We’re Supposed to Store Sugar, Right?

The February Family Fun Magazine has an article about the excessive consumption of sugar by American kids and includes a photo of a child surrounded by bags of sugar to illustrate the 116 lbs. of sugar comsumed by the typical child in a year.  It’s pretty shocking.  I was telling my darling husband about this article and lamenting how much sugar our own family eats.  I should have seen his response coming, but I didn’t.  He deadpanned, “Wow, we’re going to need to store a lot more sugar!” 

It’s true, we have more than just a sweet tooth…it could be a whole set of chompers.   We love to try new recipes, and one that we’ve had fun with is this Krispy Kreme donut copycat recipe.  There is nothing like a warm donut!  I never cared for donuts until I tried one warm.  We try not to make them too often, but we typically stir up at least one batch a year. 

However, the pics above show my new discovery that will certainly increase donut production in the Henke home.  The clever people at Alison’s Pantry have created fast and easy mixes for both raised and cake donuts that only require water and yeast.  They make mixing up the sweet delights shown above a very simple process.  Just remember to leave plenty of time for raising, because this essential step gives you dreamy light-and-airy results.  We opted to leave the donut holes in this time and make homemade Bismarks with AP’s Bavarian Cream filling (2 lbs. for only $2.39).  All we had to do was fill a pastry bag with the custard, add a round tip and press it into the  sides of the donuts.  We also love the Dawn cherry filling.  Before filling we dipped the warm donuts in a glaze.  Then when the glaze was set, we filled the donuts and iced with a decadent chocolate glaze on top.

Donut-making is just plain fun!  Everyone can customize their treat to their own liking.  You can roll them in a cinnamon sugar mixture or powdered sugar if you don’t want to mess with the glazing and filling.  The Alison’s Pantry mixes make this a really easy activity for a fun family night.  I think mixes make a nice addition to food storage.  If the power goes out this summer, you might find us frying donuts over a dutch oven in the backyard.

As a side note, Alison’s Pantry also has a new Luscious Eclair and Cream Puff Mix (one of the cream puffs is shown above on the red plate) that is fantastic for luncheons or tea parties.  You only have to add hot water.  It is so simple and gives you bakery results at home. You can fill with pudding, whipped cream or custard and they look impressive for very minimal effort.  Love these!