Pumpkin Spice Collagen Donuts

Who needs Dunkin Donuts, when you’ve got Deez Donuts?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we as a people ‘indulge’ this past year.

I’ve thought about ‘why’ we indulge, ‘what’ we indulge in, and how those ‘indulgences’ make our bodies feel. I decided to pull from research from my own experiences and those of a core group of friends.

(Of course, it would have been much more scientific for me to ‘poll’ a ‘control’ group of citizens with dependent and independent variables and constants…but alas.. This is a blog, and that feels way too serious an endeavor…at least for the purposes of this post.)

I am 43 and most of my friends are between the ages of 25-50. Most of us grew up with microwaves, fast food, and boxed casseroles. We were rewarded, quieted, and pacified with sugary treats. A donut in particular, was how we welcomed most Saturday mornings, and they were a staple for any respectable Southern Baptist Sunday School classroom. Albertsons sold a dozen glazed for just a few dollars, as did Krispy Kreme, Dunkin, and the local donut shops.

Now-a-days it’s become a competition to see who can pack the most sugar, cream, dough, and whatever ‘crack-like’ substances we can in to the MOST ‘instagramable’ creations possible. Every, and I mean EVERY coffee shop I know of has a case FULL of indulgent treats singing siren songs, beckoning their patrons to purchase them.

However, the culture of ‘every bite has to be epic’ is hurting us in more ways that just our pant size. According to one NCBI review of numerous studies has an adverse affect on long-term physical health, including spikes blood sugar, inflammation, anxiety, depression, and lack of mental focus.

So what then Christen? Are you saying we should eliminate donuts? What’s next, ‘joy….puppies?!’ The answer is nope. I’m just wondering if we can shift from indulgent and harmful to delicious and healing. I’m wondering if we can challenge some of the great culinary minds of the present to stretch beyond what they’ve known, into a future ‘Tesla’ of health.

That’s what I’ve attempted to do with today’s recipe. Adding collagen to any recipe would help with hair/skin/nails, digestive health, joint and ligament pain — see all of collagen powder’s benefits.

But in addition to THOSE benefits, these donuts are WARM, DELICIOUS, and each only 105 Calories (that’s including the butter/Swerve sprinkle at the end), have 6 grams of protein, 19 reparative amino acids, healthy/healing saturated fats, and ½ a daily serving of collagen, and less than 1g of sugar per donut!!

Give them a whirl and let me know what you think!

Prep Time

8 minutes

Cook Time

21-23 minutes

Total Time

29-31 minutes

Yield

12 donuts

Ingredients

• 2 free-roaming eggs (room temp)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree (NOT sweetened pie filling)
• ¼ cup almond or cashew milk (unsweetened)
• 2 tbsp grassfed butter (melted, and slightly cooled)
• 6 scoops CB Supplements unflavored multi collagen powder
• ¾ cup Super Fine Blanched Almond Flour
• ¼ Cup Alternative Sugar (I recommend granulated Swerve)
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Spice
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 dash pink himalayan salt
• Coconut Oil Non-stick Spray

Top it Off

• 2 Tbsp Grassfed Butter (melted)
• 1-2 TBSP Granulated or Powdered Swerve
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray silicone donut pan with coconut oil.
2. With an electric mixer on a low setting mix eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, almond milk, and butter for about 30 seconds, set aside.
3. In a separate medium bowl, add the CB Supplements Collagen, almond flour, xanthan gum, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then stir together.
4. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients & until just combined (if you whisk to much they will deflate)
5. Using a spoon or a piping bag, distribute the batter evenly amongst the 12 cavities. (filling 3/4 full).
6. Bake 21-23 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and set aside for at least 5 minutes to cool and settle. Then gently pop donuts out from the bottom. Flip for better presentation.

Topper

1. Melt butter for 15 seconds in microwave, set aside
2. Mix Swerve and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl
3. Once cooled, dunk or drizzle each donut with butter and then sprinkle or roll donut in Swerve/Spice mixture

Then Smile, cuz you just changed the donut game yo!

Nutritional Facts

• Calories: 105
• Protein: 5.9g
• Fat: 8.4g
• Carbs: 7.8g
• Fiber: 1.1g
• Net Carbs: 6.7g
• Sugar: 0.6g

Recipe Tips

• I recommend a 12-donut silicone baking pan, as it helps the donuts bake evenly, stick less, and pop out in better shape than a tin pan.
• Elevation matters in baking, so if your donuts are too ‘sticky’, try adding 1-2 Tbsp of Almond flour to the batter.
• Be sure to look for FINE Blanched Almond Flour. There are a lot variations. The finer the flour the lighter and more delicate the donuts will be.