Maple Sugar Glazed Paleo Donuts

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My 3-year-old is smart. He knows (and probably inherited this knowing from his papa) that the best way to go about getting what you want is to convince the person who can make it happen for you that it’s actually, in fact, what they want. That way, when you get out all of the ingredients for donuts, the person (me) who is capable of making donuts has already been thinking about donuts for a while and therefore, I’m like, hell yeah, let’s make some donuts!

The end result of making something sweet and unvirtuous like a donut, a little less sweet and a little more virtuous is often disappointing. The paleo/grain-free/gluten-free/refined-sugar free “donut” is somewhat reminiscent in shape of the fried, sugary thing we’re longing for but not even close in flavor or texture. I haven’t liked many of my healthy-ish donuts perhaps because they are too virtuous. So, as in life, as in cooking, what we’re looking for is balance, or a donut that says, I’m not going to leave you feeling totally crappy after you eat me, but I’m still a sweet treat.

These donuts are so yummy and meet my approval, specifically, I think, because of the maple sugar glaze. It isn’t a smooth glaze, it’s more granular, somewhere between a glaze and cinnamon sugar mix. I used this “maple crack” from one of my favorite maple sugar producers in Maine, and the name is accurate, this stuff is so good and addictive and flavorful. The donuts in this recipe are light and cake-like and not too sweet, a perfect pairing with the crunchy maple glaze. The only problem? The toddler was satisfied after one donut, while us grown-ups succinctly ate up the rest. A real win-win for the kid because now I’ll certainly make more next time he jedi mind tricks me into doing so. Well played, Holden,

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Maple Sugar Glazed Donuts

1 1/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons whole milk or non-dairy milk of choice
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Maple Glaze

1/2 cup maple sugar
2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
4 teaspoons whole milk or milk of choice
1 pinch sea salt

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a donut pan with coconut oil.

  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, and baking soda. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs.

  3. Combine the wet and dry mixtures, stirring just until combined. At this step, you can either scrape the dough into a piping bag or large ziploc bag and pipe it into the donut trays, or you can take my lazier approach and carefully spoon the batter into the donut rounds, filling them about 3/4 full.

  4. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned.

  5. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack.

Make the glaze

  1. In a small food processor or blender, process the maple sugar and arrowroot flour until fine.

  2. Pour the powder into a small bowl, add the pinch of salt, and whisk in the milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is thick and not runny.

  3. You could patiently wait to glaze the donuts until they are completely cool, or dip the still slightly warm donuts in the glaze and stick that donut immediately in your mouth and lick the glaze off your fingers. The choice is yours.