Samoa Baked Doughnuts with 1-minute Maple Caramel
/Guess what time it is!! Or should I say, guess what week it is!!??
It’s DOUGHNUT weeeeek!
How did you not know about doughnut week before today? Well, because I made it up. Friday is National Doughnut Day but I thought we needed more than 1 day to celebrate these tasty treats! And to help celebrate doughnut week, my publisher is offering 35% off my book, Baked Doughnuts For Everyone, ALL week long! [Check the end of the post for details!]
First up on the list for Doughnut Week are SAMOA doughnuts. Sorry for the shouting, but…
SAMOA DOUGHNUTS. Favorite Girl Scout cookie of all time. I’m a huge sucker for caramel and those crisp, shortbread-like cookies. And the toasted coconut!! And the chocolate!
I’m aware you know of the components that make up a Samoa cookie, but I just can’t help my excitement. How this recipe wasn’t included on my list of 101 doughnuts in my book is beyond me.
So what’s with this 1-minute maple caramel you ask? No, it’s not the traditional caramel you find on these cookies but it takes just 2 ingredients, a bowl, and a spoon. No boiling sugar or candy thermometers. You’ll need maple syrup and almond butter [the drippy kind] and THAT IS IT!
One day for a pancake topping I tried stirring together almond butter and maple syrup to see what would happen. The next thing I knew I was spooning maple almond butter c-a-r-a-m-e-l into my mouth and I had no pancake topping left.
I couldn’t believe how caramel-like it was in flavor and texture. I knew this had to be used as the topping for these doughnuts, even though it strays from traditional caramel. It was just too easy and too good.
I have been sort of really excited to tell you about that sauce if you couldn’t tell.
I kept the doughnuts pretty basic but I wanted to add just a few things to make them a bit richer and more cookie-like in flavor. Heavy whipping cream was added for richness and just a touch of almond extract for a hint of shortbread/sugar-cookie flavor.
The bottoms of the doughnuts are dipped in chocolate just like the classic cookie.
Then the caramel and toasted coconut are stirred together to make the most insane topping you have ever tasted. You may want to make extra.
The doughnuts are finished with a chocolate drizzle on top, making them look as close to the Samoa cookie as possible.
With my parents in town we wanted to celebrate my mom’s birthday which was just a few weeks ago. Who needs cake when you can have Samoa Doughnuts? They were the perfect birthday treat, eaten right alongside the strawberry vanilla swirl Greek frozen yogurt.
Ohhh yahhh.
Samoa Baked Doughnuts with 1-minute Maple Caramel
gluten-free, dairy-free option // yields 8-10 standard doughnuts [in the Wilton doughnut pan]
Doughnuts:
- 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/3 cup muscovado sugar, or brown sugar/pure cane sugar/coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoons almond meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, or other baking oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Toppings:
- 1/2 cup creamy natural almond butter, oil on top thoroughly stirred in
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined coconut oil, optional
For the doughnuts:
Preheat your oven to 350* F and thoroughly grease your doughnut pans with softened butter or coconut oil. Let the 1/2 cup maple syrup come to room temp on the counter.
In a large mixing bowl stir together the oat flour, sweet rice flour, sugar, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk the eggs then whisk in the cream, applesauce, milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined [when you no longer see dry flour]. Spoon the batter into the doughnut molds about 1/4-inch from the top and bake for 18-22 minutes until light golden around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean but not bone dry.
Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then loosen with a small, stiff spatula or a butter knife [carefully] and release the doughnuts from the pan. Place on a cooling rack until fully cool. Bake another round if you only have 1 pan. You can also use a muffin tin but bake time will increase.
For the toppings:
While the doughnuts cool stir together the almond butter and maple syrup until fully combined. It will take a minute or so. The mixture will be very thick but pourable and smooth. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350* F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Melt 2/3 cup chocolate chips [30 second increments in the microwave stirring after each, or with a double boiler] and place in a shallow bowl just big enough to dunk the doughnuts. Dunk the bottom of each doughnut and slightly up the sides, letting the excess drip off. Place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat until finished then place pan in the fridge for the chocolate to set. Melt more chocolate if needed.
Spread coconut on a small, rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring every 2 minutes until evenly golden brown. About 5-8 minutes total. Watch very closely as it goes from golden to burnt very quickly! Remove and let cool.
Melt the remaining chocolate chips with the 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil [optional but easier to drizzle with the oil] and set aside.
Place 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut in a medium-sized mixing bowl and pour on the maple almond butter caramel. Fold/stir in with a spatula until fully combined. For a thicker consistency add more coconut. I used just over 1 cup for a fairly stiff mixture.The stiffer the mixture the harder it is to spread.
Remove the doughnuts from the fridge and spread the coconut mixture onto the tops of the doughnuts with a butter knife [or small spatula] and your fingers [this gets messy/sticky]. Drizzle the chocolate over each doughnut. Let the chocolate set in the fridge or serve right away.
Doughnuts best stored in a sealed container in the fridge and placed on the counter for about 30 minutes to come to room temp before eating.
Notes: To make dairy free use dairy free chocolate and sub 5 tablespoons unsweetened almond or soy milk instead of the cream and 2% milk. There are no subs for sweet rice flour. It can be found at many health food stores, online, or easily found at Asian grocery stores [aka: glutinous rice flour].
As mentioned in the beginning of the post, my publisher is offering35% off my book all week long on their site! It brings the total to $12.99 which is the cheapest you’ll find it anywhere. For more details on the doughnut book head on over to my book page and check it out!
Discount Code: doughnut35 – enter this in the “promotion/coupon code” field after clicking “add to cart”
Be on the lookout for more doughnut goodness all week long!
Ashley
