.many mini donuts.

i remember it like it was yesterday. (insert nostalgic music) after an afternoon at the mall, i was exiting to my car through a department store when suddenly i saw it. as if a beam of light descended from heaven and spotlighted this ruby red beauty...ok, it was more like the fluorescent store lights, but still. there was a countertop mini donut maker.

for those of you who weren't aware, i spent a great chunk (as in all of it) of my adolescence making and selling mini donuts with a fancy, schmancy donut making machine. so, there was a good while there that i figured i could go the rest of my life without ever having another mini donut. i figured wrong. as soon as i saw this little donut maker, i knew i had to have it. however, with a greater sense of fiscal responsibility under my belt, i walked out of the store without it.

for the following few weeks, i barely slept a wink and had one nightmare after another about being chased by giant donuts with rainbows shooting sprinkles at my head in bullet form. ok, i made all that up, but i really wanted this thing. rationalizing that weeks of craving said machine equated to me deserving it led me right back to the department store.

i got it the same week as the brunch i was hosting. so, as soon as i got it home, i made a batch of mini cinnamon donuts from a recipe i found online. while i found the machine really easy to use, i didn't think that they tasted good. my husband enjoyed them, but i didn't even think they were worth the calories. gasp.

with my brunch approaching and the cuteness factor dangling above my head, i decided to go for it again with a different recipe. i just used the basic recipe that came with the machine and decided to spruce them up with toppings. chocolate with sprinkles, cinnamon brown sugar and confectionary sugar...

the payoff this time was much better! these little babies were yummy, without all the guilt of frying them. can you think of any better accompaniment to donuts than milk? next to the donuts on the table, i had a tray of milk shots all lined up for the ladies. i couldn't even take one bite without reaching for my shot and it went as well together as milk and donuts. see?

since the brunch, i haven't made the donuts again, but maybe this weekend will be the perfect excuse. i guess making mini donuts is in my blood after all.

basic mini donut recipe

ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp canola oil

directions:
stir dry ingredients together. add egg, vanilla, and milk and beat 1 minute with electric mixer or vigorously by hand.
add oil and continue to beat 1 minute more.