Fluffy maple pecan donuts full of toasty cinnamon-spiced fall flavor and topped with sweet maple glaze. Baked not fried, vegan, and gluten-free!
I know we’re all throwing around the word cozy a lot right now––cozy lattes, cozy spices, cozy soups, cozy socks––all a few of my favorite fall things too. But lets talk about TOASTY. Its cozy adjacent, but deeper. Warm cinnamon and spice, roasted nutty flavor, borderline buttery vibes. These donuts are the epitome of all those things, but all those things dipped in sweet MAPLE GLAZE. Its a very cozy/creamy good contrast, friends.
How To Make Maple Pecan Donuts
The key to capturing toasty-ness in a fluffy baked donut bite is using roasted pecans for half of the flour. Which makes the prep a little bit more involved than my usual one-bowl/whisk/bake style. But worth it.
So step number one (well step 1/2 is roasting the pecans if you don’t buy them already roasted) is making the “flour”. For this you will need a high speed blender and equal parts oats + roasted pecans. After grinding (but not over grinding or you will make pecan butter) comes the most important step: sifting. The natural oil in the pecans will cause the flour to clump, so whisk very vigorously before adding any other ingredients to eliminate clumps and aerate the flour for a lighter fluffier donut texture.
Okay now we can proceed as usual––whisk the dry ingredients, whisk the wet, combine, mix, bake.
Tips for Perfect Baked Donuts
- Don’t over mix the batter. Stir just until combined and lump free, over mixing will make them more chewy and less tender.
- Grease your donut pan even if it claims to be “nonstick”. Nothing is more heartbreaking than perfect donuts that won’t let go of the pan.
- Use a piping bag to fill the donut pan, its less messy and much faster.
- Cool completely before glazing, otherwise the glaze will just melt off.
Watch How To Make These Donuts
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Baked Maple Pecan Donuts
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 6 donuts 1x
- Category: donuts
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Fluffy maple pecan donuts full of toasty cinnamon-spiced fall flavor and topped with sweet maple glaze. Baked not fried, vegan, and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) roasted pecans
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (60g) nondairy yogurt
- 1/4 cup (60g) almond milk
- 1/2 cup (160g) maple syrup
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- pinch of salt
- 1–2 tsps almond milk (if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Prepare flax eggs and set aside.
- Grind the oats and pecans in a high speed blender to a fine flour. Sift of whisk in a bowl to remove all clumps and lighten/aerate.
- Add baking powder, spices, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, almond milk, maple syrup, flax eggs, and vanilla.
- Add wet to dry, and mix to combine.
- Pipe into a greased donut pan.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes at 350ºF. until golden brown on top. They should bounce back when lightly pressed.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, maple syrup, and salt. Add milk slowly if needed to get a drizzle-able glaze consistency.
- Dip or drizzle the donuts with glaze, and eat!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 354
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6g
Keywords: gluten free, fall, thanksgiving, healthy, baked, oil free, easy, glaze, doughnuts, egg free
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Can pecans be omitted or replaced in recipe?
You could swap them for another kind of nut, I’ve done a similar recipe with hazelnuts and almonds works just as well! If you were going for nut-free, what sort of flour did you want to use? All oat?
Wow! Your quick! I have numerous food allergies (recently tested) I can’t have nuts and yes, all oat flour if possible. I appreciate your response, especially your recipes!
Gotcha! Maybe try this recipe instead then: https://feastingonfruit.com/mini-powdered-vegan-baked-donuts/#tasty-recipes-14691
Hey there! I was just wondering if it’s ok to sub the yogurt with apple sauce ?
Sure, that will work! They may be slightly less fluffy, but its a small amount so not a big difference 🙂
Hi Natalie,
Is the yogurt to add fluffiness? You mentioned the donuts not being as fluffy if applesauce was substituted. I do not usually buy yogurt these days.
Thanks, Robin
Applesauce just tends to make baked goods kind of gummy, yogurt is a little higher fat so still adds the same moisture without the gummy-ness risk. It’s such a small amount I don’t know that you’ll notice much difference here!
Thanks for your explanation
Hi Natalie,
Pure yum. I finally got around to making the Maple Pecan Donuts without the glaze. Not a glaze gal and the donuts are plenty sweet for my tastebuds. Next time I will blend the oats first to get them smoother then add the pecans. I didn’t want to the consistency too thick from the pecans. Time to buy one more donut pan. Luckily I had just bought little bundt pans so quickly used them. 6 donuts and 4 bundt ones. Just perfect.
Thanks for all your yummy recipes….Robin
I am so happy you enjoyed them Robin!! That’s a great idea to blend just the oats first to make sure you get rid of any oat pieces, and maple pecan bundts sound just as yummy to me😋 Appreciate your feedback, and enjoy the rest!
Thank you! 🙂
Hi there,
Do you think they’d work as muffins as I don’t have a donut tray?
For sure! If you make chill size muffins they’ll need to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, about 15 minutes for minis😊
I can’t wait to make these!! Which donut pan do you use/recommend? Thanks for sharing!
I use the wilton nonstick: https://amzn.to/2U9HMia Works great, I prefer it to silicone personally. And I hope you love them!
Well, I roasted the pecans but was too excited to let them cool before grinding with the oats. So, I had to bail on the mixture before it was fine, as it was getting a bit steamy. There was definite texture, lol! We powered on though and still have some delicious donuts! Thank you for a yummy breakfast treat. Any idea if I can freeze a few extras?
★★★★★
Hahaha I can relate to the impatience and totally sounds like something I would do😆 BUT. I am glad you persevered and still ended up with some yummy texturally “unique” donuts haha! Yes they would absolutely freeze well too. Thanks Grace for the feedback🤗
WHAT CAN i USE INSTAD OF OATS AS I AM ALLERGIC EVEN TO THE GLUTEN FREE ONES?
Please what can I use instead of oats as I am allergic even to the gluten free ones?
You can use quinoa flakes if you can find those! Or just blend the pecans alone and then add about 1 to 1 1/4 cup ap flour to make up for the oats😊
Thank you I have quinoa flakes. Cant use flour but quinoa will be great. X
That’s perfect, hope you love them!
Reading about substitutes for yogurt, i came upon using butter milk recipe. nondairy milk with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Do you think it is ok to use that instead of the yogurt?
I have used that before and it doesn’t really become thick like yogurt so not quite a perfect sub here. I’d recommend pumpkin puree or applesauce as a sub for the yogurt in this one!
Thank you for answering me. I do have flavored dairy free Yogurt I will try. hopefully it won’t change the flavor much. Will let you know how it
turns out.
Can you use regular egg instead of flax? I’m allergic to flax..
Sure, real eggs will work here too!
Overall they’re good and fluffy but wow, the quantity of maple syrup is so big (and I only put half of it and didn’t add any glazing !) it’s way too Sweet !
★★★
Personally I don’t find them too sweet, bu always adjust to your individual tastes 🙂
Absolutely LOVED these. I was a little hesitant about the pecans and thought they might throw off the texture but they were perfect. I always have my easy homemade soy yogurt on hand so I subbed the milk for that and also added 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. These have got to be the healthiest donuts but still moist and dense. Thank you for the inspiration!
★★★★★
I am SO happy you loved them, Tammy!! Appreciate your feedback❤️
Hi. Can I use oat flour instead? Vs taking the whole oats and making my own flour?
Thank you
Certainly! It will be about 1 1/4 cups
Thank you!