Gingerbread Donuts (Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free)
Gingerbread Donuts have become an instant favorite in our house this season! Ginger and cinnamon spiced, these donuts are excellent with a simple glaze or topped with a cinnamon-sugar blend. They're naturally egg free and dairy free, and made with pantry staples in a donut pan. Please note: this is a small batch, and makes six 3 1/4" diameter donuts. If your pan is larger, you'll want to bake a little longer. The recipe is also easily doubled.
Servings: 6 donuts
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp applesauce, level
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour (lightly spooned into measuring cup, and leveled across top)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 6-cavity (3 1/4" each) donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl (it's a small batch, so you won't need a very large bowl), stir together brown sugar, oil, applesauce, molasses, water, and vanilla until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir just until combined (do not overmix batter).
- Immediately after making donut batter, evenly spread batter between the six donut cavities, gently smoothing the tops with a small spatula or back of a spoon (this doesn't need to be perfect, but they'll bake more evenly this way).
- Bake for 9-11 minutes at 375F. Allow donuts to cool in pan for several minutes before carefully inverting onto cooling rack. Top with vanilla glaze or cinnamon-sugar topping (see Notes).
Notes
Option 1: Classic Vanilla Glaze
Once donuts have cooled, stir all ingredients below together. Drizzle over top of donuts, or dip donut tops into the glaze.
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- ~2 tsp milk (or DF milk, for dairy-free option)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt (optional)