If you love donuts but want something slightly healthier, make these baked apple pie donuts. They will be your next favorite breakfast!
It’s been way too long since I broke out the donut pan. I’m still sitting on a pile of apples from our apple-picking outing and was also getting bored with my humdrum breakfast routine. Enter these apple pie donuts.
I was jazzed about this recipe because it supposedly only made 4 donuts (I didn’t have anybody to gift these to the day I made them, and I know that donuts get soggy after a day). Lo and behold, the recipe actually made 8. Oh well. I made these slightly healthier by using applesauce instead of butter and Greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt. And then I covered the donuts with glaze and sprinkles. Oops.
These donuts were fantastic right out of the oven. The texture was light and springy, and I enjoyed the apple flavor and fall spices that were baked into the donuts. If you want your donuts to have a more prominent fall flavor profile, you can make a maple glaze, cinnamon glaze, or even sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. I’m sure these donuts would also taste amazing with some bacon on top off. Because sweet and salty = pure awesomeness.
Baked apple pie donuts
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice I used 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup milk scalded
- 1 Tablespoon plain yogurt I used Greek
- 1 medium or small apple peeled and grated
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously grease a donut pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the applesauce, eggs and vanilla. Transfer to the large bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Mix the scalded milk with the yogurt until combined. Gently fold into the large bowl until just combined - do not overmix. Fold in the grated apples.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the donut pan and fill each well about 3/4 full.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until the donuts spring back when touched (mine baked for much longer - closer to 15 minutes). Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before flipping them over and cooling on a wire rack.
- If desired, you can add a glaze. I used a simple confectioners sugar and milk glaze and added sprinkles on top.
Notes