Gluten-free, dairy-free, with nut-free and Keto options!
We celebrate birthdays hard around here. My boys wake up to decorations, a present on the kitchen table and a special birthday breakfast of their choice every year, just as my mom did for me. I love taking the day to make them feel extra special. April is a big birthday month for us, with 3 of my 5 boys having April birthdays. One of my boys wanted birthday donuts and I had fun coming up with these for them!
I love making them as mini donuts in this inexpensive donut maker. The donut maker only takes 2-3 minutes per batch, no heating up the house with the oven required! But you can also use a mini or full-sized donut pan in the oven at 350, baking until the tops bounce back when touched (about 13 minutes in a mini donut pan or 18-20 minutes in a full-sized donut pan).
Don’t have a donut pan? You can also make these as muffins! Follow the recipe below as written and then bake at 350 in the oven for 13 minutes in a mini muffin pan or 20-22 minutes in a full-sized muffin pan, until the tops bounce back when touched. We love the muffins still with the glaze too.
Paleo Birthday Donuts or Muffins
Equipment
- 1 mini donut pan or maker see notes for other options
Ingredients
Donut Batter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup vanilla nutpods or other DF milk of choice
- 2 1/4 cups almond flour see notes for nut-free
- 1/2 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup oil, extra light tasting olive or melted coconut
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sprinkles, divided
Glaze- Option 1
- 1 1/4-2 cups powdered sugar or monk fruit sugar
- 1/4 cup vanilla nutpods or other DF milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon melted ghee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze - Option 2
- 1/4 cup coconut or maple sugar
- 1/4 cup full-fat thick canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat mini donut maker or oven to 350.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup vanilla nutpods with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice. Set aside while you combine other ingredients. This creates a faux "buttermilk" that really makes a difference in the texture of these, don't skip it! I recommend vanilla nutpods to get the best "cake batter" flavor, but you can use other DF milk of choice if needed.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (almond flour through salt). In a small mixing bowl, combine oil, vanilla, syrup, and egg, whisking to combine.
- Add wet ingredients and the almond milk/lemon mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Pour batter into donut maker or pan and cook until top is firm when touched (will vary based on size of pan or model of maker, for mine it's about 3 minutes).
- While donuts are cooking, make glaze. We prefer Glaze 1, but if accessibility or dietary preferences need, Glaze 2 is an option as well. If making Glaze 1 and want to dip the whole donut, use 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar. If making Glaze 1 and you want to just dip the tops of the donuts or muffins, use 2 cups powdered sugar for a thicker glaze.
- When donuts are cooked, dipping either just the tops of the donuts or the entire donut in the glaze. Place on cooling rack with foil or parchment underneath to catch any drips. Optional - sprinkle with additional sprinkles. We like these best once the glaze has cooled and hardened a little, which can be speed up by cooling in the fridge.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze cooked donuts in a single layer until frozen, then store in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- If needed, you can substitute 1 cup cassava flour for the almond + tapioca. Please note, using 1 cup cassava flour is the best substitute for the texture but will yield less donuts, about 20.
- You can also use any other dairy-free milk instead of vanilla nutpods.
So yummy! I added a bit of almond flavoring and I think that gives it a bit of cake flavor 🙂 I did a simple glaze and sprinkled some crushed freeze-dried strawberries atop ! Kid and husband approved !! I printed off the recipe which means I plan to make it frequently
I love the addition of freeze dried strawberries for “sprinkles” – what a fantastic idea! So glad they were loved and even got printed off to make again. Thank you!
We made these into “doughnut hole bites”! Worked perfectly! Loved by both my boys! Thank you!
I love that idea and am so happy they were enjoyed by your boys! Thanks for the review!