Salted Caramel Mini Donuts

What a difference a week makes.

I know I have been rather silent on my end and if you have been stopping by as of late, you will know that I have been alluding to experiencing some life changes. I have held back on the exact details; I will one day soon expand more on that but for now, I am in the midst of preparing for a new home, a new roommate, a new city to live in, a new job and a new chapter to my life.

For someone who has always felt so afraid of/opposed to change and is experiencing so much of it in such a short span of time, I think I am taking it rather well. In fact, might I even say that there is an underlying sense of excitement brewing in me. What I am learing in this time is that facing your fears isn’t as scary of a thing that you once made them out to be.

What has blown me away even more so is the fact that the moment I faced them was the moment all of these incredible doors and opportunities have opened up. I would have never been able to do the things that are on my horizon had I not mustered up the strength to take care of myself, put me first and venture out into the scary, exciting unknown. This change is birthing new life in me.

I could get used to this…

Salted Caramel Mini Donuts Recipe

Gluten, dairy, and egg free

Makes 16-18 mini donuts

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 c. sorghum flour (I use Authentic Foods brand)
• 1/3 c. Brown rice flour (Authentic Foods)
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1/4 c. potato starch
• 1/4 c. arrowroot powder
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• (OR: 2/3 c. regular flour + 1/4 c. cocoa powder and omit xanthan gum)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. buttermilk (1/2 Tb apple cider vinegar + 1/2 c. non-dairy milk)
• 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer + 2 Tbs warm water, mixed til frothy
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients {from flours to salt} together until fully combined.
3. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Add all the remainder of wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated.
4. Grease a mini donut pan.
5. Place 1/2 batter into a ziploc baggie. Cut the corner of one side to use as an opening. This part is important in the shape of the donuts: Using one hand to firmly keep the dough flowing out of the hole, squirt the dough out in a circle in the pan.
6. Bake 8 minutes. Allow to sit in the pan for 3 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

Caramel Filling

• Use this recipe 

1. Reserve 3-4 Tbs for frosting.
2. Pipe remainder into hole of mini donut.

Salted Caramel Frosting

• 1/4 c. non-dairy butter {I like Fleischman’s}, softened
• 3-4 Tb caramel sauce
• 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 Tb non-dairy milk
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt (taste for preference)

1. Mix butter and caramel sauce together with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes, until fluffy.
2. Add powdered sugar and mix. Add milk until creamy, smooth, and fluffy.
3. Spoon onto the tops of donuts.
4. Option: Top with fleur de sel and a mint leave.