Month: October 2023

Baked Apple Cider Doughnut Recipe

Welcome back friends! Who wants some fresh and fluffy, oven baked, cinnamon and sugar coated apple cider doughnuts to enjoy on one (or more) of these beautiful autumn mornings? Maybe at a table with some coffee or tea and a good book? I know I do, so let’s bake some!

DOUGHNUT INGREDIENTS
  • 1 1/2 cups of apple cider
  • 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup of dark or light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or milk)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
TOPPING INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Reduce let’s reduce the apple cider. In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider to a gentle boil and let it simmer over medium heat until thick and reduced to about 1/3 cup (about 15 to 25 minutes), then set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease the doughnut pans with butter or nonstick spray, then set them aside.
  3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a large bowl, then set it aside.
  4. In another bowl, whisk the brown sugar, egg and sugar together until well combined. Then add the butter, buttermilk (or milk), reduced apple cider and vanilla; whisk again until well combined.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the apple cider mixture and beat until well combined and smooth.
  6. Transfer the batter into a disposable piping bag or a zip-top bag with a corner cut off. Pipe the batter into the prepare doughnut pans, filling each cavity 2/3 to 3/4 full.
  7. Bake the doughnuts for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, then remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer them onto a cooling rack.
  8. While the doughnuts are cooling in the pan, stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl and melt the topping butter in another bowl.
  9. Once the doughnuts have cooled to a comfortable handling temperature, brush or dip both sides of each one with butter and then dip each side in the cinnamon and sugar to coat.
  10. Enjoy!

*These doughnuts are best served immediately, but leftovers can e kept int he fridge for up to 3 days. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

The First 30 Minutes of Mineko’s Night Market

Have you ever been undecided on what to play next? 

Should you buy that game? Should you install that game?

I’ve been there, and sometimes you just need to take a look at the graphics, hear the music, and learn a little about the plot to see if it resonates with you before taking the next step. I’m here to help! I am creating the first 30 to the first 60 minute videos of games; indie and mainstream, new and old!

This week let’s take a look at the first 30 minutes of Mineko’s Night Market…

Do you want to play the rest? 

The First 60 Minutes of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Have you ever been undecided on what to play next? 

Should you buy that game? Should you install that game?

I’ve been there, and sometimes you just need to take a look at the graphics, hear the music, and learn a little about the plot to see if it resonates with you before taking the next step. I’m here to help! I am creating the first 30 to the first 60 minute videos of games; indie and mainstream, new and old!

This week let’s take a look at the first 60 minutes of Spider-Man 2…

Do you want to play the rest? 

How to Play – Monster Mash

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Monster Mash by Parker Brothers (and others) for up to 4 players! 

If you can’t tell from the packaging, this is a game from my childhood that my mom saved because we loved it so much! There are newer versions being sold now (like this one by Cra-Z-Art), but the premise is the same; press the button on the monster-maker, then find the matching monster and claim it before the other players do!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A monster-maker machine
  • 27 monster cards
  • 4 thwacker hands with suction cups
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Remove everything from the game box, and set the monster-maker machine on the playing surface so that everyone can see the monster that appears on it.
  2. Spread the monster cards face-up in the middle of the playing area so that no cards overlap and everyone can easily reach them.
  3. Each player takes a thwacker hand and the player closest to the monster-maker machine will press the button to start each new round.
  4. The monster-maker machine randomly selects and shows one monster for all the monster hunters to mash and capture. Look closely at the monster on the machine when the button pops up!
  5. Quickly all the players try to find the face-up monster card that matches the monster on the machine and mash it with their thwacker hand so that the suction cup picks up the card (if two players slap the monster card at the same time, the player whose thwacker hand is at the bottom of all the thwacker hands captures the card).
  6. If a player picks up the wrong monster card, he or she simply returns it face-up to the middle of playing area and everyone keeps hunting.
  7. The player who picks up and captures the correct monster card places it face-up in front of him or her. This ends the round everyone stops hunting.
  8. To start a new round, press the button on the monster-maker machine.
  9. If the monster-maker machine shows a monster that has already been shown and captured, players can try to capture it from the player that has it in front of him or her, unless that player mashes it first with his or her thwacker.
  10. Game play continues until one player captures 5 monsters, the first player to do this is the monster mash winner!

ENJOY!

The First 30 Minutes of Death’s Door

Have you ever been undecided on what to play next? 

Should you buy that game? Should you install that game?

I’ve been there, and sometimes you just need to take a look at the graphics, hear the music, and learn a little about the plot to see if it resonates with you before taking the next step. I’m here to help! I am creating the first 30 to the first 60 minute videos of games; indie and mainstream, new and old!

This week let’s take a look at the first 30 minutes of Death’s Door…

Do you want to play the rest? 

The Wild at Heart Recipe Guide

If there’s one thing I do when I play a game (besides trying to relax and enjoy myself), it’s look up information. I get curious or stuck, and I find myself turning to the internet for answers. There are a lot of good guides out there that are super helpful, but what I don’t see are an abundance of simple and clean visual guides that lay out all the information in one place.

I’ve been playing The Wild at Heart and I cannot get enough! I love befriending different types of sprites that help me solve puzzles and unlock new areas! To help on these adventures, Wake, Kirby and their sprites can collect ingredients to craft helpful items and I’m here to help!

This visual or infographic guide is organized into Meals, Tonics and Other categories, then alphabetically within each category.

Please let me know if you would like me to work on a guides for anything else within The Wild at Heart or if there are any games you would like to see visual information or guides for in the future! I love helping people, discussing games and organizing information!

The First 30 Minutes of The Wild at Heart

Have you ever been undecided on what to play next? 

Should you buy that game? Should you install that game?

I’ve been there, and sometimes you just need to take a look at the graphics, hear the music, and learn a little about the plot to see if it resonates with you before taking the next step. I’m here to help! I am creating the first 30 to the first 60 minute videos of games; indie and mainstream, new and old!

This week let’s take a look at the first 30 minutes of The Wild at Heart…

Do you want to play the rest?