Baked Apple Donuts with Almond Butter Glaze

Baked, healthy and delicious apple donuts with almond butter glaze. These donuts are packed with apples and warming spices; the perfect treat to start off the Fall season! 

This post is sponsored by Sur La Table but the opinions are all my own. 

I can’t believe September is finally here and Fall is upon us.

Hands down, Fall is my favorite season. I love the cooler weather, so I can finally where my sweaters and boots again. I love that pumpkin spice lattes are back on the menu (earlier than ever this season). And I love that it’s time for football (ok I don’t really watch the games, but I love to tailgate and I participate in fantasy football, so that counts right?!?!)

AANNNDDD best of all…..apples are plentiful again! 🍎 🍏 I’m obsessed with delicious, tart and juicy apples. I know you can find them all year round, but they never taste as good, plus are crazy expensive.

This time of year they are the perfect crisp texture and sweet and tangy taste. And super affordable, which means you will be finding them A LOT in my Fall recipes.

Like my latest one: these baked apple donuts with almond butter glaze. The donuts are made with greek yogurt and applesauce, so are healthy but also super moist, light and airy. The donuts are flavored with warming spices and studded with honey crisp apples. Then covered in this irresistible salty & sweet almond butter glaze.

They are the perfect Fall treat.

Let’s get to baking. 

These donuts are super easy to make and come together in under 30 minutes: so you will have deliciousness is no time!

First step, put on your baking apron. I have a whole collection of aprons I use while I’m in the kitchen. I’m sort of obsessed with aprons. My new favorite is this one at Sur La Table. It super stylish, but also has a very professional look. I just love it!

Next, shift all the dry ingredients together: oat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and powder, salt, all the warming spices and the orange zest.

I use oat flour in my healthy baking often. It has this wonderful sweet, nutty taste that adds flavor to the finished product. It also has a very similar texture to white flour so you can barely tell the difference. And oats have antioxidants and fiber and can help control blood sugar, which is a great benefit to a typically very sugary treat.

For the warming spices, I added nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. I tried out the recipe a few times to get the measurements just right. This ended up being the perfect blend of the spices to help bring out the flavors of the apples without being too subtle or too overpowering.

I also add a touch of orange zest. It adds a subtle orange flavor while also making the other flavors pop.

Next, whisk together the egg and sugars until frothy. I also tried this recipe out a few times with different sugar ratios. I found adding just maple syrup made for a denser, not quite sweet enough donut. The addition of brown sugar helps to create a tender, perfectly sweet donut, plus adds a molasses flavor that pairs well with the spices.

Granulated sugar is actually an important ingredient in baked goods. It keeps baked good soft and moist because the bond between the sugar and liquid ingredients allows the sugar to lock in moisture so the donuts (and other baked treats) don’t dry out too quickly. That is why the addition of brown sugar was so key to getting these donuts just right!

Next, mix in the remaining wet ingredients: greek yogurt, apple sauce, coconut oil, and vanilla. The apple sauce, greek yogurt, and coconut oil keeps the donuts healthy but also moist and light. Plus, the apple sauce amps up the apple flavor.

The last step is to fold in the apples. In my mission to create the perfect donut recipe, I also tested this recipe with both apple chunks and shredded apples. I found the shredded apples worked best. It added more moisture to the batter which helped create a lighter more tender finished product.

Once the batter is made, transport it to a piping bag (or plastic bag with the a corner cut off) and pipe the batter into each greased donut cavity, a little more than half way full.

Bake the donuts at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

While the donuts bake, you can make the glaze. Simply combine all the glaze ingredients until smooth. I choose an almond butter glaze because almond butter and apples are a natural pairing. It’s that salty sweet thang that I just love! The salty almond butter also helps balance the sweetness of the donuts.

The final step is to glaze the donuts. When the donuts are baked and cooled, dunk each donut into the glaze. Really make sure the donuts are completely cooled before glazing, or you will have a melty mess. Once each donut is evenly glazed, top them with chopped pistachios and pecans for a nice, salty crunch!

Now it’s time to enjoy this delicious, Fall treat.

I tested this recipe out on several of my family members. First, my in laws who came to stay at our apartment last weekend. I was out of town but left several donuts behind for them to try. I received a sweet text from my mother in law raving about these donuts!

I also brought them home for my family to try. They were literally gone in seconds (before I even got to have another one….sigh). My little brother even shared them with his friends and they were shocked to find out they were healthy. Always my goal when I’m creating healthy baked treats.

It took several attempts, but I finally perfected this donut recipe. They are light and airy in texture, packed with a ton of apple flavor from the apple sauce and shredded apples, have the perfect balance of sweetness, and complimented by the salty almond butter glaze.

I’m confident these are the real deal! And you all will love them too!

Print

Baked Apple Donuts with Almond Butter Glaze

Baked, healthy and delicious apple donuts with almond butter glaze. These donuts are packed with apples and warming spices; the perfect treat to start off the Fall season!

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

Donuts

• 1 cup oat flour
• ½ cup whole wheat pasty flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsps. cinnamon
• ½ tsp Allspice
• 1 Tbsp. Orange zest
• 1 egg room temperature
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup brown or coconut sugar
• ¼ cup apple sauce room temperature
• ¼ cup greek yogurt room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. Coconut oil melted and cooled slightly
• 1 heaping tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup shredded apples I used honey crisps

Almond Butter Glaze

• 2 Tbsp. almond butter
• 3 Tbsps. almond milk
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• Pinch sea salt

Chopped pistachios and pecans, for topping

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a donut pan.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together (oat flour to orange zest).
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg and sugars until frothy. Add in remaining wet ingredients and mix until smooth (eggs to vanilla).
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients until well incorporated.
5. Gently fold in the shredded apples.
6. Pour batter into a piping bag (or zip lock bag with one corner cut off). Pipe batter into each donut cavity, about 3/4 full. Recipe should make 12 donuts.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then remove from donut pan. Let cool completely before glazing.
8. To make the glaze, combine all of the ingredients and mix well until it is a smooth consistency.
9. Dunk each donut into the glaze and top with chopped nuts.
10. 10. Serve and enjoy!

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