Baked Maple Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar

Are you drooling yet? No? Okay, i'll keep going.







baked and flipped!





How about now?









If you're not drooling by now, then I'm pretty sure you're a zombie who only craves human blood.



Two words for you: Heck. Yes.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. It's the first week of training and my schedule's been a bit hectic. Grappling through the 5 million cars during rush hours on the Bay Bridge, I haven't had a chance for "me" time quite yet. I really don't have any time right now either, but I needed a break from airport acronyms.

What's a great distraction from studying? Donuts. They're the ideal sweet treat/meal for when you're studying because they're cheap and quick. Unfortunately for me, the closest donut shop to my place is not one that I love. A lot of people rave about King Pin Donuts, but to me, it's just a tad too greasy and extremely heavy.  I was determined to make my own. I ordered a donut pan on Amazon and two days later, I'm making my own donuts!

I ordered the Norpro 6-Count Nonstick Donut Pan (as pictured above) and cannot hype about it enough. My donuts baked and rose beautifully, while slipping out of the pan effortlessly. There was not even a tiny scrap that stuck to the pan. Can you believe it?! I might have to order myself a second pan for when I have guests.

This recipe from Cooking With My Kid played an important role in my first and successful attempt at making baked donuts. They were light, flavorful, and fluffy. You couldn't even tell the difference between these baked donuts vs the ones that are fried except for the lack of greasy flavor. I was surprised at how easy it was. If you're tired of sub par donuts, then I highly suggest making your own!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• pinch of salt 
• 1 egg (lightly beaten) 
• 1 6 oz container of non fat organic vanilla bean yogurt 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil 
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons real maple syrup 

• 3 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 2 tablespoons butter (melted) 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl stir together egg, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, and maple syrup.oil. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the hole. Gently fold everything together until just combined.
4. Divide batter evenly into a greased 6 donut pan. The batter will be pretty thick and airy.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute or two and then flip over onto a cooling rack while still warm. Use a pastry brush to butter your donuts and then dip each donut in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.