There were often donuts in my house. My mom would go to Jazzercise in the morning and come home with donuts from the local shop, including a giant coffee roll for herself, that she slowly savored while sipping coffee at the kitchen island and reading the paper. I preferred chocolate glazed donut holes and white frosting–filled donuts, which I would eat by nibbling all around the edge first, saving the giant mound of frosting for last. These donuts are a combination of my two faves: chocolate cake donuts frosted with creamy vanilla frosting, all topped with crushed chocolate cookies. Donuts don’t get much better than this!
Ingredients
- 1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- About ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 vegan crunchy chocolate cookies, crushed
- 1 (12-ounce) jar Dollop Gourmet Madagascar Vanilla vegan frosting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour the vinegar into a ½ cup measure. Add enough almond milk to come to the brim. Let sit until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Add the almond milk mixture and continue mixing for 1 minute more. Add half of the crushed cookies and mix until just combined.
Scoop the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling three-quarters of the way full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
Microwave the uncovered frosting jar for 5-second intervals, stirring in between, until soft. Gently frost the top of each donut. Sprinkle the remaining crushed cookies over the donuts.
Note: Instead of frosting the tops of the donuts, try slicing each one in half and frosting the middles to create a donut sandwich. Spread a bit more frosting on the top of the donut sandwich and sprinkle with cookie crumbs.
Reprinted with permission from “Crazy Easy Vegan Desserts” © 2018 by Heather Saffer. Published by Sterling Epicure. Photography © Sterling Publishing cp., Inc. This creative cookbook features 75 unbelievably indulgent gluten-free and vegan desserts. Saffer provides alternatives to buttermilk, eggs, milk, flour and butter that won’t make you cringe or wait hours to prepare ingredients. You’ll find recipes prepared in less than 20 minutes, ones with only three ingredients and others that require no baking at all.
