Protein Donuts, ahem, PRONUTS!
I agonized over perfecting these donuts. First batch, they were too spongy. Second batch was good, but a bit dry. Third batch finally had the donut-cake texture I was searching for, but needed a frosting. On the fourth try, we were in business.
Oh believe me, it was a tough job taste testing all those batches of donuts but someone had to do it.
These were so fun and easy to make. Each donut is pack with protein and low in fat (if you follow me regularly you have noticed a trend in guilt-free indulgences). Sure these donuts aren't as good as the real deal, but they sure are an awesome alternate when you are trying to stay on track with a balanced diet.
I, personally, think these are fantastic on their own. My sophisticated taste testing team (ok fine, it's really just my boyfriend) suggested a frosting of some sort to round things out. I had a few different trial and errors, but finally came up with a simple glaze that didn't add unnecessary carbs and fats to an already macro-friendly treat.
A maple cream cheese glaze perfectly compliments these pumpkin spiced donuts. Grab yourself a Donut Baking Pan, if you don't have one already, and get to making these pronuts!
Pumpkin Protein Donuts
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Bake Time: 10-12 minutes
Servings: 6 donuts
Ingredients:
Donuts
- 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder of your choice (I use Whey Protein Isolate from True Nutrition)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
Cream Cheese Maple Glaze
- 1 tbsp cream cheese
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1-2 tbsp lowfat coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease donut pan with coocnut oil or butter (just so the donut don't stick to pan) and set aside.
- Mix all dry ingredients (protein powder, coconut flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon) together in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients (pumpkin, applesauce, eggs and vanilla) and whisk together. Add wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together until well incorporated.
- Transfer batter to a large Ziploc bag - we will use this as a piping bag. Snip a very small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag and evenly pipe batter into donut pan. I like to tab the pan on my counter top to level out the batter and ensure there are no air bubbles.
- Transfer donuts to oven to bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick in inserted into the donut and comes out clean. After the donuts have finished baking, remove pan from oven and remove donuts from pan for cooling.
- While donuts are cooling, prepare the glaze. This will look like hardly anything, but a little goes a long way, especially since there are only 6 donuts per batch. Combine all ingredients in a small flat bowl which is wide enough to dip an entire donut in. Carefully pick up each of the donuts and dunk the tops into the glaze for a light coating. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, placed in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Information (1 donut)
105 calories - 11 g Protein, 7.5 g Carbs (3 g Fiber), 3.3 g Fat
