I have a theory that every couple has the same conversation at some point during the wedding registry process:
“THIS WILL CHANGE OUR—”
“No.”
For the husband and me, the life-changing item in question was a donut pan.
He made some solid arguments, like how I had never made donuts before (because I didn’t have a donut pan) and that we would never use it.
But I was convinced. I was a donut maker just waiting for her donut pan.
Luckily a friend of mine also had the registry disagreement and didn’t bat an eye before saying “Oh girl, I will get you that donut pan.”
Cut to me wide-eyed and innocent, opening wedding presents a few months later: “Would you look at that? Someone got us a donut pan! Crazy!”
Ironically, between both of our crazy schedules, we ended up not cooking much at all our first year of marriage. But I did use that donut pan repeatedly, thus making it one of the most used items in our kitchen.
Anything coffee will win over the husband so I recently adapted one of my favorite gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Here it is – Coffee Chocolate Chip Donuts!
Coffee Chocolate Chip Donut Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1.5 teaspoon instant espresso coffee (I use medaglia d’oro)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup “buttermilk” – made from canned coconut milk and juice from half a small lemon
- 1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
Vanilla Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Remaining coconut milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350º and spray a nonstick doughnut pan with cooking oil.
- Make your buttermilk. Shake the can of coconut milk then pour into a measuring cup. Strain the lemon juice into the measuring cup – do not stir. Let sit and curdle for 5-10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, instant espresso powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, blend the eggs with the vanilla, oil and buttermilk together; add the flour and blend until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the doughnut pan – be careful not to overfill! Bake for 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the doughnuts cool slightly, then shake them out of the pan on to a cooling rack. Place a baking sheet, parchment paper or tinfoil under the cooling rack – this will be important in a few minutes.
- While doughnuts are cooling, make the glaze in a small bowl, mixing in a little coconut milk at a time. You want it like thick honey – if you drag a spoon through and hold it up, the glaze should drip off oh so slowly, but all in one stream.
- Dip one side of the donut in the glaze, twisting until covered, then place back on the cooling rack.
- Once the glaze dries until no longer sticky, usually 10 minutes or so, enjoy!