Psycho Donuts, or How One San Jose Donut Shop Reinterprets a Classic Treat

Last weekend I flew to the Bay Area to attend an amazing annual concert called the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View. My mom picked me up at the airport, and instead of going home, we took a little detour.

First, we stopped at the Campbell Library to check the used cookbook rack for hidden treasures. Then we drove to a donut shop. But not just any donut shop. A donut shop that had caution tape posted all over the facade. The sign on the front door said, "Open for insanity." Employees were dressed as nurses.


And then there were the donuts. Donuts with a pumpkin in the center, or even a finger! There was a raised donut dusted in oreo cookies, filled with dark chocolate, and the sides punctured by chocolate pocky sticks. The result? The Eight Legs of Horror (a donut that looks like a black widow!)! I decided on a chocolate cake donut that was covered in crushed butterfinger.


What the heck kind of donut place is this? Is it just gimmicky but not delicious? Nope. It's campy fun and yummy, too. The donuts are not greasy at all, and the cake donut I had was the perfect texture.


I could see picky eaters or traditionalists having a difficult time ordering something since there are hardly any traditional options. Then again, the place was packed when we stopped by, everyone getting their crazy donuts with cereal or candy bars or marshmallows or pretzels on top. It was very bizarre for us. Fun, but bizarre. But for Psycho Donuts, it was just another normal day in the neighborhood.

Highly recommended!

Locations
2006 S. Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA 95008
288 S. 2nd Street, San Jose, CA 95113

Photo Gallery of Unprecedented, Super Weird, Totally Delicious Donuts

Double Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

That's right. Two chocolates and cinnamon. If I do my math correctly, then 2 + 1 = triple threat?

This recipe comes from Mixingbowl.com magazine, which I'd never heard of until a week ago. My parents drove down to LA to help my sister and her husband pack up their condo to move (They bought a house! They got the keys last night!). I came over to help. And I ended up packing with them till 3am, then sleeping on their couch the rest of the night. During one of my mom's many drives to the grocery store, Home Depot, or moving supplies store, my mom picked up this MixingBowl.com magazine as a thank-you to me for helping out. You know, Mom, I would have done it for nothing, but you know what else, Mom? I won't say no to a baking magazine. So thanks!

Apparently there's an online baking community with members who love to bake and post recipes and then some are selected for the print edition. It's a fun website. Who knew! So this recipe comes to you from member CULINARYCARA. I suppose it also comes from my sister. I mean, I have to thank my sister for moving, because I never would have known about this magazine or the delicious cookie recipe inside it if I had not come over to help my sister pack and somehow compel my mom to treat me to a gift.


Double Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
Adapted from a recipe by MixingBowl.com member CULINARYCARA in MixingBowl.com Magazine's Fall/Winter 2010 edition

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (I skipped this)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients by sifting together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and the cayenne if you're using that. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium to high speed. Beat in the two eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap across your work surface. Drop cookie dough along most of the length of the plastic wrap to form a log. Wrap tightly. Repeat with another piece of plastic wrap to create a second dough log. Each log should be about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. It actually took me three logs to use up the dough. Refrigerate until chilled.

Remove a log from fridge and let thaw only long enough to be able to slice the cookie dough, but not so long that the dough is soft again (because it's much easier to slice when still pretty chilled). Place the cookie dough slices about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 or 9 minutes, or until the edges are set but the center still feels soft. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Combine dry ingredients...

Set aside...

Cream the butter and both sugars...

Add the eggs, one at a time...

Add the vanilla...

Add the dry ingredients...

Stir in chocolate chips...

Form logs with the dough and chill in fridge...

Slice the logs...

Place the slices evenly apart on the cookie sheet...

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 8 minutes...

Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes, then transfer from pan to wire rack...

Yum!!

Lick-Your-Fingers Kugel with a Praline Topping

This kugel recipe has become a staple in my family. It is served a couple of times a year and is always requested. It's even included in our family cookbook. For those still unfamiliar with kugel, it's basically a noodle pudding made like a casserole, and it's a very traditional Jewish dish.

For those of you who are not new to kugel, you may have had kugel before, but I'd bet money you have not had a kugel this sweet. It's almost dessert because of the praline-like topping, made from combining pecans with brown sugar and butter. If you want to make this pareve, simply use margarine instead of the butter. Because you place the mixture into a tube or bundt pan, the result is a beautiful ring-shaped kugel that is sure to impress your guests!


This is really one of my favorite recipes. It's one of the best kugels on earth, perfect any time of year, so easy to make, and brings back all sorts of happy family memories. The name it was given in Joan Nathan's cookbook says it all: Lick-Your-Fingers Kugel. I don't dare modify that already-perfect moniker, but I will suggest an additional one. So without further ado, I give you: The Kugel That Makes You Go Oooooh.


Lick-Your-Fingers Kugel
Adapted from a recipe by Joan Nathan in Cooking in America, and originally from the North Shore Hadassah

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter or margarine, divided
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup pecans, halved
1 pound wide noodles
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Choose your pan: either a 12-cup mold or a tube pan (angel food cake pan) or even a bundt pan. Divide the butter in half and cut into chunks. Place chunks of half the butter or margarine in the bottom of the pan, then place in the oven just until the butter melts. Swirl it around so it coats the bottom of the pan and also tilt the pan so it coats the sides. Sprinkle the brown sugar around the bottom of the pan and press down with the back of a spoon. Press the pecans into the brown sugar.

Boil the noodles according to the package directions. Drain.

In a large bowl, add the eggs. Melt the remaining half of the butter and add that into the bowl. Add the cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Combine these ingredients well, then add the noodles and stir until they are all coated. Pour the mixture into the baking pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the top of the kugel is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. You'll notice after you've inverted the kugel that the top, which has the pecans and brown sugar and butter, become slightly hard just like those delicious praline candies!

Serve the kugel cold or at room temperature. Yields 10 to 12 servings. Can be made dairy or pareve. Enjoy!


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Place chunks of butter in the baking pan...

Melt the butter and swirl around the bottom and sides of the pan...

Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter...

Press the brown sugar into the butter...

Press the pecans into the brown sugar...

Boil the noodles...
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt...

Stir well...

Toss the noodles with the egg mixture...

Pour into the baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour 15 minutes...

Let stand 15 minutes out of the oven (but still in the pan), then invert onto a serving plate (and notice the praline topping!)...
Slice and serve!