Vegan raspberry doughnuts | Me & The Moose. We’ve lightened up traditional Hannukah jelly doughnuts by baking instead of frying, and using freeze-dried raspberries instead of a sugary jelly filling. #Hannukah #sufganiyot #doughnuts #donuts #raspberries #healthybaking #healthyrecipes

Want to switch up the traditional sufganiyot this year? Or want to add something baked, but not heavy to your breakfast rotation? Try these vegan baked raspberry doughnuts that feature whole wheat flour, flax seed meal, coconut sugar, and applesauce for a baked treat that tastes great, but doesn’t spike your blood sugar or weigh you down like a traditional doughnut.

Okay, so I’m a fan of eating traditional foods in the traditional way, so I was a little apprehensive about “healthifying” a fried jelly doughnut. HOWEVER! I feel like these stray so far from the original that they aren’t really a “healthified” dessert as much as an entirely different thing that you could also eat at Hannukah that would taste delicious.

This baked doughnut journey started with Ina’s Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts and they were delicious, but very very sweet, especially with the icing and sprinkles I used.

I reduced the sugar in the batter, which definitely helped, but they weren't really a healthy alternative to traditional fried sufganiyot. The mountain of powdered sugar in the icing totally undid any of the benefits of baking. So, I decided to start a recipe from scratch and also make them safe for kids with allergies. These beauties are egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, and don't use any processed sugar. They're also super tasty! I'm actually fighting the urge to eat one right now.

A couple of notes:

Flax eggs: In my recent vegan baking adventures, I've tried a few different combinations of flax seed, water, and baking powder. I like Joy the Baker's best. She combines 1 Tbsp of flax seed meal with 3 Tbsp of water and lets this goop sit for 30 minutes. At the end, she stirs in a generous pinch of baking powder and uses the flax egg immediately. I used 1/8 tsp of baking powder and it worked quite well.
Coconut milk: I called for reduced fat or light coconut milk in this recipe because too much fat can weight things down and since we’re using an egg replacer, the doughnuts get too dense with too much fat. If you can only find regular, use the liquid in the can and leave the hard, coconut cream at the top. Also, replace the olive oil with another Tbsp of applesauce.
Olive oil: I like to add a little extra olive oil in the doughnut pans to mimic the “fried” taste of traditional doughnuts. But I really mean A LITTLE (about 1/8th of a tsp works just fine.) If you do this, heat the oil and the pan for about 3 minutes in the oven before carefully adding the batter and baking.

Vegan raspberry doughnuts

Time: 30 minutes, half active, half baking
Yield: 9 donuts

1 Flax egg (1 Tbsp flax seed meal, 3 Tbsp water, and 1/8 tsp baking powder)
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup light coconut milk *(see notes above about using regular coconut milk)
1 Tbsp apple sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup freeze-dried raspberries

Preheat oven to 375.

Make flax egg. In a small bowl, combine flax seed meal and water and stir well. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Prep your doughnut pan by spraying with olive oil (see notes about about adding a little extra olive oil to the pan).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

In a measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk, olive oil, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients and the raspberries to the batter and stir to combine. When the flax egg is ready, add 1/8th of a tsp of baking powder to the flax and water goop and stir well. Add to the batter and stir gently to combine.

Spoon mixture into greased doughnut molds until ¾ full.

Bake for 17 minutes, flipping the pans halfway through to ensure even baking. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

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Vegan raspberry doughnuts

Me & The Moose