Chocolate Covered Coconut Doughnuts
In honor of Doughnut Day, I'm rolling out the gluten free (dairy free) chocolate covered coconut doughnuts! 🙂 The holiday was actually created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the men and women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I. So let us all raise a doughnut for all those servicemen and women – and those who served them, shall we?
Ingredients
- GF flour mix - 1 1/4 cup
- sweetened shredded coconut - *1/4 cup + a bit more for sprinkling
- coconut sugar Sucanat or organic cane sugar - 1/2 cup
- baking powder - 1/2 Tablespoon
- baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon
- sea salt - 1/8 teaspoon
- ground cinnamon - 1/4 teaspoon
- xanthan gum or guar gum - 1/2 teaspoon
- egg - 1 or **1/4 cup egg replacement
- pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
- coconut oil or organic shortening - ***1/4 cup gently melted
- milk of your choosing - 1/2 cup
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate - 2 1/4 cups
- coconut oil or organic shortening - 3 Tablespooons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray mini doughnut pan well so doughnuts don't stick!
- Measure and mix the following dry ingredients together: GF flour mix, coconut, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl measure and mix: An egg or egg replacement, oil, vanilla and milk.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and stir together until no dry bits remain. Then, with a spoon, fill each doughnut shape to the top. Smooth with a damp finger.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Mine take exactly 8 minutes, but oven temperatures may vary so keep an eye on them. They will look slightly damp on top when you remove them from the oven. You don't want them to overcook or they'll be dry.
- Immediately remove them from the pan and cool on a rack. The easiest way to do this is to tilt the baking pan on its side and gently bang on the counter top. The doughnuts should fall right out. Be sure and cool them completely before dipping them into the chocolate. This allows them to firm up so they don't fall apart in your chocolate icing.
- To make the chocolate icing: Gently melt the chocolate and coconut oil (or shortening) together in a sauce pan on the stove, stirring constantly until it is smooth and creamy.
- There are several ways to dip the doughnuts. I've found the easiest (and least messy) is to place 2 or 3 of them in the sauce pan at a time. Turn them over in the chocolate (with a large spoon) until they're completely coated. Then, gently lift them (one at a time) from the chocolate. Insert a butter knife into the doughnut hole and turn it upside down for a couple of seconds so that the excess chocolate drips off. Place on a non-stick surface.
Notes
Sprinkle with a pinch of coconut and refrigerate for 2 hours. You may eat them cold or at room temperature, though the flavor really comes out with the latter. Then enjoy! 😀
* You may use unsweetened coconut (as seen in the photos), if you like, but there will be a difference in the texture and my taste testers preferred those made with the moister, sweetened coconut.
** To make an egg replacement: Measure 1 Tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax seed in 3 Tablespoons warm water. Stir and allow to set until it gels. Then add it to the liquid ingredients as you would an egg.
***You may substitute a liquid oil - like grapeseed oil - for the coconut oil IN the doughnuts.
