Tuesday, April 8, 2025

BOOK & TOTE GIVEAWAY NEWS + 7 Minute Apple Doughnuts for #Passover from @CleoCoyle



From Cleo CoyleThis recipe produces an amazingly delicious hot pastry that tastes like a cross between a hot apple pie and an apple croissant. It's my own rendering of a popular Passover treat. 

But before we get started on making it...

Marc and I would like to thank our readers for helping us celebrate the publication of our brand-new (21st) Coffeehouse Mystery, NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY, and tell you about a sweet giveaway now taking place at Kings River Life online magazine...



GIVEAWAY NEWS!


ENTER BY CLICKING HERE

KRL Magazine's Cleo Coyle

Prize Package Includes:

👉 A signed copy of NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY
in its beautiful first edition hardcover form.

👉 A sturdy, canvas Coffeehouse Tote Bag; 
A stack of glossy Cleo Coyle recipe cards.

AND....


☕ + A bonus prize of a bone china
Irish Blessing Coffee Mug from Royal Tara
for those of you who are subscribed to
to Cleo Coyle's newsletter. Want
to sign up? 
Subscribe here


👇

To enter the KRL giveaway, 
click here or on the 
red button below...


This hosted commet giveaway
at 
Kings River Life magazine
remains open until
Monday, April 14

See you there.

Good Luck, everyone! 

Now, for today's recipe...



Cleo Coyle writes two
 bestselling mystery
 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.


☕ A Recipe Note from Cleo

The start of Passover is coming up this Saturday, and like so many cultural celebrations around the world, the foods eaten (and not eaten) during this holiday help define, explain, and celebrate it.

One of the most important foods of Passover is matzo (aka matza or matzah), basically an unleavened bread that looks and eats like a large, flat cracker. While matzo is part of the ritual of this holiday, it's also a wonderful ingredient to cook with, and I've used it in this delightful recipe. 

These quick and easy "doughnuts" made from matzo cake meal are absolutely delicious. As I mentioned above, they taste like a cross between a hot apple pie and an apple croissant, and they're a real treat to eat. 

Just keep these two notes in mind...

1 - This recipe uses Matzo Cake Meal. Matzo "Cake Meal" has a texture that is more like flour. It is much finer than "Matzo Meal," an ingredient that looks and tastes more like Panko or cracker crumbs. For a visual difference, scroll down to my photo, and...

2 - Also note that raw flour will not give you the same amazing results, so do not attempt to substitute it. Matzo Cake Meal is not raw. It's an already-baked product made from finely ground matzos, and that's what you need for this recipe.

May you eat it with joy,
and (if you're celebrating)
have a good Pesach!

~ Cleo

👇

Matzo Cake Meal vs. Matzo Meal


**Thanks to Canadian Jewish News 
for publishing my photo!** 

🍎 As mentioned above, Matzo Cake Meal is much finer than Matzo Meal, more like flour than breadcrumbs. Matzo Cake Meal is what you want for this recipe!



ORDER UP!


To download this recipe in a
free PDF that you can print,
save, or share, click here.





🍎 Seven Minute Apple "Doughnuts"
for Passover by author Cleo Coyle

Serves 1 or 2 people

(double or triple for a larger group)


Ingredients:

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced into thin rings (about 1/8-inch in thickness)

1 large egg

1/2 cup water (or plain, unflavored seltzer)

2 teaspoons of a neutral-tasting oil (vegetable, canola, etc...)

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (or generous pinch of table salt)

1/3 cup (matzo) Passover Cake Meal (do not substitute flour*)
        + plus a little extra Cake Meal for Step 4

Oil for frying (use a neutral-tasting oil)


*As mentioned above, note that raw flour will not give you the same amazing results, so please do not substitute it. "Cake Meal" is not raw. It is an already-baked product made from finely ground matzos, and that's what you need for this recipe. 


Directions:

(1) Peel and core apple. For best results, I suggest a tart, firm apple like a Granny Smith. A sweeter apple will taste cloying. A mushy apple may not stand up to the high heat of frying.




(2) Cut into rings of about 1/8-inch in thickness. You'll get about 8 rings out of an average Granny Smith apple.



(3) Make Batter: Crack the egg into a mixing bowl. Add water, oil, and salt. Whisk well. Add the (matzo) Cake Meal and whisk very well, until you have a smooth batter. Now judge the thickness. The batter should be somewhat thick, but thin enough to pour—like a pancake or cake batter. See my photo. 



Be sure to get the thickness right...

Too thick? If the batter is too thick (like frosting), you’ll need to thin it out. Add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk again until smooth. (Continue adding small amounts of water until you get the consistency you need.) On the other hand…

Too thin? If the batter becomes too thin, add a bit more Cake Meal, and whisk well until smooth.

Sitting batter will thicken over time: As the Cake Meal sits in the liquid, it will absorb the liquid, expand, and thicken the batter. If you are not frying right away or if the batter sits for some time between batches, be prepared to whisk in a little more water to thin out the mixture again.

(4) IMPORTANT - Lightly coat apple rings with the (matzo) Cake Meal. This step is often missing from similar recipes, but it's important to prevent the batter from sliding off the slippery surface of the apple ring. Place a few extra tablespoons of dry Cake Mean into a bowl. Drop in apple rings and lightly coat both sides (as shown).



If you do not coat the apples with the powdery Cake Meal, the batter will have nothing to cling to and slide off the apple ring...

(5) Coat the apple ring with batter. Drop apple ring in batter and coat well. Hold the ring through the hole and allow excess batter to drip off. Then bring it to the pan of hot oil and gently lay it into the pan.



(6) Foolproof Frying...

IMPORTANT - Is the oil hot enough? Sprinkle a bit of dry Cake Meal into the pan. If the Cake Meal sizzles and dances, it's hot enough. If the Cake Meal sinks to the bottom, the oil is too cold.

Fry apple rings until golden brown, flipping the pastry halfway through the cooking process. You should see the oil bubbling up around the doughnut. If the oil is not bubbling, it's too cold. 

Do not crowd the pan. If you try to fry too many apple rings at one time, you will rapidly bring down the temperature of the oil, and you may need to adjust the temperature back up again to see those all-important bubbles.



If your oil is not bubbling around the frying apple doughnut (as shown above) it is not hot enough. (Click on my photo to enlarge.)

(7) Drain, cool a bit, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Drain doughnuts on paper towels for a minute or so. You want to cool off the finished doughnut a bit before sprinkling with sugar or the sugar will melt. 

Make cinnamon sugar by mixing ½ cup white, granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle liberally on the warm doughnuts and eat with Pesach joy!







Eat (and read) with joy!


New York Times bestselling author
of The Coffeehouse Mysteries and
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries


Cleo (Alice) with her husband Marc

Visit Cleo's online coffeehouse here.
And follow her at these links...


Just Released!


Our 21st 
Coffeehouse Mystery 

No Roast for the Weary!



"A KNOCKOUT STORY" 

"A JOY TO READ" 

"FUN AND FRESH"

Bookshop.org

+ More Buy Links



No Roast for the Weary is a culinary mystery with a killer menu of delicious recipes. Click here or on the image below to see the free illustrated guide to our book's recipe section...


Click here or the image above for
Cleo's Free Illustrated Guide to
the recipes you'll find published in
 No Roast for the Weary.





New Paperback Edition!

"Wildly Entertaining" 
~ Criminal Element


National Mystery Bestseller
#1 Amazon Category Best Seller
Fresh Fiction Readers' Selection
2 Best of Year Lists!



To Buy:






The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling works
of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark 
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the 
21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.  




Get a free Title Checklist of
Cleo Coyle's Books in Order
Click here 
or on the image below.





Don't Miss Our Latest
Haunted Bookshop
Mystery...

  
Jack & Pen 
Together Again!

"Amazing and Unique" 

~ Fresh Fiction


"DELIGHTFUL" ~ Kirkus Reviews

To Buy:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop.org

+ More Buy Links






👇


Cleo is now working on her 
next book and 
Newsletter!


Don't miss her book news, 
bonus recipes, and fun 

prize package giveaways!

TO SIGN UP...











GIVEAWAY NEWS!



AGAIN...

This giveaway is being hosted by
Kings River Life online magazine...

To enter the giveaway, 
click here or on the
red button below...


This hosted giveaway 
remains open until
Monday, April 14


Good luck!



11 comments:

  1. Cleo, those "doughnuts" look amazing. You had me at they taste like a cross between a hot apple pie and an apple croissant!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those doughnuts look like what we Dutch call "appelflappen." Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just picked up No Roast for the Weary over the weekend and I can't put it down. What a wonderful read! Thanks, Cleo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely post. I would love a few of those donuts to go with my coffee this morning, because today I start listening to the audio book for No Roast for the Weary. I'm going to slow drive to work and back home again so I can listen longer!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for the Seven Minute Apple "Doughnuts"
    for Passover recipe! Sounds absolutely delicious.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG, these look delicious! Thanks. Loved No Roast for the Weary!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Apple donuts! Yumm! May I suggest (as a new possible title) Hot Chocolate Murder?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations on NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY!!!! This is Luis, Luis at ole dot travel. I tried to enter a comment 3 times in the giveaway page and got error messages, so my comments did not post... this is a copy of my last attempt, which rendered the same error message: I have tried to write a comment twice and get this error message... (I had no numbers in my comments) I do want to thank you both for all the hours of fun you provide for us, your fans via your wonderful mysteries, plus culinary delicacies!!! This is the error I got...I hope this one goes through! forbidden - number in author name not allowed = speedily9bb13e6be3

    ReplyDelete
  9. The newest book is a delight!
    These "donuts" look wonderful. I was going to make them a while back when you posted the recipe. I even had the cake meal sitting on the counter to help me get inspired. I delayed so long, I had to throw out the cake meal.
    Here's to this year being a success!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey, everyone -- Belated THANK YOU for dropping by the Kitchen, and cheers to those of you who are supporting our work by buying or library borrowing our new Coffeehouse Mystery NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY. We appreciate it! We hope you all are enjoying the spring season, and for those who celebrate have a good Passover and Happy Easter, as well. xoxo

    With much love,
    Cleo
    Sign up for Cleo’s free Newsletter

    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
    HauntedBookshopMystery.com
    Friend or Follow Cleo Coyle on Facebook

    ReplyDelete