Strawberry Sprinkled Chocolate Donuts

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, these little guys are perfect for celebrating. They’re rich and chocolatey, without flour, dairy, eggs, or oil, and just the right amount of sweet, without a drop of refined sugar.

Simple too. The one-bowl batter is blended in the food processor, then piped into the donut pan for baking. The final touch is (just!) crushed freeze-dried strawberries. That’s it!

Hope you love these donuts! Stay safe and warm – and Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day! xo

STRAWBERRY SPRINKLED CHOCOLATE DONUTS

Servings: makes 9 donuts
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1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups pitted Medjool dates, tightly packed
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons nondairy milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (or more) freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a nonstick donut pan. (I use a silicone donut pan and love how beautifully the donuts release without even a bit of oil.)

Into the bowl of a large food processor, add first 8 ingredients (oats through salt) and process for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is well combined.

Remove bowl and blade from the base. Spoon the batter into a large plastic zippered storage bag, and seal to close. Cut a 1/2-inch opening in the corner of the bag with a scissors, and carefully pipe batter into the silicone donut pan. With the back of a spoon, smooth the tops of each one to make sure batter is evenly distributed.

Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until donuts are almost firm on top to the touch. Allow to cool on a baking rack.

While donuts are baking, either use a food processor to process strawberries into a powder – or simply place berries into zippered plastic bag, and hand crush with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet. Pour strawberry powder into a bowl and set aside.

Once donuts are cool enough to remove from pan, gently release from pan. Dip the underside (where more of the moisture will be) of each donut, one at a time into in the strawberry powder. Serve immediately, strawberry side up.