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Baked Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Doughnuts (Allergy-Free, Paleo)

Name: Baked Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Doughnuts (Allergy-Free, Paleo)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 (7-8 oz) Ripe Yellow Plantain; 1/4 Cup Arrowroot Starch; 1 Tsp Baking Powder; 1 Tsp Ground Ginger; 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon; 1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves; 1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg; 2-3 TB Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk; 1 TB Blackstrap Molasses; 1/2 Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract; 5-10 Drops of Vanilla Stevia (optional, sweeten to taste); Simple Glaze:; 1/2 Cup Powdered Erythritol (or preferred powdered sugar); 1-2 TB Water (depending on preference); Allergy-Free Chocolate Sprinkles* (optional)

Published: Apr 13, 2015 · Modified: Apr 13, 2019 by Rebecca Pytell · This post may contain affiliate links.

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A healthy holiday donut recipe you'll love! These Baked Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Doughnuts are paleo, allergy-free, grain-free, and perfect for breakfast, dessert, a Christmas brunch, or an afternoon snack! They're seasonally spiced, topped with a sugar-free glaze, easy and kid-friendly!

I promised you I would make a gingerbread recipe. Well here it is (just a few months late!). I made these gingerbread doughnuts over winter break after I got this beautiful doughnut pan from Santa! One of the best gifts, I kid you not! I had been "craving" for one for so long and they aren't even expensive! If you don't have a doughnut pan in your baking pan arsenal, stock up...quick!

These baked gluten-free vegan gingerbread doughnuts were the first recipe I made to "break in" the new pan. 'Tis the season, right? I'm one of those people who believes that gingerbread, any seasonal flavor craze, is 100% acceptable year-round. Even if you stumble upon this recipe, say in the summer, I urge you...bake! Bake away!

How are these gingerbread doughnuts gluten-free, vegan, paleo, grain-free, and allergy-free?

I'm sure you're wondering, but no worries here! A delicious and unexpected combination of ingredients yields one amazing baked doughnut recipe! All you'll be needing is arrowroot starch, a nicely ripe plantain (yes! NOT a banana), baking powder, gingerbread spices: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla extract, molasses, non-dairy milk, and for topping these delicious doughnuts, with a simple sugar-free glaze, some powdered Swerve (erythritol) and a touch of water! Allergy-free chocolate sprinkles are optional but recommended!

How do you make baked gingerbread doughnuts?

This small batch baked doughnut recipe is super simple to make! You'll be blending your very ripe, peeled plantain in a small food processor or blender, adding in the arrowroot starch, baking powder, spices, molasses, non-dairy milk, and blending again for a super silky smooth batter! Then just spoon out the batter into your greased doughnut pan for a total of 4 doughnuts. Bake the doughnuts for a quick 12 minutes, remove, let cool, and then dip the rounded side of the doughnuts in the simple "sugar" glaze you'll be making and sprinkle on the sprinkles!

Is it Doughnut or Donut?

I'm sure you noticed my strong stance on using the word DOUGHNUT in this post and recipe; here's why...

Let's start from the beginning. Doughnuts have been around for centuries and have even been found petrified by archaeologists! We don't really know much about those fried cakes, so historians tend to start at the 19th century with the Dutch and their frying or sweet dough balls called, olykoeks. Immigrants brought them to America. Apparently the middle of these doughnuts never cooked all the way and thus be filled with fruits.

Then comes along a woman from New England who gives her son some doughnuts and the recipe when he leaves for a sea voyage. There are 2 versions of this story now. One, the son couldn't steer the ship and eat the doughnut so he stabbed it on to the spoke of the ship's wheel. Or, he hated the center filling and just poked it out. From there he started making his mother's recipe without a center. The doughnut eventually becomes super popular during WWI and eventually gets mass-produced in the 1920s. In the 40s and 50s doughnut chains start popping up like Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme.

Now, the "dictionary" approved spelling of Doughnut is Doughnut! BAM! It is the true formal word for the fried dough of yum. The simpler, shortened version, Donut, came about after it became a popular treat and stores like Dunkin' Donuts starting coining the name as such. So really, it's a doughnut and not a donut (that's just slang). All you food bloggers naming your doughnuts, "donuts", need to stop. It's wrong! #FakeNews!

When should you eat these gingerbread doughnuts?

Since these doughnuts are healthy, low in sugar, and all real food, having them for breakfast, as a snack, dessert, or a Christmas brunch are all perfect options! Is there ever a bad time to have a doughnut? No way! Grain-free, paleo, vegan, allergy-free, and of course, gluten-free. You can actually eat the whole pan or split it with a well-loved friend! You can easily double the recipe too to make a bigger batch (need more doughnut pans?) They also freeze well, can be eaten cold the next day or heated in the microwave for a warm baked treat!