These Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts are soooo delicious. They’re baked, use whole grain flour, dairy-free AND light and fluffy. Oh, don’t forget the lemon glaze though…
This post is sponsored in partnership with NOW Foods. Thank you for supporting the brands I trust and having the pleasure of working with, helping make Fit Mitten Kitchen possible!
Guys… Spring is two weeks away. TWO WEEKS. And even though I can’t really count on Michigan weather to be “spring-like” anytime soon, I CAN pretend warmer weather is coming with some lemon poppy seed things… and by things I obviously mean DONUTS.
Why has it been so long since I’ve made donuts?! I’m trying to think… It must have been when I actually made this lemon poppy seed muffin recipe into donuts last year. I brought them in for my coworkers and I remember them being so impressed. “You made DONUTS?” I would get with that incredulous look. Of course I felt the need to explain to them, “Well it’s basically just a muffin recipe and I baked them in a donut pan… and they’re not fried…”
I don’t know why but I always feel like I have to explain myself when making “healthier” alternatives. Either way though, my work friends didn’t seem to mind 🙂 I mean, can you really go wrong with the word “donut”? Baked, fried, glazed, powdered… they’re all pretty great.
Baked Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
I won’t lie… these donuts are pretty freaking good, my friends. I’m a sucker for anything lemon poppy seed. But lemon poppy seed DONUTS?! *swoon*
what you need
- non-dairy milk + lemon juice
- whole wheat pastry flour
- poppy seeds
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- lemons
- oil
- granulated sugar
- egg
- vanilla
We’re using granulated beet sugar from my friends over at NOW Foods. It is a great sugar substitute to bake with, especially if you have an intolerance to cane sugar. That is not to say I think it is “healthier”. Sugar is sugar. Just trying to share options!
NOW Foods actually has TONS of products I use every day. Their cooking oils (also used in this recipe) are great quality and reasonably priced. And their vanilla extract is organic and non-gmo. NOW is committed to making sure ALL of their food line brands are non-GMO. I truly value partnering with brands that are committed to not only making sure they’re producing quality products, but also practice being transparent.
But back to the lemon poppy seed donuts…
You’ll notice from the above pictures you will fill the donut pan *almost* full. Make sure to grease/oil the pan fairly well to ensure the donuts come out in one piece. Then gently remove them and allow the donuts to cool on a wire rack.
Then it’s on to THE GLAZE. You kind of can’t do donuts without a glaze, right? This glaze is really simple: powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
And if you don’t have powdered sugar at home, you can actually just process the beet sugar with tapioca starch or corn starch until it reaches a super fine texture. It will mix up just like store-bought powdered sugar!
Then we dip the donuts… and eat.
Baked Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
These Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts are soooo delicious. They’re baked, use whole grain flour, dairy-free AND light and fluffy. Oh, don’t forget the lemon glaze though…
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk* + 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemons
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour** (or whole wheat white)
- 2 1/2 TBS poppy seeds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of 3 medium lemons (about 1 TBS)
- 1/4 cup oil (avocado, macadamia nut, melted/cooled coconut oil*)
- 1/2 cup beet sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon flavor (optional but adds a lemony boost)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease donut pan cavities with oil, set aside.
- In medium bowl add milk with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine whole wheat pastry flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.
- In the medium bowl with milk + lemon juice mixture, add in oil, beet sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined, then gently add to large bowl of dry ingredients. Use large spatula to mix until just combined.
- Gently spoon batter into greased donut cavities until 3/4 full (see pictures in post), about 3 tablespoons of batter. Bake for 8-10 minutes (see pictures in post) then allow to cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter, you should have about 12 donuts.
- While donuts are cooling, make your glaze: combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice, more zest if you wish. Gently dip donuts into bowl of glaze and place back on cooling rack–place parchment paper or pan underneath to catch drippings.
- Allow glaze to set, about 5 minutes, and enjoy your donuts!
Notes
*Can sub regular dairy (cow) milk as well.
**Can sub a gluten-free all purpose flour.
Donuts are best enjoyed fresh but will last in container at room temperature up to 3 days.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: baked donuts, lemon poppy seed, healthy donuts
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie says
How did you know I just bought a donut pan this weekend?! I cannot wait to try these out — lemon poppy seed is one of my favorite muffin flavors 🙂
Ashley says
Haha YAY. Let me know when you give them a try 🙂
Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It says
Oh my gosh, these are beautiful circles of perfection. Love the use of beet sugar too! 🙂
Ashley says
Thank you Marina!
Dana says
I would really love to make this recipe!!! Any recommendations on how to sub the whole wheat with Oat or Almond flour? I do not incorporate whole wheat or white flour into my lifestyle. Thank you!!!
★★★★
Ashley says
Hi Dana,
Thanks for your comment! So I’ve made these before with oat flour but it was a long time ago and I can’t remember the exact proportions! My best guess would be to decrease the flour amount to 1 3/4 cups oat flour. You’ll end up with a slightly more dense donut but the flavor will still be great. Let me know if you try it! 🙂
Emily says
I’ve totally discovered with my blogging friends that healthier alternatives do not have to lack in taste at all; in fact they can have more taste and texture than if you just added a ton of sugar. I’m ALL for sugar, but I like it in moderation, and I love other flavors to come out too like the LEMON and poppyseeds. Lemon poppyseed bread has to be one of my favorites, and I love that you turned it into donuts. Pinning for later!
Ashley says
Yes, lemon poppy seed is just too good to pass up! Thanks so much for pinning Emily!
Izzy Bruning says
Oh my goodness – these look amazing!!! x
Izzy |http://www.pinchofdelight.com
Georgie | The Home Cook's Kitchen says
These look amazing! just listening to your podcast with Georgie, so good 🙂 your advice is awesome, and perfect timing for me right now going through yet another blog slump!
Ashley says
Thanks so much Georgie! And I am really glad you found the episode helpful 🙂 Whatever it is getting you down “just keep swimming” <3
Kathryn says
I want to make these next weekend but I’m pretty much a learned-from-mom, all-purpose-flour-user for baking. I do have a bag of wheat flour but the container just says whole wheat flour, not “whole wheat white”. So I’m going to ask the most basic of questions. Is this the same thing???
Ashley says
Lol no worries Kathryn, that is a good question! “Whole wheat” and “whole wheat white” are actually different 🙂 BUT what I would do here in this case is actually use 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. They may turn out *slightly* more dense, but they will still taste good! Let me know if you give it a try 🙂
Lisa Bernath says
Hi!! Is it possible to use coconut sugar instead of beet?
Ashley says
Hi Lisa! Yes – any granulated sugar will work. The coconut sugar will just make the batter a little darker 🙂
Stef says
Do you think I could substitute the eggs with bananas or apple sauce (probably more likely apple sauce…. not too many bananas get ripened enough for this around my house… we love our bananas! Lol)? I have a dairy and egg allergy and these donuts look amazing!!
Ashley says
Hi Stef! I would actually sub the egg for a flaxseed “egg” if possible. So 1 egg substitute is 1 TBS flaxseed meal + 3 TBS water – let sit for 5 minutes to get up. That will act as a better sub than applesauce here, in my opinion. Hope that helps!