Baked Apple Spice Donuts with Maple Frosting + Pumpkin Granola

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!

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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

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Baked Apple Spice Donuts with Maple Frosting + Pumpkin Granola

Total Time 25 minutes

Makes about 10 donuts

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

1. For Donuts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a donut pan and set aside.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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!

Notes

Original Recipe by Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli

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https://bigflavorstinykitchen.com/baked-apple-spice-donuts-with-maple-frosting-pumpkin-granola/

© Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli

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