Donut or muffin?

My department at work is struggling...we have 5 women who are either pregnant or just had babies!  Three of those are fellow residents, which means that we have a decreased work staff to cover the hospital...but we are making due.  And being pediatricians...we LOVE babies!!!  Needless to say, we also love a good excuse for a party and we have been having quite a few showers lately.  For the first shower, I took a couple of things:  grape salad and donut muffins. 

First let's talk about the donut muffins.  You dip the finished muffins in butter and then drench them in cinnamon sugar.  Tell me, HOW could that not be good!  Everyone loved them.  And if you want to get a great grape salad recipe, come back again soon...this is a GREAT shower snack!

Donut Muffins from lemanda at Tasty Kitchen

1-¾ cup Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
⅓ cups Oil
 ¾ cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
¾ cups Milk

FOR THE TOPPING:
¼ cups Butter
⅓ cups White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.
Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.  Enjoy!

Cristy's Cookies!

Last month was a busy baking month for me!  You see, I was on a Q4 call month and I try to take little treats to work when I'm on call...it just makes those 30 hour shifts a lot better for everyone.  In fact, my fellow intern told me that she had been looking forward to working with me that month all year because she knew I brought treats!  :-)

One day I saw this recipe on Anna's site and knew I needed to make it...especially since my fellow intern's name is Cristy!  She loved that they were "her" cookies.  These turned out GREAT!  I cooked them a little long, so they were crisper than I like but the flavor was fantastic.  I think I'd play around a bit to see if I could make them softer but otherwise, wonderful!  A perfect sweet treat! 

Small Batch Doubletree Copycats (Like Christie Cookies)
1 cup all purpose flour (4.5 oz)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold – cut up
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips
3 oz Bits of Brittle (1/2 cup)
3/4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped
1 1/8 cups oatmeal  (quick cooking or old fashioned, ground finely)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Cream butter and sugars in large mixer bowl. Add egg and vanilla and stir until mixed.
Add flour mixture and oatmeal gradually, stirring until incorporated. Stir in Heath Bits, Chocolate Chips, and nuts. Scoop dough up with a quarter cup measure and shape into big balls. Press them slightly to make discs. Set the discs on a plate and chill for a few hours or until firm. Note: You can bake these without chilling, but I liked the texture better after chilling.

Bake for 8-13 minutes. Cookies should still be slightly underdone. Move to wax paper lined counter to cool, do not use wire racks. (Interesting observation from Anna – wire racks made the cookies crispier, cooling on rack helps internal cooking for underdone cookies and probably makes them chewier).