Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate and Toasted Coconut

After months and months of posting bump photos, I’m excited to announce that my husband and I welcomed a perfect baby boy into our lives on Christmas Eve. That’s right, our dream finally came true in an 8 pound, 13 ounce, 20.5 inch bundle of joy … and it was the best Christmas present ever.

So, as one could imagine, our lives over the past few months have encountered diaper changes, sleep changes, work changes … as soon as he was placed in my arms, I knew that our lives had changed forever.

It took weeks upon weeks for it to finally set in that we had a baby. My husband couldn’t believe that I was having a hard time allowing it to sink in, especially with all of the changes that immediately took place.

To me, we wanted a baby for so long and when I finally saw the positive sign on the pregnancy test after taking what seemed like hundreds of tests, the whole thing seemed unreal. How could I grow a human being?

From watching my bump grow to feeling the baby kick, the pregnancy was such a breeze and I enjoyed every minute of it. Because I was terrified of labor and delivery, I was more than happy to be pregnant for the rest of my life. I think Nugget had the same thoughts because he was nice and cozy … and days past his due date. Just like his mother (who is late for everything), he was late for his own birth.

And then it happened…

The contractions, the pains, the scares, the pushes, and, after 13 hours, the doctor looked at my husband and asked, “What is it?” After doing a double take, he proudly announced, “It’s a boy!” They looked at me and asked, “What’s his name?” In complete shock (we both had a feeling that we were having a girl), I proudly announced, “Hudson Michael.”

When the doctors and nurses left the room, it was just the three of us … our new family. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of love that filled the room. We couldn’t stop staring at our little creation. He was perfection at its best.

I was finally a mother and my husband was finally a father. Up until that point, we had never known a love as strong as the love that we had for our son. The bond was instantaneous and the love was extreme.

From his fingers to his toes, his eyes and his nose … from trying to get pregnant to finally having a baby, the ride was quite an adventure and finally seeing him in our lives, the miracle that he was, was the reason why it was so hard to allow everything to sink in and become real. We finally had a baby.

We have found the transition into parenthood to be quite a ride. Through it all, the most amazing part has been watching him grow and seeing his personality come alive. Grabbing onto our fingers, smiling for the first time, laughing at us, rolling over, learning his voice … he is growing by leaps and bounds day by day.

Waking up to his smile is one of the best parts of my day. Kissing him goodnight is the perfect way to end every day.

Your smiles and your frowns, your laughs and your cries … We love you so much, Hudson, and can’t imagine our lives without you.

Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate and Toaster Coconut

Ingredients:

• 1 canister of Pillsbury Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuits
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of chocolate buttercream frosting
• 1/2 cup of shredded sweetened coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Take the biscuits out of the canister and cut holes in the center of each biscuit. 
3. Dip the entire doughnut in the melted butter. Place the doughnut on the baking sheet. Repeat with all of the biscuits.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the doughnuts are baked. At the same time, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the coconut on the foil. Place the baking sheet in the oven along with the biscuits.
5. Remove the biscuits from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool.
6. Remove the coconut from the oven when it turns a light brown color.
7. Spread the frosting on the top of each doughnut. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the frosting.

What’s your favorite kind of doughnut?

*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Pillsbury.