Mmmm... doughnuts...

      I can't believe (again) how fast the time passes! I have been busy doing a lot of things since the 4th of July and there are no signs of stopping. There are the occasional moments when I find myself alone in a quiet house. That's the time between my husband going to work and the kids getting up for the day; I get one whole hour. I have been debating whether I should use that time for exercise or not, but I realize that I have MANY other things that I love to do, but have had no time to do it in. Writing is one example. So many hobbies and so little time to do it in. I have a lot of sewing patterns for the kids that are still waiting to be opened and laid out on the new fabric that has yet to have a pre-washing. At least the temptation to throw everything out the window and make cards has waned considerably since half of my stuff is getting babysat by a good friend right now. I know that someday i'll get a craft room again, but not in the near future.

      Aside from exercising, sewing, and crafting, my passion for cooking has rekindled over the past few months. I looked back at the past few years and realized that my cooking episodes had gotten really boring. I know that I would look in the fridge and stare ate a pile of good cooking fodder and think to myself, "What in the world am I supposed to do with any of this stuff?!" I am telling you right now that it's a good thing that we live too far away for any pizza delivery service (I tried bribing every pizza place when I was pregnant). Since I started my body/eating transformation this April, I have been eating almost every sort of vegetable I see in the produce section. And if you have not seen 'Good Eats' on Food Network, YOU SHOULD! I had seen all the episodes already, but my mind was not ready for such amazing preparation and cooking instruction. Since April, I have seen them all over again... twice. I'm not sure exactly how my husband feels about me cooking so much all the time, but he has yet to refuse anything new. 

      Of all the new cooking skills that I am improving, baking is still intimidating. However, my severe need (or want) of sweet desserts got the best of me last night and I made donuts. I first saw this recipe on The Chew when it aired a few months ago on Hulu. I thought the doughnut itself looked delicious, but the preparation of it seemed a little too hard for me. But last night, the thought of a freshly made warm, fluffy doughnut with a slight crunch on the outside and a thick, smooth, sweet pastry cream on the inside totally got the best of me. My mouth is watering!!! I pulled up my big girl pants and gave it a try. It was surprisingly easy! It reminded me of an episode of Good Eats where the host Alton Brown made a creme puff dough recipe (totally want to try making that now!). After the half hour it took to prepare and bake the doughnuts, my husband and I were in doughnut heaven! I found that I was getting too tired to make a pastry cream, so I made some instant vanilla pudding instead. 

      I realize how fattening donuts and pudding sound, however I worked the recipe down to the least calories possible. I substituted a no-calorie baking sweetener for the sugar, used only 1 tablespoon of oil needed, I did not glaze the doughnuts, and I used a sugar-free/fat-free vanilla pudding mix with homemade almond milk that has 30 calories per cup of milk. It also helps that the doughnuts are not fried, they're baked. I should warn you that in the end it does not matter how few calories are in this dessert when you end up eating all of the doughnuts and all of the pudding in one sitting. Self-control is something I have yet to master. I did have an accomplice though; my husband loved them too. : )  

     Should you feel the need to see how easy and delicious these doughnuts are, here's the link to the recipe after the picture. Let me know how they turn out for you!!

Baked Donuts and Coconut creme

P.S. You don't need a mini doughnut pan to make these. I used a mini muffin pan instead. And next time (tonight), I'm going to free hand them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. : )