Craft Party!

The other weekend I invited some of my lovely friends over to join me for a crafty brunch. 

I treated them with homemade waffles, fresh fruit, strawberry bruschetta and french breakfast donuts fresh out of the oven.

I asked each guest to bring a mug or plate to decorate because we were going to make sharpie mugs!

Have you tried this?!

The girls made some cute mugs and I decorated a couple of plates I thrifted a few days earlier.

We used Sharpie oil-based paint pens and after waiting a couple days I baked them at 425F for 30 minutes. I popped them in the oven as it was preheating so the ceramic could slowly rise to temperature. Once they were done I turned off the oven and left them cool with the door closed for 15 minutes. 

I cracked open the door to let them come down to room temperature.
They look good!

If you are looking to doodle on some of your own mugs, use caution when decorating with strong oil-based paints and when baking. Make sure you ventilate the room for safety.

It is recommended that you hand wash your new dishes. 

If you are decorating mugs, only decorate the outside of the mug. For plates, use them as decoration or serving trays. Do not eat or cook on them. 

We had so much fun we are going to have another one soon and I can't wait!

What should we make next?!

Have fun crafting!

Love, Katie

Katie's Kitchen: French Breakfast Muffin

Who is snowed (well, iced) in and loves baking muffins?
I do!
I found this recipe while strolling Pinterest the other week and I was in the mood for donuts this morning. 

Yes, these are not donuts. Donuts would have required a trip to the store.

 So I happily settled for this recipe that I had all the supplies for and did not need to leave the house.

These are crazy delicious, the ingredients are simple, and they whipped together super quick!

I enjoyed mine with some Toffee Nut Coffee.

A splendid way to start the day!

French Breakfast Muffin

Recipe adapted from Velvet Lava

Muffin:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 egg (preferably room temperature)

1/2 c. milk

Topping:

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium-large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a large ice cream scoop, I made 6 medium/large muffins out of this batter; My muffin pan is for 6 large muffins. You could get 10-12 muffins by using a smaller muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter in a separate bowl. Dip the top of the warm muffins into the melted butter, then dip/roll the muffin in the cinnamon sugar. 

So go. Make yourself some muffins. And then sit down, relax and think spring.
Perhaps begin shopping for a few new spring pieces in spring colors while visiting my spring color inspiration boards. Or maybe browse my summer Pinterest board.

Enjoy!

Love, Katie

Katie's Kitchen: Apple Cider Donuts

When I was a young child I use to spend hours running my restaurant in my parent's basement. 

I called it Katie's Kitchen and I was known house-wide for the tasty toy food dishes I cooked up in my pretend oven. I still enjoy playing in the kitchen, but now I actually cook some things you hopefully will find edible. Hence the title of a new blog series. 

We visited my brother and sister-in-law this weekend on our way to Clover Markets, which is fabulous and I totally recommend! Since we were spending the night I offered to make breakfast for everyone before we hit the road. I recently was on Pinterest and pinned every apple cider/pumpkin recipe I could find. I immediately knew I wanted to test out my brand new donut pan and make these delicious baked apple cider donuts. 

They look daunting, but I promise you they are easy to make and bonus, you can mix everything in one bowl! I used a heart-shaped donut pan I bought at Joann's when it went on clearance after Valentine's day. I am sure you can use any regular-ole donut pan, but I personally think heart-shaped anything tastes way better!
Happy Baking! 

Love, Katie

This recipe is from the blog: The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie. 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ tsp apple pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup apple cider
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a doughnut pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt. Stir in cider, milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.

Fill each doughnut cup 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

In a shallow bowl mix together white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Brush each doughnut with melted butter then toss in cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated.