pancake doughnuts

I got Leo hooked on pancakes for breakfast a little while back.  it's always been one of my favorite breakfast meals, so I don't mind that much right now!  I was making them every morning for about a week and decided to make extra and freeze them instead.  I've never had much luck with pancakes holding their shape when re-heated, and Leo was super frustrated when they fell apart and didn't stay on the fork.  my mom used to have a sandwich maker that we'd make pancakes in and they were less flimsy than flat pancakes, so I thought I'd give the mini doughnut maker a try and see if that would work the same.

I like using the Hungry Jack extra light and fluffy mix that just needs water - super convenient!  I pretty much eyeball the water to mix ratio and they always turn out just fine. I found a clear condiment squirt bottle that works great to fill the mini doughnut maker without drips and wasted globs.  they're so much easier for Leo to eat and I think they have a better flavor after being frozen and re-heated than regular pancakes do.

 

I make as many as I can stand to do at one time and freeze them in baggies.  makes a quick breakfast for Leo that he will rarely turn down, and if I'm feeling like pancakes but not the mess of making them I can steal a few for myself as well!

babycakes

 

Matt and Leo got me a Babycakes doughnut maker for Mother's Day :)  they had them on sale at Kohl's and I pointed it out to Matt while we were dress shoe shopping not long ago.

I don't think I'd use the box mixes again, and until I find a good recipe this might end up just being used to make quick muffins or pancakes, but they cook up fast (6 in about 3 minutes) and are really cute. 

I made a scratch recipe I found online - not good at all despite what everyone said about the recipe :( - then I did the cinnamon sugar and chocolate mixes I got with the maker.  the vanilla base with cinnamon sugar topping was alright.  I ran out of the mixture halfway through the doughnuts, so I dusted the rest with powdered sugar.  I wanna try the vanilla recipe from scratch and see if it's better than the boxed mix.

I think the best was the chocolate, but not because they resembled anything that of a doughnut besides the shape, but because it was like eating a chocolate cake :)  they were Leo's favorite, too.

I wanted to see how a muffin mix did in it - pretty much tastes like a muffin.  my favorite doughnuts are glazed blueberry cake, and if I could adapt a mix to make my own I'll be... well, super fat, but happy while I'm eating them, anyway! ;)