September 2016

So, this is a DIY decor/home improvement blog – but I posted a photo on Instagram of a donut recipe that I threw together on Sunday, and I got so many requests for the recipe that I felt the need to share 🙂

Last Thursday marked the first day of Fall – woo!  I love this time of year – the chill in the air, changing leaves, apple cider, and all of the fun treats!  I picked up my first half gallon of Michigan apple cider last week, and it gave me a big craving for a cider donut!

You know when an 8-months-pregnant woman gets a craving, she’s GOING to feed that craving.

Unfortunately, I’m allergic to dairy and egg yolks (or FUN, as my husband calls it), so I can’t have apple orchard donuts.  It’s a tragedy, I know.  The only way around this is to make my own – and I wanted to pack as much fall into a donut as possible, which is why I decided to go the pumpkin + cinnamon + sugar route.  This recipe makes 12 donuts, and they’ll last you approximately 5 minutes before you’ve eaten them all.  Sorry.

Ingredients:

Donut Batter
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
3 Tbsp. Red Mill Egg Replacer (+9 Tbsp. warm water, whisked together)
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Canned Pumpkin Purée
1 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. Unbleached Flour (I used King Arthur All-Purpose Flour)

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).  Lightly spray two donut pans with cooking spray, and set aside.

2. To make your “eggs”, whisk together your egg replacer and 9 Tbsp. of water until all lumps are gone.

3.  Beat together the coconut oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.

4.  Add the flour, stirring in gently just until smooth.

5.  Pour your batter into a gallon ziploc freezer bag, and cut off a small corner. This is the cleanest way to fill your donut pans!  Pipe the batter into each donut cup, about 3/4 full.

6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of a donut comes out clean.

7.  Remove from the oven, and let cool in the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack covered in parchment paper.  Let the donuts cool until they’re still warm, but not too hot to handle (about 15 minutes).  If you let them cool completely, the topping won’t stick.

8.  While your donuts are cooling, mix your cinnamon and sugar together for the topping in a medium-sized bowl. Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, coat each one generously with your topping mixture, and return to the cooling rack.

9.  You can store these at room temperature for 2 days (they won’t last that long, I promise).

These are best served immediately with a mug of hot apple cider – the crunch of the cinnamon/sugar topping + the cakey texture of the donut is amazing.  Plus, the fact that they’re baked means that if you eat 6 in one sitting you won’t feel (that) guilty. 🙂

Enjoy, and Happy Fall!