I’m on a miniature baked goods kick.

A few months ago, I was on a curry kick, and I daresay the lingering smell of muffins and donuts stuck in my clothes and clinging to my kitchen cabinets smells infinitely better.

Sugar and butter always trumps garam masala, coriander, and tumeric in my book. Unless I can find a way to get those spices in a cookie.

Don’t encourage me.

So, these mini-donuts – how cute are they? They’re all dolled up with the sprinkles and the sugar and the coconuts. And the jazz hands (those aren’t pictured).

Oh, and they’re lemon. Bright, citrusy, sweet, and miniature. With sprinkles and jazz hands. Does it get any better?

In fact, it does. This is a reasonably light recipe, so a few of these won’t massacre your diet. Slipping a few of these onto each finger and dancing around the house to the BeeGees as you nibble through each donut covered finger may put a wrench in things, but I think the physical activity wins you a few points.

Just make sure your curtains are drawn when you do it. Because, you know, the neighbors (ahem, and their company) may not have an appreciation for your new workout.

Miniature Lemon Donuts

1 1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon half and half
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 drops yellow food coloring

Sprinkles, decorating sugar, coconut, etc for toppings

For the donuts: Preheat the oven to 425.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, sugar, and buttermilk until well blended. Whisk in the butter, lemon zest, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Fill the donut wells until 2/3 full and bake 6 minutes. Allow the donuts to cool completely before glazing.

For the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, lemon juice, zest, vanilla and food coloring. Whisk in the half and half slowly, until the glaze is well blended.

To finish the donuts, arrange a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Dip the top of the donuts in the glaze and set the donuts, glazed side up, on the cooling rack, allowing the excess glaze to drip down. Once the glaze has had a few minutes to set, decorate with sprinkles, coconut, sugar, etc as desired. Allow the glaze to harden before eating.

How was your Christmas? Was it merry and nice? Were your stockings filled with ice?

(Don’t ask. Just nod your head and smile.)

I know that I just posted a brownie recipe last week, and I know that I raved about how I love said brownies but here’s something weird: I don’t really, really love brownies. I mean that sometimes I want a brownie, and I REALLY just need a brownie. But most times, I can pass by a plate of brownies without much of a glance. Something about all that chocolate and not much else going on. I suppose that, alone, will get me voted off the island.

Give me a Blondie any day, however. I love the buttery brown sugar taste, the dense interior, and the crusty tops. Gve me that brown sugar base, and I can go to town pulling out all sorts of mad science moves, adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

This go round, I grooved with a lemon theme and added white chocolate chips. Admittedly, I was trying to suck up to Mr. Hausfrau, who la la loves la la lemon and hates the following:

Pumpkin
Sweet potatoes
Donuts
Peanut butter anyplace other than between two slices of white bread
Large quantities of chocolate
Mint desserts
Bacon anyplace other than beside a pile of eggs

(He’s such a boy.)

So, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know the past month has left him out of the desserts madness. And gifted me a few pounds. So, aside from sucking up, I thought it was high time for his pants to start straining some seams.

Not necessarily because misery loves company. But maybe because misery is ready to put away her elastic waist pants.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Blondies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a small bowl, combine the salt and flour. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until light. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat until well combined.

Fold in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Add the white chocolate chips and stir until evenly dispersed. Scrape the batter into an 8 x 8 pan and bake 25 minutes. Allow the Blondies to cool before slicing.