It's Time to Make the Oil-free Sugar-Free Vegan Donuts

If you're an Internet junkie like me, you are probably well aware of all of the homemade donut baking that is going on these days. Donuts, not a good trend. Homemade donuts, better. Especially if they have no white flour, no added sugar, and no added oil. Oh, and then happen to taste delicious.

If you think that's a good trend, this recipe will work for you.

One word of caution. These donuts are pretty sweet. The sweetness comes from the bananas (a good thing) and also from a new product that I am testing that is made by the NuNaturals company called "MoreFiber Stevia Baking Blend." I have never been a big fan of Stevia. I just thought it was far too sweet for even my sweet tooth, and it left a long lasting odd aftertaste.

That's what I thought, until I made these donuts. I think I finally used the stuff correctly.

But the last thing I need is to fuel my own sweet cravings. Better for me to get used to the natural sweetness that is inherent in fruit and even many vegetables. Even so, sometimes a girl just wants to bake. And the upside of the NuNaturals Baking Blend product is that you can actually eliminate most if not all of the added sugar from a baked good and achieve excellent results. Plus, the fiber blend actually improves the texture of baked goods. The results were far better than I expected.

I have tested four different donut recipes with the NuNaturals Stevia products and this Peanut Butter Banana Donut with Date Nut Glaze recipe is by far the winner.

Peanut Butter Banana  Donuts
serves 10-12

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dry ingredients
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup peanut flour
1/3 cup NuNaturals MoreFiber Sweetener Baking Blend
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

wet ingredients
1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 4 medium bananas)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal plus 4 Tbsp water, whisked together and refrigerated for 15 minutes to 1 hour)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Prepare flax eggs (see instructions under wet ingredients).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Place all wet ingredients into a medium bowl and stir to combine.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Do not over mix.

Lightly spray a donut pan with cooking spray, even if the pan has a non-stick surface. Spoon the batter evenly into the holes, filling each about 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with second batch if you only have one donut pan.

Date Nut Glaze (optional)

3 medjool dates

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp almond milk (or other alternative milk)

2 Tbsp sunflower seed or peanut butter

4 drops NuNaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Stevia

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Soak dates in 1/4 cup almond milk for 30 minutes.

Place all ingredients, including soaking milk, into a small food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Using a knife, spread "glaze" on top side of donuts. Place donuts in a single layer on a plate (do not stack) until "glaze" sets.

Refrigerate donuts.

What's been your experience baking with stevia? Have you ever done it? Did you have success? Failure? Do you want to try it?

Lemon Coconut Chia Seed Muffins

Lately I've been really into making muffins. For one thing, I feel like they are a no-so-bad-in-the-scheme-of-things treat for my kids. They work really well in a lunch box, and I am filling up three of those every morning. And they provide a way of satisfying my sweet tooth without going overboard.

I'm a big fan of the Lemon Poppyseed muffin from way back. You know, those big over sized muffins that we thought were healthy when we were really eating the equivalent of a big hunk of birthday cake?

So when a recipe for Lemon Chia Seed muffins came to my attention while I was on vacation at the end of last year, I immediately put it on my list of must-makes. Plus I'm on a chia seed mission these days. Inspiration came in the form of this recipe from the blog Peas and Thank You (thanks Sarah for recommending them!). I have become a master at eliminating the added fat in my baked goods, so I knew I could give this one a shot.

The last remaining no-no in my baked goods is the sugar. These muffins have a scant tsp and a third of maple syrup per muffin. Not bad! I didn't have any lemon extract in the house, but no biggie! I used my trusty coconut extract instead for a more tropical effect. This one's a keeper!

Lemon Coconut Chia Seed Muffins
makes 12 muffins
adapted from this recipe from Peas and Thank You

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dry ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup barley flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chia seeds

wet ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk
1 1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest (or zest of 1 small lemon)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, place all dry ingredients and stir to combine well.

In a medium bowl, place all wet ingredients and whisk to combine well.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill each well of a muffin tin that has been lined with cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden in color and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Want more muffin recipes? Check out these HGK muffin recipes:

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Zucchini Muffins

Pumpkin Spiced Cornbread Muffins

I love muffins! What varieties am I missing? Let me know and I will make 'em!