Donuts are generally not thought to be a healthy food. Substantial amounts of fat and carbohydrate create the high calorie food. The average glazed donut has approximately 300 calories and 4 grams of saturated fats. Both of these numbers greatly exceed recommended intake for a breakfast or snack item. Thus most health professionals recommend to consume donuts in great moderation.
The sweet yeast dough and sugary glaze of a donut tempt many – including myself. Unfortunately healthier versions (ie. baked donut varieties) are far and few between. Health conscious donut lovers often resort to making their own type of baked donuts. Hundreds of recipes are available online, however I wanted to create a recipe with the lowest possible calorie content.
Over the past few months I have had several attempts at creating the perfect “baked donut”. My originally thought was to create a “vanilla baked donut”. Once fall season emerged I realized the component that would perfect my donut – pumpkin. The baked pumpkin mini donuts have 1/3 the calories of traditional donuts per serving and offer a taste of fall with the pumpkin puree and spices. In fact the delightful fall flavoring and cake like texture is quite addicting. I had a difficult time stopping at the serving size of 3 donuts, but was able.
Enjoy!
360FN
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
white
vanilla extract
Non-stick cooking spray
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit; spray
mini donut pan with non-stick cooking spray
Mix wet ingredients together; in a separate bowl
mix dry ingredients
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix
well
Spoon donut batter into donut pan (fill each
mold about 2/3 full)
Cook donuts at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10
minutes or until cooked through
Topping options: roll in sugar immediately out of oven or drizzle with glaze
(milk with powdered sugar)