Frosty & Rudolph Donuts

It's almost Christmas!!!  We are getting so excited around here!  

I had to post these adorable donuts that I had the kids in my daughter's class make for their Christmas party.  They were so simple and so stinkin' cute!  We've been making LOTS more today to give away as neighbor gifts.

These might even be fun to make for Santa.  I'm sure he'd enjoy them!

Thanks to wonderful Nikki from Chef In Training for posting these and lots of other super fun Christmas goodie ideas.

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!!

The Highlight of My Kitchen...A Bosch Mixer

It's been almost a month since I've posted last!  Have you missed me?  Well, I've missed you.

I had surgery almost 4 weeks ago (tonsils and adenoids removed and a deviated septum fixed) and I had no idea how tough recovery would be!  PHEW!!!  It was rough!

But I'm happy to report that I'm almost back to my normal self again.  YAY!!

Though, I've suffered a very unfortunate side effect from my surgery.  Almost everything I eat that is sweet tastes HORRIBLE!  Has that happened to anyone else?  My sense of taste has been drastically altered, and as a food blogger, that's absolutely devastating.

Thankfully, my taste has been returning, but more slowly than I want.  I should just be grateful that it's returning at all.  So, while I'm not trying new recipes right now, I wanted to address a question I've received about my stand mixer.

An anonymous person asked me what kind of mixer I have pictured in my Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies post.

This is what I have...a Bosch Universal Mixer.  It is by far the most used item and highlight of my kitchen.

My wonderful mother-in-law gave this to me for Christmas several years ago and it is an absolute treasure!

They have since remodeled the Bosch and the new ones look like this...

Here are a couple of links for you to check out that compare a Bosch and a Kitchenaid:

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/boschvskitchenaid.html
http://www.everythingkitchens.com/bosch-video-index-main.html

When it comes to making bread, there is absolutely NO comparison!  The Bosch is so far more superior to any Kitchenaid.  The way a Bosch kneads bread dough allows the dough to only rise once, after it is formed into loaves.

A Kitchenaid or any other stand mixer, however, requires that dough must rise before it is formed into loaves and again after it is formed into loaves.

That right there saves you about an hour.  Awesome!

I use my Bosch to make so many things...cakes, bread, cookies, cheesecake, mashed potatoes, quick breads, shredded chicken, pie filling, and on and on and on.

It makes cooking and baking such a breeze!

Here are some of my favorite ways to use my Bosch...

Potato Bread
Breadsticks
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cinnamon Rolls
Fudge Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft Pretzels
Whole Wheat Bread
Multi-Grain Bread
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Snickerdoodles
Chewies
Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies
Caramel Toffee Brownies
Dark Chocolate Cookie Sheet Brownies