Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze

 
Nearly every week, my friend wants to go to his favorite burger joint. With a huge emphasis on their beef patties, their other menu options leave a lot to be desired, so I rarely order anything. However, he quickly realized that he could always bribe me to go… With French fries. I end up sneaking half of the basket almost 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 or energy to cook, let alone wash dishes, if we wanted all of those gifts to end up at the right homes!
 

 
On our way out of the burger place, we walked past the windows of a huge donut shop chain. There were pictures plastered across the giant glass panes, each advertising a special holiday treat: red velvet, Christmas wreath rounds, and even a snowman-shaped one!

Since I was already full of fries (they’re one of my biggest weaknesses…), I skipped 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!

They’re soft and cake-like inside with lots of warm spices, just like classic gingerbread cookies. Unlike the ones I spotted in the windows, these are lightened up and baked (not fried!). They’re also perfect for cozy winter breakfasts, especially during the holiday season — and even Christmas morning!
 

KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE BAKED GINGERBREAD DONUTS

Let’s talk about the key ingredients that you’ll need to make these healthy baked gingerbread donuts! I have a feeling that your kitchen already holds many of these items… Especially during this season of holiday baking!

Spices. To create a similar flavor as those cute cut-out gingerbread cookies we all know and love, you’ll need two important ingredients. The first is… Ginger. (No surprises here!)

Ground ginger adds that bright, zippy taste. To round out the spice profile, you’ll also stir in a bit of cinnamon. It provides a cozy background warmth. (I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon, if you can find it! It has a slightly richer and sweeter flavor compared to regular cinnamon. Yum!)

Molasses. This is the other very important ingredient in gingerbread treats! Molasses adds that deep, comforting baseline flavor. For these baked donuts, you’ll need regular unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap!). You can often find it on the baking aisle, right next to the other sweeteners. It’s nearly impossible to replicate molasses’ taste, so I don’t recommend trying to substitute anything for it, if at all possible!

Sweetener. To boost these donuts’ sweetness, you’ll also stir Madhava organic coconut sugar into the batter. It’s exactly what it sounds like — an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! It has a caramel-like flavor, very similar to brown sugar, and a dry pourable consistency like granulated sugar. It adds an irresistible and cozy taste to these donuts!

Hint: By using coconut sugar and molasses, two unrefined sweeteners, your healthy baked gingerbread donuts are naturally clean eating friendly!
 

 
Unsalted butter. Just a touch! Unlike traditional recipes that call for ¼ to ½ cup, you merely need 1 tablespoon. That helps keep these baked gingerbread donuts low calorie and low fat!

Tip: If you’d like to stick with the coconut theme and make your baked gingerbread donuts dairy-free, then substitute coconut oil. It works perfectly too!

Egg. A predictable baking ingredient! The egg binds together the other ingredients and provides structure, which gives your baked gingerbread donuts a lovely soft and cake-like texture.

Flour. To make these baked donuts healthier, I opted for whole wheat flour. It has added fiber and micronutrients compared to all-purpose flour!

Tip: If you’d like to make your baked gingerbread donuts gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve shared how to do so there!

Milk. Just about any type will work! Nonfat milk and unsweetened almond milk are the two I use the most. (If you use the latter, along with the coconut oil option, then your baked gingerbread donuts will be dairy-free!
 

HOW TO MAKE BAKED GINGERBREAD DONUTS

Time to talk about how to make these healthy baked gingerbread donuts! I have some tips to ensure your batch turns out beautifully soft and irresistibly flavorful. Let’s start with…

Donut maker or donut pans. To make these gingerbread donuts lighter and lower calorie (compared to traditional ones!), you’ll bake them instead of frying. To do that, you’ll need a donut maker or donut pans!

I used my electric donut maker to free up oven space for more cookies. It requires very little counter space, and even after ten years, it still works like a charm. (Some stores no longer sell mine, but this one is similar!) If you prefer the oven route, I love these silicone donut pans. You can also use more traditional metal donut pans, whether the full-sized kind or miniature ones!

Stir by hand. Skip your stand mixer and hand-held mixer! Making this donut batter by hand yields better results. That’s because it’s really easy to overmix low fat batters, like this one, when you use stand mixers and hand-held mixers. Overmixing can lead to tough, gummy, or rubbery textures… Rather than the really soft, moist, and tender donuts that we want. So use a gentle hand to carefully fold together the ingredients, and you’ll end up with the best baked gingerbread donuts!
 

 
Pipe the batter. This donut batter is on the thicker side with a consistency really similar to muffin batter. While that yields a lovely soft texture, it makes it a bit difficult to spread into the donut pans! Therefore, to achieve the best smooth and round shape, transfer it to a zip-topped bag, cut off a bit from one corner, and pipe it into the donut molds.

Tip: Fill each cavity almost to the brim so the tops of your donuts are nice and round, just like their bottoms! If you only fill them halfway, the tops will turn out flatter.

Bake. Set a timer! These donuts finish baking relatively quickly. As you wait (impatiently, if you’re anything like me!), the cozy and oh-so-tempting aroma of gingerbread cookies will fill your kitchen… But unlike those, these baked goodies are actually meant for breakfast!
 

HOW TO MAKE MAPLE GLAZE FOR DONUTS DONUTS

This particular maple glaze for donuts is incredibly easy to make. You just need three ingredients!

Those are Greek yogurt, pure maple syrup, and more Madhava organic coconut sugar. Stir those together in a bowl until the sugar dissolves, and… That’s it! I’m not a huge fan of raw powdered sugar’s taste, so I much prefer the sweet maple flavor of this glaze. It sneaks in a little extra protein too!

Once you’ve made the glaze, simply dip the bottoms of the fully cooled donuts into the bowl, gently shake off the excess, and invert them onto the cooling rack to let the glaze set. Easy as pie! Or, well… Easy as donuts?

Tip: That’s right — I dip the bottoms of my donuts! Not the tops. The bottoms often look rounder than the tops because they were directly shaped by the donut mold, so they’re usually smoother and prettier when dipped into the glaze. (Whether you dip the tops or bottoms doesn’t affect the flavor — only their appearance!)
 

 
Here’s to healthier holiday baking, fun breakfasts, and festive donuts! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy baked gingerbread donuts!

Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 8 small donuts

These tender cake-like donuts are full of warm spices, just like gingerbread cookies! The sweet maple glaze complements them beautifully. They’re best if eaten the same day that they’re glazed, but any unglazed leftovers should keep for at least a day or two if stored in an airtight container on the counter (or store that airtight container in the refrigerator to make them last longer!). Place any glazed leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they should keep for at least 2 days.

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients 

FOR THE DONUTS

• ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp (15mL) molasses
• ¼ cup (48g) Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar
• 3 tbsp (45mL) nonfat milk

FOR THE GLAZE

• ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 4 tsp Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar
• 1 tbsp (15mL) pure maple syrup

Instructions

• 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.
• 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 (and recoat the cavities with nonstick cooking spray before adding the 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.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will make your donuts turn out dry and crumbly, rather than soft and cake-like.

 

IMPORTANT DONUT MAKER NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: I like to use my electric donut maker. It requires very little counter space, and even after ten years, it still works like a charm. (Some stores no longer sell mine, but this one is similar!)

 

IMPORTANT GLAZE NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: 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 at least three days (if not longer!) if covered and stored in the refrigerator.

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour.

 

MOLASSES NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I don’t recommend substituting anything for the molasses, if at all possible. It’s required to produce the iconic gingerbread-style flavor. Regular unsulphured molasses is best. Do not use blackstrap molasses; it’s too bitter.

 

However, I understand it can be hard to find molasses outside of the US, so in a pinch, you can substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave. They’ll produce the same donut texture, but keep in mind your donuts will have a noticeably different flavor.

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

 

PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.

 

DAIRY-FREE OPTION: Substitute your favorite dairy-free milk in place of the nonfat milk. Substitute dairy-free yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based) in place of the Greek yogurt, and reduce the coconut sugar in the glaze to 2 teaspoons to start since many dairy-free yogurt alternatives aren't as thick as Greek yogurt. Add more coconut sugar to the glaze, ¼ teaspoon at a time, until you've reached your desired consistency.

 

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ teaspoon (1g) xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one) will work as well, if measured like this.

 

OVEN METHOD: I love these silicone donut pans. Because they're a bit flimsy, I set them on a metal baking sheet to make it easier to get them in and out of the oven. You can also use metal donut pans, whether the standard-sized kind or miniature ones.

 

If baking in the oven, the recipe should yield 5-6 donuts in a standard-sized donut pan or 12-14 mini donuts in a mini donut pan. Generously coat the cavities with nonstick cooking spray, and bake at 350°F until the donuts look golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with some crumbs attached.

 

HOW TO STORE: Glazed donuts are best if eaten the same day that they're glazed, but they'll still keep for at least two days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Unglazed donuts usually last longer!)

 

If you seal leftover glazed donuts inside of an airtight container and refrigerate them, the glaze occasionally tends to dissolve. Hence why they’re best if served the same day they’re glazed!

 

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, dairy-free option}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points

This post was sponsored by Madhava Natural Sweeteners. As always, all opinions, text, images, and recipe are my own.
 
 
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♡  Healthy Gingerbread Pancakes
♡  Healthy Gingerbread Waffles
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy gingerbread-flavored recipes and healthy donut recipes!