuts you get when you go apple picking on a farm? Well, these are just as good. Enjoy them throughout the fall months! You could use any apple cider, but nothing could possibly beat Trader Joe's Spiced Cider, which is only available for a few months each year. This recipe was inspired by this one and this one. Here's the modified recipe:

1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup greek yogurt (nonfat)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 cup apple cider
3.5 cups AP flour, plus at least 1 cup reserved
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Cinnamon sugar for coating (~2/3 cup sugar+1/4 cup cinnamon)
Canola oil for frying

Start by pouring yourself a nice glass of apple cider. It's so delicious, and this is the best way to kick off this recipe.

Chocolate Mint Fudge, fresh from the garden

I've been looking for ideas to use all my mint, which will hopefully take off in the next few days after its root pruning session. I've already made chocolate mint ice cream, had lots of minty water, and made a ginger-mint simple syrup for our soda stream. I eyed up the sweetened condensed milk in the pantry and went for fudge!

Here's the incredibly simple recipe: 
3 cups chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz, I used fat free)
~1/4-1/2 cup chopped mint

Melt the chocolate and condensed milk in a crock pot or on a double boiler. As soon as most of the chocolate has melted, cut the heat and keep stirring until smooth. Stir in the chopped mint, and pour into a foil-lined, greased 9x9 pan. Refrigerate ~1 hour. Flip the foil onto a cutting board to cut slices of fudge. Enjoy!

Breadmaker Cinnamon Rolls

This is a lab favorite. The week after I give lab meeting, I provide the food. People get very excited for these! They'd also make a great Christmas morning or New Year's Day breakfast, which is why I decided to post them now. My recipe is for the breadmaker, but you could easily (or not so easily) make it by hand.

There are three parts: the dough, the filling, and the icing. This recipe makes one 9x13 pan.

Strawberry Basil Mint Ice Cream

What's more refreshing than strawberry ice cream? Basil? Mint? How about all in one dessert? This is sooooo good, and not all that bad for you, either.

I got the idea from this post, and modified it a bit (used skim milk, and I used both basil and mint because my basil plant couldn't provide enough). Here's my version!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

I finally figured out the secret to making ice cream with skim milk--EGGS!! This was my second ice cream that turned out scoopable, and it was delicious! However, we were so excited to eat it that I never took a picture of the final product! I'll DEFINITELY make it again, though, so I'll take a picture then and add it later!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream:
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
~15 crushed oreos

The recipe instructions are in the photo captions!

Whisk together the eggs and sugar, then stir
in hot milk (just before boiling)

Peach sorbet

I had half a bag of frozen peaches sitting in my freezer forever, and since I'm about to move, I'm trying to avoid having too much frozen stuff I have to move. I thawed them out, figuring I'd make some type of dessert. I decided to go with a sorbet!

My google searching led me to learn that a sorbet is really just blended fruit and sugar. I blended the peaches, added sugar, added lemon, and then I boiled it. Did I have to boil it? I don't think so... but those peaches had been sitting in my freezer for a LONG time, and then they spent a few days in the fridge, so I just wanted to make sure they weren't going to make me sick. I cooled it back down, added a splash of rum (so it wouldn't solidify beyond being scoopable), and stuck it in the ice cream maker! It was delicious!


Peach sorbet
1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rum


Blend the ingredients, make sure they're cold, and put them in an ice cream maker. Move to the freezer for at least two hours.

Chai Cream Pie

I made this pie for Easter! It was a hit. I was worried because the family members who I thought would love it weren't there this year, but some others still enjoyed it :) What do you think? You can choose a reaction at the bottom!


The recipe is from Cooking Light Magazine. I modified it slightly to eliminate the milk fat since I'm allergic, and I added two tea bags instead of one. Here's my recipe, which is almost exactly the original.