Was this really only a 4 day work week?
I am exhausted. The second week curse. When school starts up the first week is sometimes way to ease into our work, and you still feel invigorated at the end. You may even feel really productive and ready to take on lots of work.
Then the dreaded second week comes and you start counting down the weeks until Thanksgiving. And then you get irritated by the fact that Thanksgiving is occurring later than usual this year.
Things are stressful but good this semester. I am finally getting in the swing of starting to see clients, and teaching is going better. At the end of the first week I was ready to stop (prepping is a huge time suck), but this week I was kind of reminded why I love the subject of psychology so much. I kind of got into a groove of how to give a lecture. But I still cannot get students to laugh at my jokes- I just look to a sea of blank faces. Their blank faces in turn make me act goofier, which leads to more blank faces.
Next week I plan to help them make a brain out of playdoh (playdough?), which apparently is an activity students love. Give a college student playdoh, and they’ll love class. So many colors of playdoh, so many parts of the brain! I will let you know how that goes given that my knowledge about the brain construction ain’t super extensive.
But that’s next week. It is now the weekend- hallelujah! So what should one do when they are feeling a little stressed by work? Deep fry something. It all began with my Chorizo Chimichangas and has now proceeded to donut holes.
I made these donut holes last weekend, but I definitely feel like they would be an appropriate way to celebrate surviving the second week of this semester. They are absolutely amazing. I was inspired by Gourdough’s, a food truck in Austin whose specialty is donuts. I ate there a year ago, but those donuts have stayed with me. An important, formative memory in my life.
Donut holes are great because a) they are bite sized, so you can eat more, b) better outside crispiness to inside ratio, c) you can load them up with lots of topping. This particular toppings for this recipe are like cherry pie and cake all in one. You get a sweet Greek yogurt sauce (because we are trying to be healthy right?), cherry filling, and cake batter AKA crack all on top of sweet donut holes. Yummm.
A helpful hint: If you make them the donut holes a little larger, you get cooked donut outer layer and an inside molten cake batter layer inside. Heaven is risking salmonella.
This donut holes are worth of a Meg Ryan faked orgasm. Yes. Yes! YES!
CHERRY BOMB DONUT HOLES
From Cinnamon Freud
Inspired by Gourdough’s
INGREDIENTS
For the Donut Holes:
1 1/3-1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the Toppings:
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup cherries in syrup
1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 teaspoon water
3-4 tablespoons cake mix
DIRECTIONS
For the Toppings:
Mix together Greek yogurt, sugar, and milk in a small bowl. Start with 1 tablespoon of milk and add more to adjust your preferred thinness. Chill until ready to use.
Place cherries (with syrup) in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and mix in cornstarch mixture. Cook until thickened, about 1-3 minutes. Keep warm.
For the Donut Holes:
Fill a pot or pan with approximately 2 inches of oil. Heat to 375°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Beat in egg, milk, and melted butter. Stir together until just combined. Take approximately 1-2 heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into a small ball.
Working a few donut holes at a time, fry in oil, about 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Top donut holes with sweet yogurt sauce and cherry syrup. Sprinkle bake batter mix on top.
Serves 1-2
cinnamon freud 