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mini funfetti donuts

Are you the kind of person who gets motivated or un-motivated after a vacation? I'm a big believer in taking vacations as early and often as possible in order to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy well-being. These days, however, I've been coming back from my vacations itching for more and not feeling the least bit restored. I've noticed that this has been a trend in the past few years — I blame social media and how it's made unplugging from the blog a near impossibility. So even though we've had a few long weekends and I've taken days off here and there, I'm still feeling a little burned out from it all.


On my first day back from my non-vacation of a vacation, I made these donuts in an attempt to get back into the groove of baking. Although I started out the process begrudgingly, my spirits had lifted considerably by the time I pulled out the first batch from the oven. Because mini donuts — who can resist them? Especially when studded with sprinkles and glazed with shiny chocolate. They literally seem like cheer in the palm of your hand!


These mini donuts come from Williams-Sonoma's new (also mini) cookbook, The Doughnut Cookbook. Small and mighty, it guides you through a variety of donut recipes that range from the basic yeast variety to more exciting baked flavor bases like carrot cake and these funfetti donuts. Even though baked donuts don't get as much love as the fried kind, I've always had a soft spot for them as they come together much more easily and are just as tasty.

Enjoy!


Thanks Williams-Sonoma for sponsoring this post by graciously providing The Doughnut Cookbook and other equipment for my new Brooklyn kitchen to help me bake and cook. All thoughts and opinions are my own; thank you for supporting Hummingbird High and all my sponsors!

Some baker's notes:

• I used this mini donut pan to bake my donuts, but you can also use a regular sized pan for the same recipe without needing to adjust the baking time. Be sure to use a lot of cooking spray in the donut cavities so that the donuts pop out with ease! 


• Be sure to use the glaze IMMEDIATELY after making — it tends to harden quickly! If you like taking your time decorating, it helps to keep the chocolate glaze over a very, very low heat to prevent it from hardening while you decorate the donuts. Stir every minute or so to prevent the top from glazing.

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Mini VERY Berry Pies

Mini VERY Berry Pies
(recipe from The Wimpy Vegetarian)

Crust Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsps unsalted butter, cut into 6 slices, well chilled
2 Tbsps cream cheese, well chilled
2 Tbsps + 1 tsp very cold water
2 tsps. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Streusel Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 Tbsp flour
pinch of Kosher salt
2 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp cocoa nibs (which I omitted as I didnt have on hand)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
3-4 Tbsps unsalted butter, softened

Filling Ingredients:
2 Tbsps granulated sugar
2 Tbsps flour
pinch of Kosher salt
2 1/2 cups fresh berries, rinsed and dried (I used cut up strawberries and blueberries - Susan used blackberries and blueberries)
2 Tbsp cream cheese
1 Tbsp coconut milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  And then prepare pie crust. In the bowl of a food process add in flour, sugar and salt.  Pulse all together for a couple of times.  Add in chilled butter and cream cheese and pulse all together until slightly bigger than small pea sizes form - about 10-12 pulses.  Drizzle in cold water along with the lemon juice as the food processor runs.  Pulse just until the dough starts to come together forming moist crumbs that clump together.

2. Dump crust mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a disc.  Wrap disc tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3.  Prepare streusel topping.  In medium size bowl combine oats, flour, ground flax seed, salt, cocoa nibs and spices until blended all together.  Add in softened butter with a fork or pastry cutter.  Mix and mash until all the ingredients are well blended and small crumbs form.  Place topping into refrigerator until needed.

4. Take out the chilled disc of crust from refrigerator and allow to come to room temp as you prepare berry filling.  In a large bowl add in flour, sugar and salt - mix all together.  Add in  1 cup of berries and slightly mash them with a fork.  Add in remaining berries along with cream cheese and coconut milk, making sure all ingredients are well blended together.

5. Roll out pie crust to desired size.  If you wish to use a mini muffin pan a circle cookie cutter will come in handy to make the right size crust for all the muffin cups. No need to grease your pan or pie plates.   Divide berry filling amongst your prepared pie crusts and then top evenly with streusel topping.  Bake in preheated oven for 27-30 minutes - until crust is a golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for a good 15 minutes before serving.  Vanilla ice cream goes nicely with these little treasures. Enjoy!





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Mini Reviews of a Whole Lotta Underrated Movies

The holidays have ended and Im back at school, but with all that spare time - that Ill no longer have - I watched a whole lot of underrated gems (I saw a couple of these movies way back at the start of December). So in alphabetical order, Ill serve up a few words on Richard Linklaters Bernie, Ralph Fiennes Coriolanus, Tony Kayes Detachment, Lee Tamahoris The Devils Double, David Ayers End of Watch, and Amy Heckerlings Vamps.


Bernie (2011) / US / Out on DVD now / Directed by Richard Linklater / Written by Richard Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth / Starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman / 104 mins

Ive already said a lot about Jack Blacks performance as convicted murderer with a heart of gold, Bernie Tiede. And there wont be a point for a very long time where I dont champion that performance. Everything just clicks, and usually Black annoys the heck out of me. The movie itself is just wonderful - and I saw it twice in the holidays. I wouldnt say Im an expert on Richard Linklaters films, but I feel like he is one of the best working directors and no one really realises it. Hes just so consistent in his work. This film, all about the Bernie Tiede case where he kills a woman hes been living with (Shirley MacLaine) coz hes had it with her, is mostly told mockumentary style, with real people who were around during the whole ordeal relaying the events for the camera. It feels so real, in a bizarrely unreal way. To be honest, this is the Matthew McConaughey performance from 2012 that I have no trouble going back to again and again. I mean, who really wants to brave Killer Joe a second time? And yeah, Magic Mike wasnt my favourite.
Why see it? The performances. And it is damn entertaining.




Coriolanus (2011) / UK / Out on DVD now / Directed by Ralph Fiennes / Written by John Logan based on the play Coriolanus by William Shakespeare / Starring Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, James Nesbitt / 122 mins. 

Basically, this has been my most anticipated movie forever, not only because it is my favourite actor, Ralph Fiennes directorial debut, but because my favourite actress, Jessica Chastain is also in it. I mean, I could basically hear a choir of angels floating around going "this is all for you Stevee, you can just wait a year and a half for it though". I wouldnt say I completely loved the movie, particularly because admittedly, Im not so into Shakespearean language when I dont have the chance to fully digest them. This film takes the language and puts it into a very modern setting, filled with modern warfare and exile. The basic bones of the story is that theres much unrest in a city much like Rome, and a lot of people blame Roman general Caius Martius Coriolanus (Fiennes) for that, including his arch enemy Tullus Aufidius (Butler - turning in a surprisingly fantastic performance). The story definitely does fit the modern setting, particularly because the story is rather bleak and the setting is quite scarily empty and damaged, so they really go hand in hand. Fiennes has quite the flair for directing, especially getting the most he could out of modernising Shakespeare. I can see there was a bit of influence from Kathryn Bigelow - whom he worked with on Strange Days and The Hurt Locker - here, with his jerky camera and straight and narrow way of playing out the facts. Vanessa Redgrave turns in a performance which really should have been nominated for an Oscar last year. Jessica Chastain is wonderful, despite the fact she has very few opportunities to shine.
Why see it? It is a good - not great - modernisation of Shakespeare. Plus, Ralph Fiennes doing Shakespeare is one of the best things ever. And Jessica Chastain.


Detachment (2011) / US / Currently undated in NZ / Directed by Tony Kaye / Written by Carl Lund / Starring Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, Sami Gayle, James Caan / 97 mins.

Detachment is one film which I hadnt heard that much about until I happened to watch it by chance earlier this month. And Im damn glad that I did end up watching it. It is a film of many facets. In one way, it looks at the state of education in America from the point of view of the teachers. In another way, it looks at the state of the students who are being educated. In a whole different way, it is a character study of substitute teacher Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody in one of his best performances of the past few years), who is wandering through life trying not to care for or about anyone. It doesnt always meld these different facets together well, but that doesnt make it any less fascinating. I definitely wasnt expecting the film to pack such a punch like it did, but I havent been able to shake the end for quite some time. All I can say is that you see this flawed masterpiece for yourself. Even if Tony Kayes direction gets a little bit distracting sometimes, his film is something to behold.
Why see it? It is one of the most intriguingly made films to surface recently.


The Devils Double (2011) / US / Out on DVD now / Directed by Lee Tamahori / Written by Michael Thomas, based on the books by Latif Yahia / Starring Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast / 109 mins.

If you look at the poster to The Devils Double, we have a whole scene doused in gold, including Dominic Cooper holding a rather large gun. I dont know what it is, but theres something absurdly intriguing about this poster. And it pretty much sums up the film. It is based on the supposedly true story of Latif Yahia, who is hired to be the body double of Saddam Husseins sadistic son Uday, with Dominic Cooper playing both roles. Basically, the film is extremely sadistic, violent, and everything that makes an R18 film what it is. For the most part, it was so absurdly put together and the House of Hussein was one interesting place when put on film. I cant say it always had its eye on the ball the entire time (it seemed to delve into violence when it ran out of ways to go), but it was immensely entertaining even if it was sickening. By far and beyond the best thing about this film, though, was Dominic Coopers dual performances. Id put him just behind Michael Fassbenders performance in Shame for the best performances of 2011, hes that good. You can always tell exactly which character hes playing through his on point mannerisms and utter fearlessness. It may help that Ive always been a fan of Cooper - sadly from his "you tried" performance in Mamma Mia - but his performance here is truly back-breakingly fantastic.
Why see it? Dominic Coopers performance. And it is directed by a New Zealander. Not that youd realise it. Lee Tamahori has come a long way since Once Were Warriors.


End of Watch (2012) / US / Currently undated in NZ / Written and Directed by David Ayer / Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, David Harbour, America Ferrera, Cody Horn / 109 mins. 

To be honest, End of Watch was not high on my watchlist until every man and his dog kept raving about it. I sure as hell wasnt expecting to be sitting on the airplane flying over the Equator bawling my eyes out. Yeah, thanks for warning me about that everyone. Anyway, the film is filmed in a found footage kind of style that also has some other grainy, documentary style stuff going on at the same time. It is hard to explain, and while it is a little bit silly sometimes, it works for the most part (but that comes down to the fantastic material). It mostly just follows the story of cops Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Pena), both in their work and in their personal lives. Things go bad for them when a gang want them dead. Admittedly, the gang were a bit one dimensional and too annoying to be threatening, but that didnt really detract from what was going on. Whats interesting is that most of the banter between Taylor and Zavala was improvised, and it just felt totally natural. In fact, most things about this film felt totally natural, and thats why it worked so well. It isnt your typical cop drama - it is one that you should definitely believe the hype for. It was crazy good.
Why see it? It is one of the best cop films Ive seen in a long time.


Vamps (2012) / US / Out on DVD now / Written and Directed by Amy Heckerling / Starring Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Dan Stevens, Wallace Shawn, Sigourney Weaver / 92 mins.

Amongst all of these dramas and the like, heres a very light-hearted comedy that I guess is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, the mind behind Clueless, and also starring Cher herself, Alicia Silverstone, Vamps is a rather funny, but also kind of depressing vampire comedy. Silverstone stars as Goody, a nearly 200 year old vampire who lives in New York with her younger vampire sister Stacy (Krysten Ritter). The two pursue dating, and the later falls in love with none other than Matthew I cant drive properly Crawley from Downton Abbey, who is also named Joey Van Helsing of all things. Yeah, it is pretty silly, but what I loved most about this film, apart from Dan Stevens being adorable without being Matthew Crawley, was the fact that it was really just an ode to the past through Goody, as shes been through so many time periods in her life. The final montage was so beautiful, as it went through all the different fads and phases she had to go through in order to keep up with the human world. Plus, Krysten Ritter is awesome. I wouldnt say this film is amazing, but it is definitely an underrated comedy that deserves more of an audience.
Why see it? It is an ode to nostalgia - not as effective as Midnight in Paris, but close to it, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think of them?

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