Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free Mini Donuts!

I found this recipe a few months back when I was desperately seeking something sweet to eat. Being dairy and gluten-free definitely has its challenges, especially when you have a sweet tooth. I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try one night. 

These delicious little bundles of joy were so easy to make and were so tasty that I had to make them the following week for my monthly girls night. I figured they would be honest and tell me if these were just another yucky gluten-free recipe that I was trying to pass off as being good. (I do that a lot) I was so happy when they all said they liked them! Now, let's be honest - they won't pass for a Tim Hortons timbit or anything but, for what they are, I thought they were pretty tasty! These are definitely worth a try!

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Mini Donuts

Ingredients:

 1 cup of water

6 tbsp dairy free butter

10 drops of vanilla stevia or tsp sugar

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

cooking oil (preferably vegetable oil)

1 1/2 cup powder sugar

2-3 tbsp of water

Directions:

Combine water, butter, and stevia (or sugar) in a saucepan. 

Bring to a boil, stir to combine.

When butter is dissolved, add the flours and baking soda. Stir it all together to bring it into a ball.

Turn off the heat and allow the dough ball to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Add eggs one at a time to the dough ball and stir to combine completely before adding the next egg.

Pour cooking oil into a pan. Make sure you add enough oil so that when you drop your mini donuts into the oil, it will cover them. Heat the oil to 375 degrees.

I used a small spoon to make these. You will scoop about 2 tbsp of dough into the oil. Do this in batches, but don't overcrowd the pot. Turn the donuts over when they begin to brown. Keep the moving until they appear crispy on the outside. Remove and place on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Leave them to cool slightly. Continue until you've used up all of your batter.

While the donuts are cooling, combine the powder sugar with the water - but only add one tbsp of water at a time and stir. You want the glaze to be thick so it will stick to the donuts. When ready, dip the donuts into the glaze and let them sit to cool completely. Then... enjoy!

Tip 1: After making these the first time, I decided to add some cinnamon to the mixture. This gave them a little more sweetness which I loved. The next time I make these, I was going to try adding raisins as well. Heck - you could even coat these in chocolate!

Tip 2: If you are at all like me and have no real experience frying donuts, my tip would be to leave them in just a little bit longer than you think they should stay in. I really didn't know how long they would need. At first, I would remove one and open it to see if it was cooked enough. Trial and error - you'll figure it out!

I have to give credit to the original author of this recipe! Check out the Non-Dairy Queen for this and other excellent recipes!

Enjoy folks! 

Creating a Vintage Inspired Planter Box

So it has been a while since my last post... wedding planning has well, taken up most of my free time! Who ever said that planning a wedding was easy has either never planned one or drank a lot during the process! I hope to post more about wedding plans as I have more to share.. stay tuned!

For now, I wanted to share with you some cleaver ways to create a vintage planter for your yard or inside your home. I was inspired to do this post because a few weeks ago my fiancee pulled me into the backyard to show me something he had done. When I got back there, I found this adorable planter filled with some of his favorite hot pepper plants. 

Let me give you a little bit of back story for how this came to be. Earlier this year, my mother gave me her great grandmothers vintage Singer Sewing Machine complete with its original stand and table top. I decided that the entire piece was just too big to store in the house (and too heavy!) so my mother and I took apart the table portion and are just keeping the legs and the machine itself. I gave my fiancee the left over wood table and wood cover which we were going to throw away. 

I'm going to take a little bit of credit here and assume that it is because of my influence that he saw that wood cover and immediately knew that it could be used for something great. He brought it out back, filled it with soil and planted his favorite peppers in it. What a great use for an old piece that would have just ended up at the curb!!

When he showed me it, I was elated! I was so proud that he had thought to make something out of it and was also just pleased to see that my great, great grandmother's sewing machine cover was still going to be around and we could enjoy it. 

Here are some other simple and crafty ways to create your very own vintage planter box. Next time you hit a yard sale or a second hand store, keep your eyes open for some of these unique pieces!

1 -  Vintage Crates
I'm obsessed with vintage crates. I use them all over my home and am always looking for new ways to transform them into something great. 

2 - Vintage Toy Cars
I love vintage toys and it isn't that hard to come by some old Tonka trunks that you can re-purpose into beautiful planters! Might be a great decor item in your child's bedroom.

Ok, these aren't exactly vintage, but you get the idea!

3 - Vintage Car Parts
My parents are always finding old, rusted car parts on the side of the road and can never resist picking them up. What is great about that is you can transform them into something original like this!

4 - Vintage Pots
I can never resist these beautiful french inspired pots. They make beautiful centerpieces for your table and now even better planters!