Some of you may or may not know that I am in the process of writing my first cookbook.  It’s exciting, but scary and overwhelming at times.  This has been a dream for a very long time, and with all the craziness of the past year and a half, I have decided it’s time to take the leap.  It’s time to turn this vision into reality!!  Oh, and did I tell you I thought it would be a cool idea to do my own photography?  Yeah…even though sometimes I think I have bitten off more than I can chew (sounds like a I just found the title for my book..lol!!), I know it is worth it :)!!

All that being said, Anna Gass recently came out with a cookbook “Heirloom Kitchen”,  and I received my copy in the mail last week.  I couldn’t put it down!  This book has so many wonderful stories of immigrant women from Europe, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Middle East.  Along with each courageous and inspiring story, there are so many wonderful and delicious recipes.

I made Susanne Kidd’s apple donuts, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint!!  They are made in an aebleskiver pan.  I have to be honest, it did take a bit of practice turning these little round treats.  Once I got the hang of it, the not so nice words that were coming out of my mouth subsided pretty fast! Lol!!!

As someone who usually likes to put my own twist on recipes, I didn’t stray at all.  I followed the recipe just as it was written.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raisins (75 grams)
• 2 tablespoons white rum
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons/7 grams)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (106 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole milk, warm (390 ml)
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (99 grams)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine kosher salt
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
• Baking Spray
• Confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)*

Instructions:

1. Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and set aside to plump.  Zest and squeeze lemon, peel and chop apples.  Set aside.

2. Place flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.  Put the yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons of warm milk into the well.  Carefully whisk the the yeast mixture in the well until the yeast dissolves.  Cover the bowl with a towel for 10 minutes.  The mixture will bubble slightly.

3. Gradually stir the flour into the well with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated.

4. Add the remaining milk, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until combined.  Batter should be a thick consistency (like thick pancake batter).  If it’s too thick, add a little more warm milk until it reaches the correct consistency.

5. Drain the raisins and mix them into the batter along with the apples.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.  Let the batter rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (40-50 minutes).

6. Spray the aebleskiver pan and place over medium heat.  Place enough batter into each well to reach the rim ( I used a medium size scoop).  The oil from the baking spray will bubble around the sides and the appelkoken will begin to brown.  A chopstick like stick is used to tilt it slightly to check on the color.  It should be golden brown. Mine took about three minutes.  While the center is still soft, use the wooden stick to turn the appelkoken over (I found that a small offset spatula works too).  Cook for two more minutes.  Check for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the middle.  It should come out clean.

8. Remove the donuts and place on a cooling rack.  I placed the cooling rack in the oven on warm as I repeated the baking process.  Once all the donuts are baked, dust them liberally with confectioners’ sugar.  Enjoy!!

*These confections taste delicious without the sugar too!

Thank you @annagass for this beautiful cookbook, and your witty (and delicious) Instagram posts too!!