HEMP SPRINKLES!? Who ever heard of that? The answer is: no one.

I sprinkle them on top of everything anyway, why not dip glazed donuts in them and add a protein-packed, omega-3 kick? The part of me that eats raw goat yogurt sprinkled with bee pollen and chia for breakfast does a little heel click when I have enough hemp that I can get weird with food combining. My inner vegan nutritionist starts shooting off fireworks in the shape of kale leaves, filling party poppers with protein bars, and frosting cupcakes with chia gel. It's a hippie-food-nerd party in my head.

I got a big pack of hemp hearts for free through Logan's work. So I felt like it was ok to get liberal with them.

I really thought I effed this one up royally. I've made many perfect donuts in my life, so I had big plans for this one. But and I got a little over-zealous (in my opinion) with the addition of coconut flour -- one of the trickier "flours" to work with. And of course I only realized that perhaps this whole attempt was doomed AFTER I started down doughnut road. AFTER I started adding in the liquid from my original recipe. Luckily, I understand coconut flour mechanics so I tweaked it as best I could.

Coconut flour, you see, is highly fibrous -- the flour equivalent of a sponge. Which means this recipe, which normally calls for half a cup of hot water when working with spelt or all purpose gluten free flour, needed 3x as much liquid. 

This left me a bit panicky. 

They sure did turn out beautifully, in the end. All of that extra liquid resulted in a moist, cake-like doughnut. My very much not grain-free friends had no idea that it was made with almond and coconut flour. I almost forgot, myself. 

Grain Free Baked Maple Cinnamon Doughnuts w Cider Glaze & Hemp Sprinkles

Notes: Update January 2019. Sorry this is all weighted! This is an older recipe and I didn’t manage to record the cup measurements at the time.

Ingredients

• 100 grams coconut flour

• 50 grams almond flour

• 90 grams arrowroot flour

• 2 tbsp cinnamon

• 250 grams evaporated cane sugar 

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 2 medium free range eggs

• 1/3 cup melted ghee or coconut oil

• 1/4 cup maple syrup 

• 1 1/2 cups hot water

• 2 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two donut pans with ghee or coconut oil.

2. In a large bowl, combine coconut flour, almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar. Sift it all together to lighten it up and break down any clumps of almond and coconut flour. Add eggs, melted ghee, vanilla, and maple syrup. Combine with a rubber spatula. Add hot water & combine thoroughly. 

3. Add two tablespoons of the batter to each donut shape in your pan, spreading it out evenly throughout the shape with your fingers or a spoon. 

4. Bake 20 minutes, rotating half way through. Donuts are done when a toothpick or sharp knife inserted into the pastry comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from your pan.

Cider Glaze + Hemp Sprinkles

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup apple cider 

• 1 cup coconut sugar, powdered and sifted

• 3 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 egg white

• 1 cup hemp hearts

Method

1. Place hemp hearts in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

2. In a separate medium bowl, combine cider, coconut sugar, and maple syrup. Add egg white and whip with a hand beater two minutes, or until fully combined. Dip the tops of the cooled donuts in the glaze, and then in the hemp hearts. 

*Admittedly, this glaze isn't perfect. But it is very flavorful, tasting strongly of fresh apples and pairing well with the nutty hemp seeds. And, hey, it holds those sprinkles on tight. 

Sweet Noshing! — Renee