bake
your
doughnuts
Hello,
are there any doughnut lovers out there?
For myself, a more accurate label might be recovering doughnut
addict. A while ago I decided that
the best way to deal with this problem was just to avoid these delectable
treats altogether. I could never
(and I mean NEVER) just have 2 doughnuts.
In fact, I break out in a light sweat whenever someone brings them to
work. It ruins my day because
these treats have little voices that call out to me no matter where I am in the
building. It takes all of my
concentration to assist patrons while I’m fighting the urge to run blindly into
the lunch room and inhale two or three
of the remaining doughnuts.
And
then some brilliant person created a doughnut pan for bakers. For a year I resisted buying one, but
as of last weekend I am now the proud owner a doughnut pan. I just had to know if they created
doughnuts that are as good as fried doughnuts. I will be
honest with you, fellow doughnut lovers and addicts. They are not the same, but
to compare them is not fair. It is
like comparing sorbet to gelato.
But I will tell you they are very, very good and photogenic too! I always like my baked goods to look
like they come from a bakery.
After all we do eat with our eyes too.
So
here are my reasons for encouraging you all to consider making your own baked
doughnuts:
-The
pan is not a huge investment. I bought mine for $9.00.
-Baked
doughnuts are easy to make -- no special techniques or ingredients. It took just 15 minutes to make the
batter.
-
The recipes are very versatile.
You can get creative with your flavors and toppings.
-Your house doesn't smell like a fast food fry joint.
-Your house doesn't smell like a fast food fry joint.
-They
look professionally made and you will impress your family and friends.
-They
only take about 15 minutes to bake.
-This
one is my favorite. They freeze
really well and then you can reheat them in the mornings and have warm
doughnuts to start your days!
Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
This
recipe is my favorite one so far.
Yes, you can use it to make muffins instead, but for some magical reason
they are much more satisfying to eat as doughnuts. Recipe adapted from KingArthurFlour.com
Makes approximately 18-20 doughnuts
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (plain canned pumpkin)
zest of 1 orange
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon
salt
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (if you have almond meal try substituting ¼ cup of
the flour)
Topping:
¼ cup granulated sugar mixed with 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions:
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease your doughnut pan.
2 In a large mixing bowl beat together the- oil,
eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and orange zest. (I substituted 1/4 cup of the toasted pumpkin seed oil for some of the vegetable oil)
3 In a separate bowl mix together the cinnamon,
salt, baking powder, and flour.
4 Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture,
stirring just until smooth.
5 Fill the wells of the doughnut pans just ¾
full. You can use a spoon for this,
but for the best results use a plastic ziplock bag- Fill bag with batter, seal bag and then snip off one corner
of the bag. Then pipe the batter
into the pan.
6 Bake the doughnuts for 15-18 minutes. If you’re making muffins, bake for
23-25 minutes.
7 Remove the doughnut pan from the oven and let
cool for 5 minutes. Then invert
the pan onto a tray or carefully remove them with the tip of a butter knife.
8 Let the doughnuts cool for few minutes and then
gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
