These sweet, aromatic, slightly spicy gluten free pumpkin doughnuts are the perfect fall and winter treat. Filled with chocolate chips and sprinkled with sugar, they go perfectly with Netflix, cozy socks, and a hot cup of apple cider. This is also one of the easiest baked goods you will ever make.
Winter is here, folks.
I can feel it seeping through my jacket as I bike to class in the morning, head bent against the wind. I feel it when I wake up in the morning and really can’t even fathom getting out of bed. My roommate and I leave the heat off all night to save money (#lifeofacheapskate), so by the time morning comes it’s pretty darn cold in here.
I feel it when I drive to class. I crank up the heat but am only just beginning to feel the warmth when I reach the end of my 8 minute commute.
But you gotta admit, there are good parts to winter, too. Like all the Christmas music that everyone is now playing almost obsessively. Like the lights going up all over the city. Like the fun of shopping for gifts (with a family of 9, gift-shopping is a process to say the least).
Like these gluten free pumpkin doughnuts.
I have made so many doughnuts in the past few days that it’s starting to get a bit terrifying. Luckily there are people to give them out to so I don’t have to eat them all myself (that would be terrifying). But in the evening, curled up on the couch with some hot cider? These gluten free pumpkin doughnuts are pretty much the most happy thing ever.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Doughnuts
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar (organic coarse cane sugar works fine)
1 cup canned pumpkin or 1 cup cooked pureed butternut squash or pumpkin
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon*(see notes)
½ teaspoon ground ginger*
¼ teaspoon nutmeg*
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup rice flour (white or brown works)
½ cup cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
Optional for added awesomeness: ½ cup dark chocolate chips
FOR COATING
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter or coconut oil for dairy free
1 tablespoon raw honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup organic coarse cane sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 12-hole standard sized doughnut pan with olive oil. My recipe makes 12 doughnuts, but depending upon the size of your doughnut pan holes you might get more or less.
Whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, canned pumpkin, vanilla extract, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Trust me on adding the baking powder so early.
Add the rice flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and chocolate chips. Stir until completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into a pastry bag, or if you’re a cheapskate like me and don’t own a pastry bag, pour the dough into a large Ziplock bag. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the last of the batter out.
If you’re using a baggie, cut a whole about ¾ inch in diameter in one of the bottom corners.
Pipe the doughnuts in circles into the doughnut pan. Fill each one so that the dough is almost to the top.
Put the pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until firm yet still quite soft to the touch. If you’re not sure, insert a toothpick in the center of one. If it comes out clean (a few dry crumbs are ok, just no streaks besides possible chocolate chip streaks), the doughnuts are done.
Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing doughnuts. If you’re going to eat them within the next 1-3 days, coat doughnuts now. If you plan to eat them later, put into a ziplock bag and freeze, then coat with glaze and sugar when you thaw them. They won’t be as soft and delectable if you freeze them for a while, but they’ll still be good.
To coat: Melt the butter/coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract together in a saucepan on medium heat or in the microwave. Drizzle the melted glaze over the doughnuts (or dip the doughnuts in it). The glaze helps the sugar coating in the next step to stick.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle generously over glazed doughnuts.
They can be stored on the counter for a day or so. If you plan to eat them the next day or the day after, put the doughnuts in a ziplock bag or a food and bread bag but do not seal the bag. Instead, leave it slightly open. Store on the counter or in the pantry.
Enjoy these gluten free pumpkin doughnuts for breakfast or for dessert with hot apple cider.
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