Peanut Butter and Jolly “Donut” Times

What happened to January? You know?  There was Christmas and parties and food and more parties and more food. Then there was New Years and more parties and even more food. And remember those New Year’s resolutions.

They seemed so simple…..Eat better…..Exercise. I really meant them, at the time, but of course I made those resolutions right after I’d eaten enough food to feed a whole family, a very large family, which I realized I was becoming all by myself.

Did I tell you I went to the doctor and the first thing they always want to do is to weigh you. Whoa! I must have been wearing my heaviest shoes.

So, maybe it’s time to start making a few changes.

I know, I know. Most people would cut out desserts and try to change the types of foods they eat or eat less of them. While this works really great for a lot of people, I always seem to feel deprived especially if I can’t have dessert. I love donuts (not so healthy) and I love peanut butter (which is really healthy) so I decided to try to find a way I could have dessert and still try to meet my new fitness goals. Not an easy task!

Luckily, I love to cook and bake so I decided to take donuts, one of my favorite foods and make it healthy. So I asked myself (which is something I try not to do very often since I don’t always like the answer) how can I make a donut healthy?

My first response was to simply change the name to a “muffin” which somehow seems healthier than a donut but has no less sugar or fat. Even I knew that wouldn’t really help my fitness goals.

My next idea was to stop eating donuts and eat cookies instead which is still not a good resolution to my dilemma.

My final response was to create a donut that was low in calories but so good even I could be fooled!

The final answer seemed the most reasonable so I was off to the kitchen to create a “healthy” donut.

I started by eliminating almost half the sugar of most donut recipes and then substituting some of the sugar with honey. I used whole grain oat flour instead of white flour and added peanut butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

What I created was a baked donut which is low in sugar, uses whole grain oat flour and peanut butter for a delicious, “almost healthy” donut.

Baked Peanut Butter-Oat and Honey Donuts with a Balsamic Raspberry Glaze

1 cup oat flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

¼ cup honey

 1 tablespoon vanilla

Jelly Glaze

1/3 cup raspberry preserves or jam*

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Spray a 12 count donut pan with cooking spray or coat with shortening. Be sure to coat well so donuts are easy to remove from pan after baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl add egg, milk, butter, peanut butter, honey and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just combined.

4. Fill donut pan ¾ full of batter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in donut comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes and then flip pan, tapping on bottom to release donuts onto a baking sheet or platter. (It will help if you loosen sides of the donuts with a butter knife so they will release easier.)