Baked Maple Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts and a Giveaway! – CLOSED

Update: The winner is commenter #20 – Kristine! The best thing she ate last weekend was “homemade cherry pie from cherries we picked Sunday morning.” Sounds pretty good to me 🙂

Congrats Kristine! You should have an email from me, please reply with your mailing address so I can get your prize off to you.

I have no idea how it’s Monday already. This weekend flew by in the blink of an eye! On Saturday, we attended the wedding of two of our good friends, and because I’m the biggest procrastinator in all the world, I spent the entire morning rushing around shopping for something to wear. Yes, that’s right, I waited until the day of the wedding to find a dress – I do my best work under pressure 🙂 Luckily I found something (because seriously, there was no back-up plan…), and then a friend let me raid her closet for jewelry and a cardigan so it all worked out. We had a blast celebrating with our friends that night but definitely got to bed a little later than we typically would, so Sunday got off to a slow start. I woke up craving donuts in the worst way but was too lazy to put on real clothes and leave the house, so I decided to make a batch.

Truthfully, at the time, a fried donut was what I really wanted, but after a pretty decadent meal the night before at the wedding, I ended up trying something a little healthier. Not only are these donuts baked, but they also include two of my favorite breakfast items – non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt and maple syrup! Despite containing very little butter or oil, the donuts were super light and fluffy when they emerged from the oven. They’re brushed with a little butter then dipped in cinnamon-sugar for a really fun and relatively guilt-free breakfast treat! If you’re looking for instant gratification, you’ve come to the right place. These donuts are beyond quick and easy to throw together, perfect for a lazy Sunday morning!

So, here’s the thing: you do need a donut pan to make this recipe. And since I know all of you might not have one, I thought it’d be fun to start this week off by giving one away! I just love my donut pan, it’s perfect for times when I don’t want to make yeasted donuts or bother with frying. There are a million and one baked donut variations out there, and best of all, most of them can be made in under 30 minutes. How can you beat that?

Details

The giveaway winner will receive one Norpro donut pan.

How To Enter

Leave a comment on this post answering the question: What was the best thing you ate over the weekend?

To Receive Bonus Entries (you must leave a separate comment for each)

1. Follow Tracey’s Culinary Adventures on Twitter.
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{Note: if you already do either of these things, that counts too, just leave a comment for each one telling me.}

Everything Else

Comments on this giveaway will close on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on Sunday. Please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. Prize must be claimed by the winner within 48 hours or an alternate winner will be selected. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Good luck!

(This giveaway is sponsored by Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.)

Baked Maple Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts
adapted from Prevention RD

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 (6 oz) container of non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a wide, shallow bowl stir the cinnamon and sugar together, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk the egg with the yogurt, oil, lemon juice and maple syrup. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until the dry ingredients are just incorporated (the batter will be thick).

Transfer the batter to a resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner. Pipe the batter evenly into the 6 wells of the pan, filling each about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake the donuts for 8-10 minutes, or until they’re golden brown, and spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the donuts to cool for just a minute or two then flip them out onto the rack.

When the donuts have cooled enough to handle (just another minute or two after you flip them out), brush the top of each one with some of the melted butter, then dip it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. The sooner you eat these donuts, the better the texture will be, but I’ve found they’re still tasty for a day or two after baking.

Makes 6 donuts