Nearly every week, my guy wants to go to his favorite burger joint. With a huge emphasis on their ground beef patties, their other menu options leave a lot to be desired, so I rarely order anything. However, my guy quickly realized that he could always bribe me to go… With French fries. I end up sneaking half of the basket every time!
This past week, with all of the holiday craziness—presents to buy, wrapping paper to wrestle with, cookies to bake, fudge to make—we ended up walking through the restaurant’s doors two different nights. We had no time to cook, let alone wash dishes, if we wanted all of those gifts to end up at the right homes!
On our way in and out of the burger place, we walked past the windows of a huge donut bakery chain. There were pictures plastered across the glass panes, each advertising a special holiday treat: red velvet, Christmas wreath rounds, and even a snowman-shaped one!
Since I had already consumed my fair share of grease (fries are my biggest weakness…), I managed to avoid those tempting holiday donuts, but when I arrived home, I decided to make my own healthier ones the following morning for breakfast. These Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze were the result!
Since I’m sure we’ve all eaten plenty of cookies and fudge (and possible exercised a bit more to compensate!), I made these donuts lighter by baking them instead of frying. That means you can have two for the equivalent of one donut shop treat! I used my electric donut maker to free up oven space for more cookies, but you could easily use donut pans and bake these in the oven too.
The donut batter is similar to muffin batter, and this recipe is completely clean-eating friendly. It contains nothing processed or overly refined. Whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and Madhava’s coconut sugar. These healthier donuts are just as soft and tender as typical fried cake ones—and even more irresistible because of it!
The maple glaze is even simpler: just Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and more of Madhava’s coconut sugar. Stir those together in a bowl until the sugar dissolves, and that’s it! I’m not a huge fan of the taste of raw powdered sugar, so I much prefer the pure sweetness of this glaze. Plus it sneaks in a little extra protein too!
Along with all of the other holiday traditions and tempting treats, these Baked Gingerbread Donuts deserve a place at your breakfast table! They’re healthy, easy, and even better, Madhava wants to give you the chance to win some of their products in their “Healthier for the Holidays” Giveaway!
To enter to win one of their weekly prizes, just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter box below. This portion of the giveaway will be open until December 29, and the winner will be able to select 5 of their products to sample! It sometimes takes a few minutes to load, so be patient! (If you’re reading this in an email, click on the link to enter.) After logging in with your email address or Facebook account, enter using as many options as you’d like.
To enter to win their grand prize pack, visit their Facebook page by December 26 and follow their simple directions. This winner will receive a Nespresso VertuoLine and an assortment of Madhava agave coffee syrups!
*Madhava Giveaway will be open until 11:59 PM Pacific Time on December 29, 2014. Open to the US only. Winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond, or else a new winner will be selected.
So cheers to healthier holiday baking, festive donuts, and fun gifts!
| Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze | | Print |
- for the donuts
- ¾ c (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free flour (measured correctly)
- ¾ tsp (2) baking powder
- ¾ tsp (2g) ground ginger
- ¼ tsp (<1g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) molasses
- ¼ c (48g) Madhava Coconut Sugar
- 3 tbsp (45mL) nonfat milk
- for the glaze
- ¼ c (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 4 tsp (16g) Madhava Coconut Sugar
- 1 tbsp (15mL) pure maple syrup
- Preheat an electric donut maker. (For a conventional oven and donut pans, see Notes below.)
- To prepare the donuts, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the molasses and coconut sugar. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Transfer the batter to a large zip-topped bag, and snip off one corner.
- Lightly coat the cavities of the donut maker with nonstick cooking spray. Pipe the batter into the cavities, filling each to the rim. Close the lid, and bake for 5-6 minutes, or until barely firm to the touch. Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool, and repeat with any remaining batter.
- To prepare the glaze, stir together the yogurt, coconut sugar, and maple syrup in a small bowl until the coconut sugar has dissolved. Dip each donut into the glaze, and return to the wire rack to let the glaze set.
White whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour. (All-purpose should work too.)
You’ll only use about half of the glaze, which is taken into account in the Nutrition Information below. It takes a while for the coconut sugar to dissolve, so keep stirring! The glaze will keep for up to 1 week if covered and stored in the refrigerator.
If baking in the oven, the recipe should yield 5-6 donuts in a regular sized donut pan or 12-14 mini donuts in a mini donut pan. Bake at 350°F until the donuts look golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
This post was sponsored by Madhava Natural Sweeteners. As always, all opinions, text, images, and recipe are my own.
More baked donut recipes from other bloggers…
♥ Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts by Buns In My Oven
♥ Salted Caramel-Glazed Pumpkin Donuts by Diethood
♥ S’mores Doughnuts by Julie’s Eats & Treats
♥ Pumpkin Doughnuts by Cooking Classy
Just found this recipe and as I am a fan of weight watchers plus I am very interested in these! Just one question. …in the recipe you give regular and mini sizes but in the nutritional info. you say small?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Paula! My electric donut maker yields donuts that are in between the donut pan sizes of “mini” and “regular” (the kind that you’d place in a traditional oven), which is why I referred to them as small. The Nutrition Information is calculated based on the 8 donuts yielded from the electric donut maker. I’m sorry if that was confusing! 🙂 If you’d like to calculate the Nutrition Information for donuts of a different size, this is the calculator that I use. I’m excited to hear what you think of these!
Do you need to use lowfat yogurt and milk? Can you just use regular? Thanks!
Any milk and yogurt will work Erin! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the donuts!
I made this yesterday morning, and they were a hit! I love that we can have donuts with whole grains, and everyone loves them. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these donuts Courtney! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
This looks delicous! I was wondering, could this glaze be used for a drip cake? Thanks!
I’m honored by your interest in my recipe, Ellie! I haven’t tried using this glaze for anything besides donuts, so I’m not entirely sure and don’t want to lead you astray. It doesn’t quite fully harden or set, and it remains a little moist (because of the yogurt!). Does that make sense?
If you end up trying it, I’d love to hear what you think and how it turns out! 🙂
Dumb question…Can these be made into muffins and also can I substitute maple syrup for the molasses
Not a dumb question at all, Lisa! You can definitely make these as muffins instead. If you substitute maple syrup for the molasses, they won’t have quite the same iconic gingerbread flavor (molasses is what gives gingerbread that deep richness!), but they’ll still have the same texture — and taste delicious! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of your “donut” muffins if you try making them!
Can I use refined sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Yes, you can substituted refined granulated sugar in place of the coconut sugar! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these donuts if you try making them, Amanda!