On a whim, I picked up a mini donut pan at Williams-Sonoma the other day. I had bought my girls gluten-free donuts at Earth Fare and they thought they were too sweet, too heavy, and generally not good at all. Homemade donuts seem to be all the rage these days so why not try to make some gluten free? How hard could it be?
Let’s start by saying that hubris in the kitchen is a dangerous thing … Wikipedia defines hubris as extreme pride or arrogance and a loss of contact with reality. Yup. Pride cometh before a fall, my friends. I have to confess that making mini donuts is a total pain in the as*. I have a crink in my neck from trying to get 1 tablespoon of batter evenly spread in a dozen ridiculously small mini donut wells. My first round of donuts that went into the oven came out looking like they were made by a five year old. Comically awful. Thankfully, they tasted awesome so I was committed to trying again.
Rounds two and three were much more successful, albeit tedious and time consuming and resulting in a small neck injury. However, the end product, glazed and all, was truly spectacular. The donuts were light and tasty, a tiny bit chewy and totally moist. Not too sweet, not too dense, and definitely nothing like store bought. I will certainly be making donuts again but I might wait until I can get my hands on a full size donut pan.
CONFESSION TIME … My first batch looked like this:
 |
| Whoa are these some messed up looking mini-donuts! |
Amazing Glazed Apple Cinnamon Mini Donuts (Gluten Free!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Cup4Cup gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking power
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup half and half (or regular milk)
- 6 tablespoons butter , softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar (for the glaze)
- 1 tablespoon (or so) half and half (or regular milk) (for the glaze)
Instructions
-
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes.
-
Add the egg and applesauce and beat for another minute.
-
In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and half and half.
-
Add the buttermilk and flour mixtures to the mixing bowl, alternating one at a time. Don't overmix.
-
Spray your mini donut pan with nonstick spray. Using small spoons, gently spread the donut batter evenly in the bottom of each mini donut well. The batter must cover the bottom and be evenly spread out. Trust me.
-
Cook the mini donuts at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes. You will be able to tell by looking at them if they are done. If they look shiny and doughy, keep them in the oven for a couple more minutes.
-
Remove the donuts from the oven, let cool for a few minutes. Flip the donuts over, place on a wire rack and let cool completely before glazing.
-
For the glaze ... whisk together confectioner's sugar and milk... the less milk you use, the thicker your glaze.
-
Gently dip your donut into the glaze and let the excess glaze drip off while you hold the donut upside down. Turn the donut over, set back on the cooling rack, and let the glaze harden. I chose to dip my donuts twice to get a more glazed effect.
-
This recipe makes about 36 mini donuts ... it's worth the pain and suffering, I promise. Enjoy!
Girlfriend, those look like an enormous amount of trouble. Seriously, try these mini-doughnut muffins. I'm sure you could come up with a GF Apple Cinnamon version… <3
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/donut-muffins/detail.aspx