Salty and sweet.

Sweet and salty.

“Einhorn and Finkel. Finkel and Einhorn”. What? Pardon my manners. My thoughts tend to enter and exit like traffic on a highway. Or better, what’s that ecard currently making the rounds on the interwebs?   If you want to know what a woman’s mind is like imagine 2,463 browser tabs open at once. 

Well, let’s see if I can keep my thoughts on a straight path here because I’ve got to tell you about these doughnuts, y’all.

Do you ever have those moments where you’re hoping something will work out and suddenly the answers start popping up out of nowhere? For instance, when you’re strolling through the shoe aisle at Target in hopes of finding one pair of cheetah print flats in your size? Well, you finally spot a pair, try them on, and they FIT! And not only do they fit, they’re on sale. And then, the exact same pair in a turquoise color fits too! It’s one of those magical moments in life that makes you want to get jiggy with it.

Anyways, I had one of those magical moments last week when I was standing in the middle of my kitchen trying to brainstorm something fabulous for y’all to eat. I let my mind wander for a moment, and doughnuts immediately popped in my head. Mmmmm…doughnuts {said in a Homer Simpson voice}. Then I did a little more thinking. What should go on said doughnuts? Cereal? No, been there done that. Pop Rocks? Possibly. Oh, I know! Truckin’ popcorn, yo!

I could not believe I hadn’t thought putting popcorn with doughnuts before. Popcorn has been taking the food blogging world by storm lately, so naturally, why wouldn’t I add this salty treat to something sweet? I should totally be a poet.

If you like to co-mingle your salty and sweet flavors this doughnut has your name written all over it.  Just make the doughnuts.  And enjoy two of life’s pleasure at once!

Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze and Popcorn

Ingredients:

for the doughnuts:
2 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted

for the chocolate glaze:
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon hot water

2 cups popcorn, popped

Directions:

for the doughnuts:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs and butter. Beat until just combined. Fill each doughnut cup approximately 2/3 full.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until the top of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for 4 to 5 minutes before removing. Finish doughnuts with chocolate glaze and top with popcorn.

for the chocolate glaze:
In a saucepan, add chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Turn saucepan to medium heat, and stir frequently until all ingredients are incorporated. Add hot water and stir until glaze is smooth. Add more hot water if glaze is too thick. Glaze doughnuts immediately.

All images and text ©