Baked Doughnuts - Gluten Free Option
Prep Time
15 - 20 minutes
Prep Notes
Baked doughnuts are a healthier choice than fried.
It's important to understand when transforming from SAD to GLAD - taste buds need to be retrained to accept and appreciate healthier options which are NOT as sweet and have a slightly different texture than modern day conventional, processed foods.
Health options for sweet will NOT be as sweet as conventional recipes.
Therefore, healthier recipes will not be as "sweet" as we are used to. Our taste buds need to be re-trained to appreciate less sugar - the "high" of sugar needs to be removed so that the "pop" of sweetness on the tongue is diminished and a nice, calm appreciation of sweet is appreciated.
Also, when transitioning from gluten to non-gluten options, it is important to understand that texture is different.
These baked doughnuts are chewy and 'springy" not like the "cake" texture of conventional fried doughnuts.
REMEMBER: Conventional, highly refined sweets need to be "crowded out" with healthier choices. Taste buds can be retrained to desire less sweet options.
Sweetness levels of foods need to be decreased when transitioning from SAD to GLAD. We need to retrain our taste buds where sweet cravings are concerned with intention and choice.
When we understand that "healthy sweet" is not the same as "addictive sugar chemical high" we begin to heal and retrain our taste buds to enjoy and appreciate sweet as it should be. ______________________________________________________________________________
Tools: You will need a doughnut baking pan for this recipe.
When making healthier choices in cooking and baking it is important to use organic oil.
For this recipe choose either coconut oil, MCT oil or Chosen Blend; these oils can be found online at good prices; or at Sprouts or Whole foods if you live in Southern California.
For coconut oil - "refined" coconut oil has - zero - coconut flavor. I find for baking I don't mind using regular or "virgin" coconut oil as the coconut flavor pretty much disappears when baked.
However, when I am cooking eggs, or vegetable foods I do not want to taste coconut - so for me refined coconut oil works best. To learn the difference between refined and virgin coconut oil check it out (here)
Cooking Time
11 minutes
Yields
12 doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup organic butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil; melted - OR MCT oil - or Chosen Blend organic oil
- 1 cup organic coconut sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Agave syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon pink salt
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups organic unbleached flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION:
- 1/4 cup organic butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil; melted - OR MCT oil - or Chosen Blend organic oil
- 1 cup organic coconut sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Agave syrup
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon pink salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups Pamela's Artisan Gluten Free - Non-Dairy flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray doughnut pan with coconut cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, coconut oil, and sugar; combine thoroughly, mixture will be grainy.
- Add the eggs, beating to combine thoroughly.
- Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
- Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. If adding chocolate chips - or apple & nuts - add now to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pan, filling the wells to about 1/4 inch shy of the rim. Batter is extremely sticky. Use your fingers or spatula to flatten and press down batter to the smoothest you can. This is a little tricky, but the better you pull this off to smooth the batter, the better the doughnuts turn out when baked.
- Bake the doughnuts for 11 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 - 7 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a rack.
Glazed doughnuts: - When doughnuts are completely cool - Use 1 cup sifted confectioner sugar, 1 tablespoon melted organic butter, 1 tablespoon hot water, 1 teaspoon vanilla mix together adding more hot water a little at a time if necessary to make a thin glaze, pour over doughnuts, immediately sprinkle lightly with color sprinkles or chopped nuts.
Notes
Baked Doughnut Recipe Variations:
Chocolate Chip: For chocolate-chip doughnuts use organic chocolate chips and stir in about 3/4 cups at the end of the mixing process just before adding them to the baking pan..
Powder Sugar: Shake warm doughnuts in powder sugar. You can use non-melting white sugar instead of confectioner's sugar for a true white doughnut.
Cinnamon Sugar: Shake warm donuts in a mixture of cinnamon & granulated sugar.
Glazed doughnuts: - Use 1 cup sifted confectioner sugar, 1 tablespoon melted organic butter, 1 tablespoon hot water, mix together adding more hot water a little at a time if necessary to make a thin glaze, pour over doughnuts, immediately sprinkle lightly with color sprinkles or chopped nuts.
Chocolate doughnuts: Sift together dry ingredients adding 3/4 cup raw cacao powder to the flour mixture.
Apple Pecan doughnuts: Add 3/4 cup peeled, diced organic apples and 1/2 cup diced pecans to the wet ingredients and process according to recipe. These doughnuts are delicious topped with the glaze recipe.
- When trying to get kids to eat healthier - cutting the sugar by 1/2 in traditional recipes is a way to transition away from catering to the demanding "sweet tooth."
Using organic ingredients helps you serve more healthy choices without depriving kids - and adults - from enjoying occasional special treats.