So, these fresh baked apple donuts turned out great. I adapted this recipe, from A Latte Food just a tiny bit, and they worked out so well. I loved each of the steps involved in this project. I also substituted buttermilk with vanilla yogurt (it worked out great!!).
This is actually the first time that donuts have actually worked for me. Last time, they did not rise much, they were kind of bland, and I basically put the donut tin in the back of the cabinet to be forgotten for a while.
But, I was recently invited to join a little blog post link up with some other bloggers, and the only requirement for #SoFabSeasons was that it had to do with apples. Well, off to Pinterest I went, and within minutes, I knew that donuts had to go down.
This was also my first time really making a glaze for donuts, and it turned into more of a caramel because I heated the mixture a bit too long, bringing the sugars to kind of caramelize. Oh well, these are amazing, and I loved topping them with an unexpected ingredient - bacon bits and pecans. That bacony flavor really goes so well with the other flavors, that I am so happy I added the bits.
Another great thing about living in southern Illinois is that you don't have to go very far to find an apple (or peach tree) orchard. I photographed these apples, below, one day after I visited Flamm Orchards. I am sure they have been picked by now, because this was shot maybe 2 weeks ago :)
Donuts
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp butter
And, here are the apple crates at Flamm Orchard. I would LOVE to get one of those for a photography prop/surface!
Maple Glaze
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
Apples
- 1 large apple, chopped finely
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Topping
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 package bacon bits
INSTRUCTIONS
- (APPLES) On med-low heat, cook apple filling mixture for about 3-4 minutes. Pull off heat and allow to cool.
- (DONUTS) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 6-count donut pan liberally with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together.
- In a second bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla extract together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the wet ingredients. Gently mix the batter until combined.
- Add in melted butter and apples and mix until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan, evenly distributing the batter between the 6 donut cavities (you may have enough batter to make 7-8 donuts).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donuts are lightly golden and 'spring' back when touched.
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- (MAPLE GLAZE) Melt butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and cinnamon over low heat. Once melted together, pull off the heat. Sift in powdered sugar, and whisk until fully combined. Allow to cool for 8-10 minutes so the glaze can thicken. You want to work kind of quickly on this step, because the glaze can cool kind of quickly, and thickens.
- Dip each donut into the glaze and immediately sprinkle with chopped pecans. The elongated-shaped dish shown in white, is one I got at IKEA, it was the perfect shape. Allow to cool on a wire baking rack.
- Enjoy!
