Hot from the oven: Baked donuts

Plain baked donuts, ready for glaze. Or a glass of milk.

I've got a small kitchen, so I try to stick to the basics and must-haves when it comes to kitchen gadgets. And a donut pan is not a must-have. But it is fun. So when Cookwear.com offered to send me something from the store to try out, I made an exception to my basics-and-must-haves rule.

The Fox Run non-stick donut pan is a pretty decent piece of bakewear. It's got a good weight (not so flimsy you'd bend it while you're scrubbing out donut crumbs, not so heavy it's annoying to hold while you fill it) and I haven't had any sticking issues, so it lives up to the non-stick name. My one complaint would be that the wells are a tad small. My recipe for a half-dozen donuts produced more batter than could be baked. And keep in mind that if you want to feed a crowd (or just a few very enthusiastic donut eaters), you'll need a couple of these.

If you're a real Krispy Kreme fanatic, I know baked donuts sound like heresy. I'll be honest; you're never going to mistake them for their fried brethren. But if you want hot donuts in a flash with a little bit healthier twist, this is a nice pan to have hanging around.

As far as recipes go, I recommend checking out King Arthur Flour. Between their tasty mixes and the recipes on their blog, you're sure to find the perfect batter for your donut pan. (And there's no shame in using a mix!) For the donuts pictured at the top of this post, I used this recipe (mixing a little whole-wheat pastry flour with plain old all-purpose). I didn't frost mine because I thought they were pretty good as is, but a little melted chocolate or a citrusy glaze would be great, I bet.

The pan: Fox Run non-stick donut pan
The verdict: A nice little pan for the donut-lover in everyone

When speed baking doesn't pay: Pumpkin cranberry scones

As they say on Arrested Development, I've made a huge tiny mistake.

Check out these pumpkin cranberry scones. They're from a recipe from the good folks at King Arthur Flour. And they would have turned out great had I not been speed baking and used baking soda instead of baking powder.

See what I mean? Huge tiny mistake. Tiny because they both look the same. They both kind of do the same thing. They both have "baking" in the name. But huge because a tablespoon of one in your scones makes them puffy. And a tablespoon of the other makes them taste like soap.

I'm happy to report I've made them since and with the right ingredients, they're mighty tasty. Find the recipe over at King Arthur. (I used cranberries in my version--their recipe calls for crystallized ginger or chocolate chips, both of which sound excellent.)