I normally don’t like donuts, but these look absolutely amazing! I love how the recipe uses such classic winter flavors as pumpkin and hazelnut to make these sugary treats simply irresistible.

I can’t wait to bake them for house guests over Thanksgiving weekend or serve them with hot cider. Delish!

Recipe (from Cannelle et Vanille via Bliss’d)

375 grams flour
55 grams hazelnut flour
10 grams baking powder
8 grams baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
10 grams salt
110 grams pumpkin puree
60 grams whole milk, room temperature
40 grams sour cream, room temperature
100 grams sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
60 grams butter, melted

Canola oil, for frying

400 grams sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
50 grams hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and finely chopped

In a large bowl mix together the flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin, milk, sour cream, sugar, eggs and melted butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and fold until it comes together. Don’t worry if it’s lumpy.

Dust your work surface with a bit of flour and dump the dough on it. Knead lightly until it comes together. Dust the top lightly with flour and roll to 1/2″ thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two round cookie cutters, cut out the doughnuts and place them on a sheet pan with a silicon mat or parchment and dusted with some flour.

To fry the doughnuts, fill a pan up to 2″ of canola oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 375F. Do not over-crowd the pan with doughnuts. Fry about 5 at a time (depending on the size of the pan). They will sink to the bottom but then float to the top. Turn them over and let them cook for an additional 2 minutes or so.

Drain them on paper towels and while hot, coat them with the cinnamon-hazelnut sugar.

A fun activity I’m starting to get into is making my own popsicles. It’s so simple and easy to do, plus you get to choose what goes into these perfect summer treats. All you need to do is purchase an inexpensive popsicle mold. Amazon.com has a variety to choose from including this one–Tovola Shooting Star Pop Molds.

For a delicious recipe for an orange creamsicle popsicle, go to Health.com. And for fun and exotic popsicle recipes like Mojito pops and Blueberry Cheesecake pops, check out the book, “Pops!: Icy Treats for Everyone” by Krystina Castella.

Here is a recipe for Honeydew Melon Pops from her book that was featured on TheNest.com, and a chocolaty invitation that would sweeten up anyone’s day!

Ingredients (makes 6)

4 cups diced (1/2-inch cubes) ripe honeydew melon
1/3 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 3 limes
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of honey

Combine 2 cups of the melon with the yogurt, lime juice and zest in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. In a microwave-safe cup, heat the honey in a microwave oven for 30 seconds, until thinned. Add the honey to the melon mixture; process again to combine. Stir in the remaining 2 cups melon. Fill the pop molds with the mixture. Insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds. Dip into this beautiful, amazingly juicy pop.