Peanut Butter and Jelly Mini Doughnuts!

“I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Holstein Housewares. I received product samples to facilitate this post well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

Hello from Boston, where we're buried under the 76" of snow that has fallen in the last two weeks. Believe everything you see on the news. Its a war zone out here. You can bet that we've had our share of indoor play days and we're going a little crazy from not leaving the house in so long!! We needed something fun and new, and a treat maker was just what the doctor ordered! Holstein Housewares to the rescue!

Holstein Housewares is a family-friendly brand that specializes in small kitchen appliances that create delicious treats and healthy meals for families and entertaining. Their products can be incorporated into everyday cooking and easily complement homemade recipes and new meal ideas, all while saving time and creating opportunities to spend time together as a family. We were sent a Doughnut Maker and it is everything I hoped it would be: simple, easy, and lots of fun to use with the kids!

My first sigh of relief cam when I opened the box and found a manual with a number of delicious doughnut recipes. I was glad that I didn't have to do some recipe hunting before we gathered the kids. The kids were ecstatic, to say the least! We picked out a simple Vanilla Doughnut recipe to begin with, then made a jelly doughnut variation of it below later. I found that putting the batter in a frosting bag made filling the rings a breeze.

The kids LOVED being involved! While I wouldn't let them get too close to the hot griddle, they could still carefully close the lid and watch for the green light to turn on. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait for the oven to preheat or for a long baking period. These little rings cook up pretty quick!

Another reason why I was so excited to try this treat maker with my kids is because we just brought home our new baby this week, and my husband and I felt like the two boys really needed some attention and time with their mom. Its so easy to feel neglected with a new baby in the house, and this baking adventure turned out to be such a great bonding experience for the three of us. We laughed, made messes, got our clothes covered in frosting, and sure had a fun afternoon together!

We made these mini doughnuts in the middle of (you guessed it) another snowstorm that cancelled church and left us with not much to do inside. Since we STILL haven't left the house since we made these, they've been begging nearly every meal to pull out the treat maker again.

These mini doughnuts are so cute and little! They make perfect treats for toddlers and would really be fun in a party setting. I can see these being a big hit at birthday parties and when family comes to visit. With six doughnuts in each cycle, there are enough to decorate and eat while the next batch cooks.

We pulled out this treat maker again on Valentine's Day, and it was the perfect holiday treat! I love making holidays special with some sort of special food we don't normally eat. We also tried a new variation that might be a new favorite! Peanut butter and jelly donuts!

We started with the basic recipe and added a cup of strawberry jelly to the batter.

¾ C. softened butter

2 C. powdered sugar

3 large eggs

⅔ C. flour

1 T. vanilla

1 C. strawberry jelly or preserves

To make the peanut butter frosting, I used one part peanut butter to two parts powdered sugar, and then added milk by the tablespoon until the consistency was right -- smooth and creamy. I put the frosting in a piping bag and dressed up the mini doughnuts after they'd cooled. Delicious!!

We really had fun with this and I'm excited to test and showcase more Holstein Housewares soon! Watch for the next batch of treats in a few weeks!

Connect: You can connect with Holstein Housewares on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Buy it: Besides doughnut makers, you can find many more family friendly Holstein Housewares products on their website, and their products can be purchased right from their website.