Can doughnuts actually be heart healthy? Kinda, in moderation. These whole wheat baked doughnuts replace much of the fat with nonfat Greek yogurt and canned pumpkin. With the exception of 2 tablespoons of butter, the rest of the fat in the recipe is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
(I kept those 2 tablespoons of butter in there because I think it’s important for getting the appropriate doughnut flavor.)
Whole wheat flour is considerably more nutritious than white flour, too!
I used a silicone doughnut mold that I bought on Amazon. This is a very important, necessary piece of equipment for creating baked doughnuts. I also have a steel doughnut pan, but I find it unwieldy. The silicone molds are considerably easier to un-mold.
Filling doughnut molds can get kind of messy, so I also recommend using a piping bag to fill the molds. You’ll want something like this pastry bag from Wilton – it’s reusable, and owning a pastry bag is very useful for lots of things. It’s a necessity for more “advanced” baking projects like eclairs and macarons.
Also, if you don’t have a pastry brush yet, you’ll need a pastry brush to lightly brush the doughnuts with oil. I really like silicone pastry brushes like this one. They’re much easier to clean than natural-bristled pastry brushes.
(I posted these links For Your Information. No, I didn’t get paid to link to any of those products, but I should figure out how to shill these items for money. There are lots of products I use and wholeheartedly recommend.)
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Baked Doughnuts
Equipment
- 1 silicone doughnut pan
- 1 pastry bag (optional, but recommended for best results)
- 1 pastry brush
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 can pumpkin puree (NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil, any neutral-tasting oil)
- ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ½ cup liquid egg whites
Sugar coating
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (or any neutral-tasting oil)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F . Lightly spritz your doughnut molds with nonstick spray and arrange them on a large baking sheet (so the silicone pans don't flop around as you move them into and out of the oven!)
- You don't need to use a piping bag to fill the doughnut molds, but a piping bag really makes it a lot easier. Prepare your piping bag by putting the bag inside a tall glass (or one of those really tall portable coffee mugs) and folding the edges of the bag over the edge of the mug/glass. This makes it much easier to fill! I always fill pastry/piping bags this way.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the spices, the baking powder, and the salt.
- In a second bowl. whisk together the canned pumpkin, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla extract
- Use a whisk to beat in the egg and the egg whites
- Use a spatula to scrape the pumpkin mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Use the spatula to stir the pumpkin mixture and the flour mixture together until fully incorporated.
- Use a large spoon or ladle to scoop the doughnut batter into your prepared piping bag (you'll need to do this in a few batches. You'll be able to fit about ¼ of the batter in a large pastry bag.)
- Pipe the doughnut batter into the doughnut molds. You can also use a spoon to spoon the batter straight into the doughnut molds, but I find it's less messy to use the piping bag method.
- Put the whole entire baking sheet containing the filled doughnut molds right into the oven. Bake them for about 15 minutes. When they're done, the tops of the doughnuts should spring back when you lightly press on the doughnuts with your finger. A wooden skewer or knife inserted into the middle of a doughnut should come out clean.
- While the doughnuts are baking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave (about 30 to 40 seconds on high. Be careful to cover with plastic wrap in case the hot butter decides to explode!) Mix the melted butter together with 2 tablespoons of canola oil (or any neutral-tasting oil.)
- Stir together 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in a small bowl.
- When the doughnuts are cool enough to touch and handle, unmold them from the doughnut molds.
- While the doughnuts are still very warm, use the pastry brush to lightly brush the oil and butter mixture onto each doughnut. Then, dip the doughnut into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon to coat.
- Set the doughnuts on a plate or cooling rack to cool.
