“Love is something you do: the sacrifices you make, the giving of self…love is a value that is actualized through loving actions. ” – Stephen Covey
If you’ve read the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steve Covey, it’s likely you’re familiar with the concept of “The Emotional Bank Account.” It’s a metaphor used by Covey to illustrate the amount of trust in a relationship. Covey asserts that we maintain an emotional bank account with anyone we come into contact with, including our spouse or significant other. As with any bank account, when we make money we make a deposit. We keep that money saved, and when we need it we make a withdraw. The difference is with an emotional bank account we are making withdraws and deposits not with money, but with our actions and emotions. The more positive and loving actions, the greater our emotional deposit is in the relationship.
My husband and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in May and over the past year the number one question we can get asked by friends and family is “how does it feel to be married?” We usually laugh and say it doesn’t feel any different, but when I really stop to think about it, it does feel as though we have a stronger bond with each other. Looking back, our wedding weekend and honeymoon were incredibly special and intimate events. We took the opportunity to focus on how our faith, our love and our trust in each other will guide our future together. I still get chills when I hear our first dance song or re-read our vows to each other, and I realize how grateful I am to be married to my best friend.
My husband & I have been friends for a long time and we have a strong foundation for our marriage, but that doesn’t mean we stop working on building a better relationship. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Covey describes six ways we can make deposits of trust with another person including:
- Understanding the Individual
- Keeping Commitments
- Clarifying Expectations
- Attending to the Little Things
- Showing Personal Integrity
- Apologizing When We Make a Withdrawal
When I first looked at this list the most significant was “Attending to the Little Things” as it is something my husband and I do for each other on a daily basis. I am a firm believer that in marriage, the little things add up over time. Any small gesture can show a person that you care and value them. Whether it’s buying your baking-like-a-boss spouse a doughnut pan (FINALLY right? I bet you were wondering what this post has to do with doughnuts) or setting aside time for a special date night. When we attend to and be present for all the little things we do for each other on a daily basis all those little things create a foundation of trust.
So now onto this awesome doughnut pan…it is really great. Plain and simple. This recipe is perfect for a classic cake-light doughnut that can be decorated with sprinkles and multiple layers of vanilla glaze, because too much glaze is never a bad thing.
Even though this is silicone non-stick pan, I still spray it with cooking spray to make sure the batter doesn’t get stuck. The doughnuts came out easily and it was worth it. I also used a decorating bag to pipe the batter into the pan which was also super easy because the batter is slightly thick and a little spongy.
I let the doughnuts cool on a baking sheet before I dipped them and drizzled them with vanilla glaze. Then I drizzled them with even more glaze, because once again, it’s a doughnut and they are meant to dipped in glaze over and over again and topped with plenty of sprinkles.
After eating these my belly and my emotional bank account were full!
- Yield: 6 doughnuts
Vanilla Glazed Baked Doughnuts
Adapted from, Eat Live Run
Ingredients
- Donuts
- All-Purpose Flour - 1 cup
- Granulated Sugar - 1/3 cup
- Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
- Baking Powder - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Unsalted Butter, chilled - 2 tablespoons
- Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
- Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
- Egg - 1
- Glaze
- Low-fat Milk - 1 tablespoon
- Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Sprinkles - optional but they are pretty
Instructions
DOUGHNUTS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives until the butter resembles pea-sized crumbles throughout the flour mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla and egg.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Using a pastry bag, pipe the batter into the greased doughnut pan.
- Bake the doughnuts for 15 minutes until golden.
- Using a small rubber spatula, gently lift the doughnuts out of the pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
GLAZE:
- Place the milk and powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl and mix until combined and no clumps of sugar remain. Feel free to double this recipe if you are a glaze obsessed individual like me.
- You can dip the doughnuts into the glaze or drizzle on top and finish with rainbow sprinkles or other toppings of your choice!
