Baked Apple Spice Donuts with Maple Frosting + Pumpkin Granola
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This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield and Nature’s Path. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me creative in my tiny kitchen!
Crunchy granola is a perfect topping for these apple + Greek yogurt infused baked donuts. A great breakfast or dessert recipe to use your fall apple bounty!
This post may contain affiliate links.
We still have a handful of apples left from our recent apple picking adventure, and my mind has been brimming with ideas for new ways to use them.
I mean, sure I can make one of our favorite apple recipes again, but I just love trying new things.
Especially when said things are DONUTS.
This month, two of my favorite organic brands are teaming up and they challenged us to make something delicious using both Stonyfield Yogurt and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola.
This is no boring ol’ granola – it has pumpkin and flax seeds in it, and is super crunchy! There’s nothing worse than soggy granola, right? It also packs in 450mg of Omega-3 fatty acids, and is Non-GMO Project Verified, so you can feel good about adding it to your breakfast.
When I first tried this granola on my morning yogurt and fruit parfait, I knew it would go beautifully with apples.
So for these donuts, I peeled and grated one of our orchard-picked apples and used that along with some Greek yogurt to help keep the donuts nice and moist. Grated apple is nice and juicy, so make sure to get all of that goodness into your measuring cup before adding it to the mix.
I also used the cheater’s buttermilk trick by adding some white vinegar to the milk that I had on hand and letting it sit for 5 minutes or so. It starts to curdle and look funky, but trust me – it’s delicious! And you won’t have 3/4 of a container of buttermilk leftover in the fridge.
Not that I don’t have uses for buttermilk, but it’s just one less thing to buy.
These donuts turned out really well! We had a few leftover that I stored in the fridge overnight.
We took them over to my in-laws’ house the following day and microwaved them for 5 seconds each before serving.
The granola wasn’t crunchy anymore, but it was still totally delicious!
These are the perfect way to start (or end!) your day.
Or both.
This is a judgement free zone. 😉
Looking for more breakfast favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:
- 5-Ingredient Samoa Cereal Bowls
- Our Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes
- Waffle Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict
- Surf Rider Smoothie Bowl
- Ashwagandha Chai Porridge
- Turkey-Scotch Eggs
- Zoodle Frittata
- Caramelized Banana Breakfast Porridge
- Brie Waffle Bites
- Kamut Breakfast Porridge
Baked Apple Spice Donuts with Maple Frosting + Pumpkin Granola
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: about 10 donuts 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Crunchy granola is the perfect topping for these apple and Greek yogurt infused baked donuts!
Ingredients
For Donuts:
- 1/4 cup low fat milk
- 3/4 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield)
- 1 medium apple, peeled and grated (1/3 cup lightly packed)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For Topping:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon low fat milk, plus more if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pumpkin Flax Granola, for garnish
Instructions
- For Donuts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a donut pan and set aside.
- Combine 1/4 cup milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for at least 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger until combined. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, grated apple, melted butter, vanilla and milk/vinegar mixture until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, being careful not to overmix. The dough will be very thick.
- Place dough in a pastry bag or gallon sized zip top bag (if using disposable, snip off the corner of the bag after filling to open it up for piping). Pipe this mixture into prepared donut pan, filling each donut mold about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 8 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes in the pan before carefully removing the donuts to a wire rack to cool completely. Wipe out the pan and re-grease to finish using the rest of the dough.
- For Topping: Once the donuts have cooled, place softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, maple syrup and vanilla in a small, wide bowl. Using a whisk or fork, mix together until well combined and thick. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. If it’s too thin, add some more powdered sugar. Once smooth, take each donut and invert it into the frosting. Place the donut back on the wire rack, frosting side up and sprinkle with granola. Repeat with remaining donuts. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 28.2 g
- Sodium: 76.7 mg
- Fat: 5.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.6 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 3.6 g
- Cholesterol: 13 mg
Keywords: breakfast donuts, baked donuts, easy dessert, pumpkin granola
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Ashley
Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.
4 Comments
Nancy [email protected]
I just bought a donut pan and now I know which ones I need to make! They look amazing!
Amy (Savory Moments)
These donuts look delicious! I made donuts for the first time ever this fall (apple fritters, so they were fried), but now I’m thinking I need one of these donut pans.
Allie R Taylor
What delicious donuts Ashley! I love pumpkin and maple, and the granola is the perfect touch! Now I need the donut pan!
Kristen Chidsey
Ashley–these look incredible! I love that you added the granola to the top–perfect crunch!