I was recently visiting the orchard outside of my hometown to look at their selection of mums when the most heavenly aroma drifted under my nose. I wandered inside the shop and there, in a six-foot-high stack by the cash register, were what looked like one million apple cider donuts. Having not the funds to buy all one million of their fresh, warm and sweet cake circles, I bought a half dozen that I would share with family (or so I told myself).
Before my car pulled into my driveway, I had already devoured two of the apple cider donuts; with every bite the sound of angels singing became louder and more beautiful. “Do I dare have another?” I thought to myself while still parked in front of the house. By now the entire car smelled like apples and sugar and it took all of my willpower to turn off the engine and bring the donuts into the house for my grandparents to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee.
Later that day I got to thinking about how I had a similar reaction to the black garlic maple chocolate chip cookies we had made last Christmas; I was on a holiday diet, but I had stood in the kitchen scooping batter into my mouth like an unsupervised child! Fortunately, my grandfather ate practically every cookie as they came off the hot sheet so I didn’t have to worry about leftovers tempting me. I wondered if perhaps there was a black garlic donut like that cookie that could make the angels sing…
Turns out someone has already created a Black Garlic Chocolate Donut with maple syrup (my heavens!) and I can’t wait to give it a try. I just got back from vacation AND I am in the process of moving into an apartment so I have not been able to whip-up a dozen of these delights just yet but I wanted to share the recipe right away because, if they are as good as they sound, they will make an excellent warm, sweet treat for the chilly Midwest nights we have been getting lately! Remember to share!
Black Garlic is truly an excellent addition to sweet treats like donuts, cookies and cakes, or recipes that call for maple syrup. It also pairs very well with chocolaty or buttery desserts! A little goes a long way and there are multiple forms you can use when adding it to a recipe: diced cloves of black garlic in your cookies, black garlic powder in your frosting (available in organic), and black garlic puree in your sweet bbq meat rubs, are just a few examples!
If you are new to cooking with Black Garlic, please go to some of our resources for ideas, tips and recipe inspiration, including How to Cook with Black Garlic, our Black Garlic Recipes Table of Contents, and this article from Serious Eats referenced in our Black Garlic FAQ’s page: “Hey, Chef, What Can I Do with Black Garlic?” by Jacqueline Raposo. You can also stay right here and peruse the blog for our other Recipes of the Week!
Want to grab some Maple Syrup for this recipe? We highly recommend our own Dunek’s brand Maple Syrup, available in 4 grades: Golden, Amber, Dark and Very Dark (our most popular grade is the Dark) but you can read all about the grades here.
Stay hungry, Black Garlic fans!
Nat
