Gluten Free Donuts

These donuts were quite the popular item at a recent family event.  Even the little kidlets who attended the party couldn't get over how soft and delicious they were.  Nobody knew they were gluten-free - which was great.  It was my little sugary secret.  

I'm not strictly gluten-free, but my husband has celiac disease, and thus I have made it a part of my own diet to exclude gluten. Having said that, it is hard to find good - and I mean really good - gluten-free baked treats in the grocery store.

I was pretty stoked to find this recipe for baked donuts and with a few modifications, I was able to make it gluten free! 

It was melt-in-your-mouth amazing!

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 TSP baking powder

1/4 TSP cinnamon

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 TSP white vinegar

1/2 TSP pure vanilla extract

1 egg

4 TBLSP butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

makes about 6–8 donuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of gluten-free flour.  There's a local health store here in town that makes the BEST gluten-free flour mix. It actually gives it more of a consistency to hold things together instead of crumble like most gluten-free baked goods. If you're in the area of Victoria, BC, check out Planet Organic's combination! If you aren't local, than try to find a mix of a few different flours (potato, rice, tapioca... etc) as I find the mixed ones are much better.
    
3. Next, add 1/2 cup of sugar.  We used brown sugar instead of regular sugar.  Add 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.  
    
4. Combine the above ingredients into one bowl and set aside.  
    
5. In a small saucepan on medium heat, stir in 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 1 egg and 4 tablespoons of softened butter.
    
6. Stir constantly with a whisk until the butter melts and the ingredients dissolve nicely together.  
    
7. Combine the wet mixture to the dry flour mix with a spoon and stir until smooth. Think pancake consistency! 
   
   I made the mistake the first time we made these donuts of using an electric beater.  It was not as as successful as just mixing by hand. 
    
8. With a large spoon, pour/spread - and remember, the batter will be quite sticky at this point - into an ungreased donut pan.
   
   I purchased mine from Bed, Bath and Beyond. 
    
9. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the donut comes out clean. Remove the baked doughnuts immediately from the pan and place onto a cooling rack.

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The Glaze

2 TSP almond milk

1/2 TSP pure vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

food coloring of your choice

FINAL STEPS

1. In a medium size bowl, scoop in 2 cups of powdered sugar or icing sugar. Add in 2 tablespoons of almond milk and 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
    
2. Mix the ingredients together well until your glaze reaches a smooth consistency and simply add in additional powdered sugar for a thicker consistency. 
    
3. Dunk the donuts into the glaze or pour over top, then set back onto cooling rack till glaze hardens.

Enjoy!