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My older daughter absolutely LOVES donuts so one day, on a whim, I saw this “Mini Donut Maker” at Target and decided to try it out. It’s a plug-in machine (similar to a waffle maker) and comes with a booklet of recipes that I tweaked to use whole-wheat flour and no refined sugars. This discovery is nothing new (I’ve shared this maker within a post or two on the blog before), but we’ve been getting so many questions about it lately it I’ve decided to give it a post all of its own today! So without further ado, here are two whole-grain donut recipes that work great in this little donut maker, and if you’ve discovered any other variations of your own please share them with us in the comments below! And FYI – These obviously don’t have the same consistency as deep-fried donuts, but regardless both of my daughter’s LOVE these things as a special treat! In fact I think we’ll have to make a batch today.
I also want to make sure you know about our meal planning sponsor, eMeals. Most of you are probably already familiar with their service, but chances are you didn’t know they now have both Clean Eating and Paleo meal plan tracks. For between $5 – $7/month they’ll send you 7 dinner recipes (including side dishes) each week along with an organized shopping list. For anyone wanting to cut out processed food in the New Year…this could be the answer when it comes to staying on track!
Adapted from Bella Cucina Donut Maker Recipe Booklet
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons melted
- coconut oil
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (we prefer “special dark” 100% cacao)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons melted
- coconut oil
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Make a well (hole) in the middle and drop in the egg, milk, syrup, vanilla, and coconut oil.
- Stir together with a fork until well combined.
- Follow manufacturer directions to make donuts using the batter.
- Serve donuts or freeze for another day! We love to add these as an occasional treat to school lunches.
[...] Breakfast: WW Maple Mini Donuts, Lunch: left-over Reuben Dip & Rye crackers, Dinner: grilled cheeseburgers, [...]
if i bake them in the oven in a donut pan, how long will i have to bake them?
Hi. We’ve not tried this before in a donut pan. I imagine it would be comparable to most baked donut recipe times. ~Amy
Ended up getting lucky and finding a 2nd hand doughnut maker never been used cheap. I made a batch of maple doughnuts yesterday and today made a batch using a banana instead of the egg. So good! Also added some cinnamon. l can’t wait to try out some more flavors.
You guys might want to check your local Target, mine has the Sunbeam donut maker on sale for $15.
Silly question – when you say 4 Tbsp melted coconut oil – is it 4 Tbsp before or after it is melted. Not even sure it would make a difference. Love your blog!!
Thanks!
Hi Sheri. Not silly at all…it should be 4T melted. Glad you enjoy the blog. ~Amy
Thanks!!
Where do you get your cocoa powder? I tried this recipe with my donut maker and while they tasted ok and my kids had no problem eating them up they were not very flavorful. I used some Navitas Raw Chocolate Cacao powder that I had but want to try it with something else next time.
Hi Tara. Lisa has used Hershey’s Special Dark in the past but any kind of dark cocoa powder should work well. ~Amy
We’ve enjoyed trying many of your recipes, but unfortunately, this one was a fail! If you put a duck costume on a pig, it doesn’t make it a duck. That is how I felt about these. Just because they are shaped like donuts, they taste NOTHING like a donut, and 1T cocoa gave no chocolate flavor. I’ll stick with the yummy banana pancakes instead!
Love this recipe. They freeze nicely. I make a double batch and freeze half. They are all eaten with in a week. So happy to have a delicious healthy and fun alternative for my kids at breakfast.
I was wondering if you happened to know the calorie content per donut?
I agree these do not taste like a store bought donut. But I’ve come to the point in my food journey that I prefer how “clean” (for a lack of a better word)food now tastes. If I were to eat a store bought donut I don’t think I would like it one bit. I know I don’t enjoy the smell. In my mind I associate that with unhealthiness and I’ve been eating non processed food for so long that when I do eat processed foods I get a head ache and stomach ache. Takes time but you adjust.
Hello Gina. Welcome. Sorry, we do not track nutrition information. This post may help explain why: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. ~Amy
I just found a donut maker at Target for half off so of course I had to try it out as soon as I got home.
OMG are they good. We spread a little cram cheese on them. Very yummy. Definitely worth the investment.
I had received a babycakes cake pop maker for Christmas last year and it has been collecting dust until now. I have been making donut holes with it now using your recipe. I don’t use a glaze on the chocolate but sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on the plain. This is a very special treat for my kids and they love them. Of course they don’t taste like real donuts and thank goodness for that. I think peoples taste buds get so overloaded with sugar that it’s hard for them to appreciate a healthier alternative that is full of flavour without all the extra sugar and fat. Thank you for all your delicious recipes. You know you’ve “won” when your kids now can tell the difference between home made healthy treats and processed store bought stuff and prefer mom’s version! Also – my kids only want your pancakes now too
[...] my birthday, so I decided the very next day that I had to make donuts! I based my recipe off of http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/12/21/recipe-mini-whole-grain-donuts/. They turned out very light and perfectly sweetened! You can make these without the glaze and add [...]
wow these were great! (our library had a mini donut maker to check out)…after trying it with this recipe….I promptly went online and ordered one of my own (using coupon codes etc. ofcourse). My kids like donuts but I rarely buy them because of the white flour and excess sugar etc. These were great and they loved them! Thank you thank you!
I have a question. Can we sub the coconut oil with regular oil. I am very allergic to coconuts.
Hi Krystal. Lisa would likely substitute with butter. Best of luck. ~Amy