Baked Donuts- Matcha Green Tea & Funfetti

DONUT WORRY…..These are baked, not fried!

PLUS, they have Greek Yogurt, not too much sugar or butter, and are super moist and airy!

Try to find a donut shop that makes donuts like that.

Anyways, I have two flavors for you here 🙂 Matcha Green Tea is made with the same exact batter, except you add the matcha powder obviously and leave out the sprinkles.

The glaze is also exactly the same. Powdered sugar and milk, plus a little vanilla extract.

These donuts taste like those cake donuts you buy at the donut shop down the street, and the secret is…..*DRUMROLL PLEASE*: NUTMEG. Yes, this mysterious spice that you’ll hear about here and there is what will make these donuts go from good to great! And all you need is a pinch of it.

Disclaimer: I went a little nuts on pictures this post, partly because all of the pictures looked so delicioso… I really couldn’t decide. ENJOY!

The Link to the Recipe can be found here!

**NOTE: For the matcha green tea donuts, just omit the sprinkles and add in 3-4 tsp of matcha green tea powder to the flour mixture before adding in the wet ingredients.

I also used almond milk for my donuts, but you can use any milk.

-REFLECTIONS-

It’s week three of my second trimester. And God has been teaching me so much!

1. Most definitely a theme I have noticed in my life in the past couple of months is just learning to rely on God’s strength rather than my own. It’s so easy for me to go throughout the day without even thinking for a second that my day would be much better if I didn’t have the burden of trying to do it on my own.

I hear religious-minded people say all the time with good intentions, “God will never place a burden on you so heavy that you cannot carry it.” Really? My experience is that God will place a burden on you so heavy that you cannot possibly carry it alone. He will break your back and your will. He will buckle your legs until you fall flat beneath the crushing weight of your load. All the while He will walk beside you waiting for you to come to the point where you must depend on Him.”My power is made perfect in your weakness,” He says, as we strain under our burden. Whatever the burden, it might indeed get worse, but I know this- God is faithful. and while we change and get old, He does not. When we get weaker, He remains strong. And in our weakness and humility, He offers us true, lasting, transforming, and undeserved grace. It is this grace that enables us to do more than survive in this world. Grace enables us to thrive in the presence of this world’s suffering while magnifying the One who breaks us with affliction- that He might equip us with comfort, compassion, and strength to give to others. – Greg Lucas, Wrestling with an Angel: A Story of Love, Disability, and the Lessons of Grace.

2. Finding a community takes time and patience. A lot of times we enter new chapters and expect the people you get along with to just show up. That’s really not how it is, although I do know that God definitely puts the right people in your life. But in my experience, I’ve found that we have to be intentional and invest in the relationships we want to develop. And another thing is that God sometimes doesn’t provide friends or people who can rely on (well at least not right away) because he wants you all to Himself. That may sound a little selfish but we do serve a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14) He might hold back your relationships with others so that you can realize that He is the only one you need.

3. God wants us to relinquish all idols and turn to Him. Anything that we could say “Yea, I would do anything, even ditch God, just to have that.” That would be your idol. We are so easily enslaved to various things of this world and various passions. In fact, anything that overcomes us is something that we are enslaved to ( 2 Peter 2:19). And we must fight it! Jesus reveals our idols to us, and gets extremely personal because, again, He wants us to want/desire/need only Him. Our idols are our sins and God wants us to see them so that we can actively fight them.

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. {Psalm 139:23-24}

4. Sometimes we need to stop and just pray. Sounds super cliche and easy, yet again, we neglect this seemingly obvious task throughout the day. Have you ever thought about every single time you hop into your car, how much you need God’s protection? We seriously take that for granted. The other day, I saw a horrible fatal accident on the freeway, and as I drove by,  I caught a glimpse of a flipped-over, smashed car with a man’s arm hanging out. I could only hope that what I saw wasn’t real, but it definitely was. The firemen stood around the car, looking destitute and hopeless. That man (hopefully) said goodbye to his wife and kids for the last time that day (until heaven, also..hopefully he was a believer!) But that is how short our life here on earth is! If even Jesus had to pray constantly, how much more should we be talking to our Father?

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

If you ever wished you could enjoy cinnamon rolls with a little less guilt, I would highly recommend you try this recipe. Like now. We all know the New Year means New Year’s Resolutions, hence weight loss must be on that list somewhere, including myself. So here’s something you can look forward to after you lose all the weight! It’ll be like your prize or something, I don’t know. Or you can just treat yourself to some delicious goodies because life is short, and God allows us to enjoy ourselves a little, right? Nonetheless, these sweet, cinnamon-y treats will knock your socks off. Literally, cuz after you eat them you may say ‘screw it’ to the gym.

Cinnamon from Vietnam, gifted by my sweet cousin. It can be found through World Vision 🙂

Tip: Use two pieces of saran wrap to roll out the dough to avoid a sticky mess.

INGREDIENTS

Cookies:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• optional: dental floss (non minty)

Filling:

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS

1. For the cookies, in a large bowl, cream together the 3/4 cup butter and granulated and powdered sugar for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix. Add one cup flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. Add remaining flour and mix just until flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft. Flatten the dough into a thick disk and cover in plastic wrap. Freeze for about 15 minutes.
2. For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Separate the dough into two pieces working with one half at a time, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick and about 15-inches by 4-inches or so. Gently spread 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture and lightly press the sugar mixture into the dough. Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Using a piece of dental floss (or serrated knife), slice the dough into 1-inch pieces, making about 15 cookies per log. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on lined (with silpat or parchment) baking sheets. Repeat with the second half of the dough and the remaining butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until set but not overbaked. Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Prepare the glaze by mixing together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until thick and smooth. You can do this with an electric mixer or use a blender. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk. Continue adding milk, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is thick but pourable. Pour the glaze into the corner of a ziploc bag (placing the bag inside a large glass helps as you fill it). Snip off the tip of the corner and drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

For the upcoming year [2014]

“. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” —Philippians 1:20

My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.

utmost.org

CINNAMON ROLL…WHAT?!

PLEASE SIR, JUST A CRUMB!

sad face- no cookie for me