Vanilla Bean Donuts - Homemade Recipe

Donuts are practically my favorite guilty pleasure. One is always never enough and I love them in plain, glazed, or dipped. Just thinking about a good donut can make your mouth water, but, the donuts from the local store and supermarket are too junky, artificial, and overly sweet for my taste. Imagine how awesome it would be to have tastier, healthier donuts that you can make at home!  These Vanilla Bean Donuts are the answer.

How are these Vanilla Bean Donuts healthier? 

First and foremost, they're made from real food. Donuts in this recipe swap out ingredients with organic and healthier products. They use coconut sugar instead of standard white refined sugar and use unsweetened almond milk rather than milk dairy. They are switch out regular, All-purpose white flour to all-purpose whole wheat flour and use unsweetened apple sauce instead of oil or butter.

Oh, and did I mention that these donuts are not fried? Yes, you heard it right, with this recipe you bake the dough to make magnificently soft and delicious donuts that come out hot from your own oven, and smelling like vanilla magic.

These “healthier” Vanilla Bean Donuts are baked, gluten-free, lower sugar, oil-free, fluffy, and delicious! You won’t miss your regular donuts.

 

Vanilla Bean Donuts

Servings: 6

Dry Ingredients

- 1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (Bobs Red Mill) - (Can use any all-purpose flour here)

- 1/4 Cup Organic Coconut Sugar

- 1 Tsp Baking Powder, Aluminum Free

- 1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt

 

Wet Ingredients

- 1/4 Cup Organic Maple Syrup

- 1 Large Organic Egg

- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

- 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (I use Almond Breeze) (Any milk can be used)

- 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Applesauce

- 1/2 XL Organic Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Bean, seeds scraped (I use Java Sisters Vanilla)

 

Glaze

- 1 1/4 Cup Confectioners Sugar

- 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (Almond Breeze) (Any milk can be used)

- 1 Tbsp Organic Maple Syrup

- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 XL Organic Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Bean, seeds scraped (Java Sisters Vanilla)

 

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease donut pan with nonstick baking spray.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients using a whisk.

3) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add all wet ingredients in the center of the well and slowly incorporate it into the dry ingredients. Mix only until combined.

4) Spoon donut mixture into one corner of a large gallon bag or a piping bag. Snip off a corner after it's been filled to avoid spilling. Carefully pipe your donut mixture into the rounds of your donut pan. You can use a butter knife to smooth or even out if needed.

5) Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Tops of donuts should bounce back when done. Turn donuts upside down on a cooling rack and cool completely.

6) In another small or medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, and vanilla bean. Using a whisk or fork, stir until thoroughly combined.

7) Dip donuts (nice side down) into the glaze while carefully holding the edges. Then quickly turn back over and let rest on a cooling rack until dry. Once fully dried, you can do a second dip (Recommended) into the glaze and again let rest until fully dried.

8) It is recommended to enjoy donuts fresh the same day. If your room is too warm, keep glazed donuts in a paper bag or container with a lid in the refrigerator up to one more day. If unglazed, donuts could keep up to a week. Just be sure to glaze before enjoying it. Unglazed donuts could also be frozen. 

 

NOTE: Try not to cover glazed donuts with plastic wrap or foil to avoid removing glaze. For best results glaze and let dry just before serving.

 

Recipe Creator:

Holly Nicholas. I am a lifestyle blogger and health/wellness coach. My mission is to empower you to live a better life through nutrition, natural living, and a positive mindset. I believe in making a healthy lifestyle more balanced and approachable for anyone to achieve. Check out the full article of Vanilla Bean Donuts recipe on her blog.