Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

 

So, it has been a busy time, and I haven’t had much time to develop or practice any hobbies. My interests in smoking meats have waned and it has become difficult to find the time to spend hours preparing and cooking the meat. I have to say that while smoked meat is delicious, I honestly don’t have the time to pursue it.  As time has passed, my interests and needs have changed. While I still desire to find a good hobby for my spare time, I must change my focus. So, I’ve started to look into hobbies that I can pick up and put down as I can. The other issue is my family had some life changes come up and we now pursue a completely gluten free lifestyle.

                Now, I know there are tons of gluten free options offered out there. The problem really is cross contamination. You would be surprised by how places say their chips or fries are gluten free when they are cooked in the same oil as breaded food like chicken tenders or nuggets. Now, while that wouldn’t bother some people, it does for us. So, it really restricts what and where we can eat.

                One of the things that I have missed most from this change is donuts. Without wheat flour, it is hard to make a nice fluffy yeast donut. So, I have been focusing on making a nice cake donut. If you look at it, it is easy to do but getting the texture right has been difficult. I started attempting to make two types of donuts, a gluten-free cinnamon sugar donut and a chocolate ganache donut. Right now, I prefer to focus on the cinnamon sugar donut to go with the apple cider available this fall.

Ingredients

For the donuts:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour blend (I use King Arthur Gluten free flour)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup dairy-free milk (or regular milk)

For the coating:

·      ¼ cup granulated sugar

·      1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. For the donuts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one six-serving donut pan; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, oil, dairy-free milk, and vinegar and stir until combined.
4. Optional-Spray the donut baking pan with oil. It will allow for easier removal of the donuts.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan (Or use a piping bag for a smoother finish - filling each donut until the top of the center. The batter should not cover the center of the donut well where the hole will go.
6. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the donuts rise and set.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
8. Place a wire rack over a cookie sheet or piece of parchment paper.
9. Carefully remove the donut from the pan. You may need to use a spoon or a rubber spatula to loosen them if they stick. The other option is hit the back of the pan to remove the donut.
10. For the coating: In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. One at a time, dip the tops of your donuts into the coating, then flip them to coat the bottoms.
11. Place your cinnamon sugar donut on the rack and repeat until all donuts have been coated.

Now, as for the results, the donuts didn’t get burnt and for me, the donut was pretty good. My wife on the other hand thought it could use more cinnamon. 

However, the biggest issue I discovered is have the donut didn’t get a firm crust. Without the firm crust, it made it difficult to coat the donut evenly. I think the next time, I may cook it at a higher temperature or finish it in the air fryer for a few minutes before coating it.

I think next time I will try cooking at 425°F and using two teaspoon in the donut. I'll update the results the next time I make some. Till next time.