Recipe: Apple Protein Donuts

Apples are my favorite Fall ingredient, hands down. I mean, I love pumpkin things – but I haven’t ever really made much using pumpkin. The first time I baked something using canned pumpkin (and used the donut tin for the first time as well) was when I made my pumpkin carob protein donuts – I loved the outcome. However, I felt it was time to take the donut tin once more… this time using my favorite ingredient- yummy apples!

Ingredients (7 donuts):

1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.5 tablespoons NuNaturals Stevia baking blend
1/3 cup vanilla protein powder (I used Jay Robb)
1/3 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup oat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flaxmeal + 3 Tbsp warm water, mixed together and set aside for 10 minutes)
3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt (or nondairy yogurt)
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a donut pan with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray.
Toss apples with cinnamon and stevia and set aside.
Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and stir until thorough mixed.
Place the flax egg, yogurt, oil, lemon juice and agave nectar together in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Carefully add the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture. Gently fold in the wet ingredients until no dry spots remain. The batter should be light and airy.
If using a donut pan, divide the cinnamon sugar apples evenly amongst donut cups. Divide the batter evenly the cups on top of the apple slices, pressing down and shaping a bit with your fingers. The donut cups should be full. Bake 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Allow to cool 1 minute in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack.