When reader Meg wrote in asking if the substitution on the all purpose flour to spelt flour was one-to-one on my baked apple cider doughnuts, I was reminded that I haven’t baked with spelt flour in awhile. I definitely picked up a small bag the next time I was at the health food store for some baking projects. Spelt doughnuts sounded like a pretty good dessert for this past weekend, so I came up with a couple simple changes based on some of the other doughnut recipes here on The Chic Life to make a recipe specifically for spelt flour. I made a Healthier Baked Cinnamon Spelt Doughnuts Recipe.
(By the way, the substitution for all purpose to spelt is one-to-one in the other doughnut recipes – see links below)
This Healthier Baked Cinnamon Spelt Doughnuts Recipe is a little heartier than the other doughnut recipes I’ve made with all purpose flour thanks to the spelt flour. I still enjoy the texture and find these doughnuts to be slightly more fluffy and light than whole wheat. But, I love baking with spelt flour!
PrintHealthier Baked Cinnamon Spelt Doughnuts {Recipe}
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 18 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Spelt flour gives these doughnuts a heartier texture that is somewhere between what all purpose and whole wheat flours would yield. If you’ve never baked with spelt flour, this would be a great introductory recipe. Easy, fast, and satisfying, these doughnuts are a no brainer. You could add a simple glaze on top, but when I’m feeling lazy, a quick dip in cinnamon sugar adds pizzazz without much extra effort.
As with my other recipes, I call this “healthier” instead of “healthy” because I’m not sure what would make a dessert healthy unless it was comprised of fresh sliced fruit. So, let’s just agree this is a “healthier” than traditional fried doughnuts…and even lighter and less sweet than some baked versions!
*Vegetarian, Vegan options listed below*
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup spelt flour (or sub all purpose flour if you’re not feeling the spelt flour)
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons (preferably raw sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk (or sub vegan milk substitute)
- 1 large egg (or sub flaxseed egg)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush a 6-count doughnut pan lightly with melted butter (or spray with non-stick spray).
- In a medium-large bowl, add spelt flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In another medium-large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, egg, canola oil, and vanilla extract to combine.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined (careful to not over-mix).
- Evenly distribute in doughnut pan. Tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until doughnuts are cooked through (when a toothpick inserted into the doughnut comes out clean). (Mine were perfect at 8 minutes, but oven temperatures can vary, so check at 7 minutes)
- In a small bowl, whisk together (or stir with fork) 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until cinnamon is evenly mixed in. When doughnuts are safe to touch, but while they’re still warm, dip each side into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, pressing and twisting to get good coverage.
- Serve and enjoy!
***
You may also like these other The Chic Life recipes:
- Healthier Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
- Healthier Baked Blueberry Streusel Muffins
- Homemade Oil-Free Autumn Granola
And here are more great spelt recipes from around the web:
- Plum Honey Cake by The Healthy Epicurean
- Spelt Farfalle in a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce with Roasted Broccoli by Lore (be sure to watch the video!)
- Honey Spelt Bread by Mess Makes Food
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Thanks for the pingback. Your doughnuts look and sound divine: definitely one to try! 🙂
these look so delicious! i still haven’t tried spelt flour but i want to soon!
Can the canola oil be replaced
Hi Ana, yes definitely! You could use another neutral-flavored oil like avocado oil. I sometimes bake with extra virgin olive oil, and that works well too. You could also use butter or a vegan butter – melted and cooled. Hope this helps! 🙂
I made these minus the healthier part :/ (I used a bit of extra butter and regular flour…guilty) and they turned out great!
http://petitedecadence.com/2013/11/19/quick-treats-baked-cinnamon-donuts/
Thanks Diana!
THose are excellent!! I’m making them mini and eating a batch for supper
Hi Joni, Woohoo! So glad to hear you’re enjoying them. That’s great you can make them mini too! 🙂
Hi there, these look great …….I use spelt almost exclusively. I’m wondering if the dough is thick enough to pipe or roll out and cut with my vintage donut cutter as I don’t own a donut pan. Thank you!
Hi Kristi! It’s definitely too liquidy to roll out and cut. There’s a chance you could pipe it, but it’s not as thick as something like a churro, so I’m not sure if it would keep its shape. Let me know how it turns out if you try it. Alternatively, if you want to get a doughnut pan, you can get a 6-count one on Amazon for under $10. Kind of annoying to get a pan for one purpose…unless you make lots of doughnuts, I guess! Lol 🙂
These turned out delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
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So glad to hear that, Fatema! 🙂
I used maple sugar and these were really yummy
Yummm! Thanks for sharing, Laura! 🙂
I made mini muffins with this recipe and it turned out great!! The kids loved it.
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These were a real hit with my five year old. We have a range of food intolerances and I’ve been looking for some treats to make him as he misses out on so much.
I made them with wholemeal spelt, oat milk, rice bran oil and maple sugar (1/8 cup) they turned out perfectly. Next time I’ll try with besan flour as an egg substitute.
I bought a doughnut pan especially, it’ll be worth the investment as I think this will be a regular bake.
I did find I needed to brush the doughnuts with a little rice bran oil to get the cinnamon sugar to stick to coat them.
Thanks Diana for a great, healthier, yummy treat 🙂
★★★★★