GF Friday: Chocolate-glazed doughnuts that are healthy and tasty

Do you ever find yourself wondering whether the calories in your dessert are worth it? For those of us still battling the post-holiday weight gain, the choice between something sweet and dropping the weight can be a tough one.

And what kind of a choice is that, anyway?

Luckily, once in a blue moon, a recipe comes along to help change the way you think about food. This is one of those kinds of recipes. Delicious and irresistible, this healthy, gluten-free, chocolate doughnut is what sweet dreams are made of. And boy, are they tasty!

Image: Lara Ferroni

Chocolate-glazed doughnuts recipe

Have you ever found yourself devouring a Krispy Kreme doughnut, licking the sticky-sweet glaze from your fingertips, and thinking, “Wow, I really wish this glazed doughnut could be healthy”? Good news: Your wish has now been granted! Or maybe it was my wish…

Yields 6

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 13 minutes | Rest time: 10 minutes | Total time: 38 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup milk of choice
• 2-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free, all-purpose baking flour
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar of choice
• 1?16 teaspoon pure stevia extract or additional 2 tablespoons granulated sugar of choice
• 1/4 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Powdered sugar glaze: chocolate glaze 1 or chocolate glaze 2

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease a doughnut pan, and set it aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
4. Let sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients except those for the glaze, and stir very well.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until just evenly mixed.
7. Portion the batter equally among 6 doughnut molds so that each is about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 13 minutes, until the doughnuts have risen and a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.
9. Take the doughnuts out of the oven, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.
10. Frost the doughnuts with your glaze of choice.
11. For a hard glaze, chill the doughnuts directly after frosting, until the glaze hardens.

Chocolate glaze 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted coconut oil

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients, and stir.

Chocolate glaze 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or raw agave

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients, and stir.

Recipe from CHOCOLATE COVERED KATIE by Katie Higgins. Copyright (c) 2015 by Katie Higgins. Used with permission by Grand Central Life & Style. All rights reserved.

About the book

What if you CAN eat all of your favorite desserts . . . and still be healthy and fit into your skinny jeans? From the blogger behind ChocolateCoveredKatie.com comes an original cookbook filled with delicious, surprisingly healthy desserts. Katie shares over 80 never-before-seen recipes, such as Chocolate Obsession Cake, Peanut Butter Pudding Pops, and Ultimate Unbaked Brownies, that use only real ingredients, without any unnecessary fats, sugars, or empty calories. These desserts prove once and for all that health and happiness can go hand-in-hand-you can have your dessert and eat it, too!

Enjoy this exclusive recipe preview from Chocolate Covered Katie. Get the book >>

More gluten-free desserts

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Gluten-free chocolate fudge cookies are a rich dessert
Gluten-free sweet potato pie with quinoa-walnut crust