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I have this like/dislike relationship with donuts. I absolutely love the way they taste in all their greasy, sugary, chocolatey goodness, but I dislike the way I feel after eating one. If I even begin looking at the ingredients on the box of store-bought varieties, I’ll walk away donutless. With the amount of baking that goes on in my home, you’d think that I would have attempted a “healthified” version before now. To be honest, I just never thought I’d be able to bake donuts that would resemble anything found in local donut shops or bakeries.
It wasn’t until my daughter asked for a cake pop maker for Christmas, that I started brainstorming how to use it to make “healthier” donut holes. Surprisingly, my first batch was a success and my kids were asking me to make them DAILY! They were a chocolatey delight to our palates and I even received several comments on Facebook and Instagram asking that I post the recipe, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with how they looked…until now.
It must have been meant to be for me to make donuts because today, I saw this mini donut maker while shopping at my local Walmart, and for $10, I could make donuts that actually look like donuts! Awesome.
Prior to today’s donut-making venture, I stuck to the basics…flour, brown sugar, dark chocolate cocoa powder, butter, eggs, vanilla… But then I started dreaming about ways to alter the recipe. I tried cutting back the amount of brown sugar, using whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and lastly, a gluten-free version. Interestingly enough, the most successful modification was the gluten-free dark chocolate donuts I made tonight.
As far as the sugar content, I was only able to cut the amount back by 1/4th because donuts should still be sweet. I personally love the way my recipe turned out, but definitely feel free to use the entire amount (which I’ll list in the recipe) if you like your donuts sweet.
Whenever I can substitute a whole grain flour in place of white flour, I do. Sometimes I’m able to replace it entirely, and other times (for example in my blueberry cornmeal pancakes), I can only replace half of the flour with a whole grain variety. If you want to use a whole grain flour in this gluten free dark chocolate donuts recipe, I recommend using a 50:50 blend of white and whole grain flours or the texture will be too grainy.
While I definitely haven’t eliminated gluten from my diet, I’ve thought about making that venture for health reasons. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for people who suffer from celiac disease or a gluten intolerance. My favorite gluten free flour mix is made by Arrowhead Mills. I like their Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix because I don’t typically have to add anything else, like xanthum gum.
Here is my recipe for Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Donuts!
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar if you prefer your donuts on the sweeter side, use 1 cup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten free flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
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Cream together butter and sugar
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Beat in eggs
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Stir in vanilla extract
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In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and cream of tartar
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Fold flour mixture into egg mixture and mix until combined
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Bake donuts according to your donut maker's instructions
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Allow donuts to cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar or glaze
We kept these donuts simple, but you could easily whip up a glaze and adorn with sprinkles for a more authentic bakery donut. I personally love that these donuts are made with real ingredients and baked as opposed to fried. I’m already dreaming up new flavor varieties I want to experiment with!
Have you ever made donuts from scratch? I’d love to hear about your favorite recipes!
Recipe: Adapted from Bella
Images: Rockin’ Mama
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