Wildflowers Photography

so it’s no secret that we love donuts over here at the prouty house!  we used to only have them on very special occasions from our corner donut shop but when i saw that cute little donut maker on the shelf at target, i knew that it was really love at first sight.  now we have donuts atleast three times a week!  as a disclaimer, i am not saying that we are the healthiest house on the block (not a chance!) but i do try and have really gotten pretty good at making healthier versions and it makes for such a fun, happy morning for all of us!  donut party!   the best part is that our chickens began to lay eggs a few months ago so it is such a fun activity on donut mornings for the kids to pull on their boots, run out to collect the eggs and then put join me in the kitchen to mix all the goodies.  the whole process is fun and super easy and fast.  trust me, with very early mornings and the three kids in addition an endless to-do and work list, not much sleep and the very rare shower thrown in there somewhere, i don’t have time to make a big breakfast.  and it is super hard to please everyone!  but not on donut days!  and i can typically have the recipe or mix done in 5 minutes and the donuts cooked in another 8.  the kids love to frost them (and this keeps them entertained so i can wash the dishes real quick) and everyone is happy and fed.  best part is that YOU CAN USE ANY MUFFIN, BREAD OR CAKE MIX!  yay!  i stock up on trader joe’s bread mixes (cheap and so yummy) and i also grab muffin mixes when i see them on sale.  and i always do my best to make them healthier by using purees in them, sub out the oil and also sneak in vitamin rich stuff for added nutrients (my normal add-ins are sweet potato puree and appleasauce).  i learned about this from jessica seinfeld’s book ‘deceptively delicious’ and highly recommend it!  she has yummy recipes and so many tips for moms and i also love the blackbird bakery gluten-free recipes for special occasions or when i bake them sometimes for friends with dietary restrictions.  i especially love and often make the blackberry bakery cream cheese frosting.  my kids have their own fave donut recipes… gracie’s are blueberry smurfy donuts, brandon’s are southern cornbread, donny’s are pumpkin spice and mine are strawberry cheesecake!

so, i am not up on my donut high horse, i am surely not a baker.  but i am pretty excited about this little contraption that gives me that added inspiration to not dread the early mornings.  it helps me to transform my mind into being the fun mom instead of the grumpy, bitter mom.  it helps inspire me to wake up for the kids instead of to them.  i love that i can feed the whole family so affordably and intentionally.  and it gives us a reason to make any morning into a party, and let me tell you that turning on the disco ball at 8am is just as awesome as 8pm, actually way more awesome because we are already in our jammies.  <—  that is our favorite part.  ;)

so here are some of our donuts, all images taken in instagram with my iphone.

so here is my step by step process of the quickest possible way to do the donuts, this is like 14 minutes flat…blueberry, pumpkin spice & strawberry…we make them for every occasion…it can be entertaining for quite some time!  icing makes for good finger painting too…
these are two of my fave recipe inspirations…