To say I’m obsessed with citrus right now would be an understatement. Between tart kumquats and ruby red grapefruits, my vitamin c intake is doing just fine.
But out of all of the awesome citrus available right now, I was perhaps most excited to find blood oranges at TJ’s this past week. I don’t personally find them to be any more delicious than regular old oranges, but their color…this alone is reason enough for me to make a special trip to the grocery store.
I was so happy with how my lightened-up, chocolate-glazed orange donuts turned out the other week (subbing in applesauce for half of the oil), that I had to make them again – this time using blood oranges. And while I don’t really buy into all of the hype that comes with Valentine’s Day, I have to admit that I was excited to make a pink powdered-sugar glaze with a little of the blood orange juice. I had hoped that the donuts might also come out a lovely, light shade of pink, but no such luck. I think a little food coloring (or perhaps beet juice?) would be necessary.
So, while Aaron and I will be spending our Valentine’s Day with Olive at puppy training, I recommend that you consider baking up a batch of blood orange donuts with a citrusy chocolate glaze. Don’t worry if you don’t have a donut pan – these make excellent cupcakes muffins, too.
I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves…
And my favorite part of the process…
It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
- For the Donuts:
- 1 C. All Purpose Flour
- 1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Tbs. Baking Powder
- 1 Tbs. Blood Orange Zest
- ¼ Tsp. Salt
- ¾ C. Freshly-Squeezed Blood Orange Juice
- ½ C. Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tbs. Coconut Oil, melted (or other vegan buttery spread)
- 2 Tbs. Unsweetened Applesauce
- ½ Tsp. Pure Vanilla
- For the Chocolate Glaze:
- ½ C. Vegan Chocolate Chips (I used TJ’s brand)
- 1 Tbs. Coconut Oil
- For the Blood Orange Glaze:
- ½ C. Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 Tsp. Blood Orange Juice
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a donut pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small bowl, combine blood orange zest, blood orange juice, granulated sugar, melted coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
- Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Spoon or pipe batter into greased donut pan.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until donuts are golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Allow donuts to cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.
- While donuts are cooling, prepare the chocolate glaze by melting the chocolate chips and coconut oil, and the blood orange glaze by combining the blood orange juice and powdered sugar until no lumps remain (add the blood orange juice 1 Tsp. at a time until you reach the desired consistency).
- Dip each donut into the chocolate and allow the chocolate to set for 1-2 minutes. You can put them in the freezer for a minute to expedite the process.
- Drizzle the blood orange glaze over the tops of the donuts.
…
Have you jumped on the blood orange bandwagon yet? Doing anything special for Valentine’s Day, or are you not really into it?
Aaron and I used to make a big deal out of going out to eat, but the hassle of getting a restaurant reservation weeks in advance, dealing with the crowds, and the prix fixe menus kind of took away from the fun of it all. This year, I’m actually looking forward to spending my evening with Aaron and Olive at puppy training. A dog that doesn’t pee in the house and knows how to hold “sit” is a pretty sweet gift if you ask me.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you reading my mind? I woke up this morning with the thought of making chocolate orange doughnuts!! Great minds….
haha I think that’s a sign you need to make some!
I’m declaring these my weekend baking project. That last picture is just almost unfair. WANT.
These are incredible! I’ve never had a blood orange but I have a thing for grapefruits lately. Can’t get enough. These look so. good.
The grapefruits have been amazing recently, even from TJ’s where the produce can be hit or miss. They’re my new favorite snack.
So pretty!! I love how you decorated them with chocolate and a drizzle of the blood orange glaze. They sound delicious! And thanks for writing an option for cooking them in a muffin pan – I really need a doughnut pan, but until then that will have to do
Thanks, Heidi! The muffins (cupcakes?) turned out equally delicious. I love my donut pan, but it’s definitely not a requirement for this recipe.
We are trying something new for Valentine’s Day this year. Since Jim is currently not working, we don’t have a whole lot of cash, so we’re going to go to the mall, each take $20 and buy as many little gifts as possible within our price limit. Then we’ll probably go home and cook dinner together or order 50% off sushi rolls at the place by our house. We don’t do huge things for V. Day usually, but this year, we’re keeping it really low key.
I love this idea! Sometimes I think it’s more fun to set a small budget because it forces you to get really creative.
I p/u the TJs blood oranges too! I think they are so friggin delish (not a huge citrus fan). And now I have another way to use them. Thank you.
Geez, that glaze is so pretty! I think I’d like to eat myself into oblivion on Valentine’s day with these donuts. Maybe I could even get the hubby excited about my big plans if I promise to wear a few?? God help me.
ALSO, I want to let you know that I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Blog Award. There’s more information on the award going up in my post tomorrow (or it’s an easy google search, too). Congrats and keep on rockin’ and cooking!
Thanks so much for the nomination! I’ll make sure to check out your post for details!
Thanks for the recipe! I must try it! Would you have an option to substitute the oil? Thank you!
For the donuts, you could try replacing all of the oil with applesauce, although it will make the texture a little different. My personal preference is to use half applesauce/half oil (melted coconut oil or Earth Balance) as the recipe is written, in order to cut down on the fat without compromising texture.
I bought a bag of blood oranges from Trader Joes and used them for my beer-pairing dinner last weekend to make a blood orange avocado salad with a blood orange vinegritte! I was a little nervous about how people would take to a pink salad dressing, but it tasted so good- no one cared!
I never, ever eat doughnuts because of how high calorie they are for something so small (which doesn’t stop me from eating other desserts…). I guess it’s because for some reason doughnuts are considered a “breakfast” food? Don’t you think they should be a dessert? Anyway- your ingredients are super healthy and I actually wouldn’t feel guilty about eating one (or two) of these bad boys.
Yeah, I’m not sure why they’re considered a breakfast food. I consider them dessert, and on the off chance that I eat one for breakfast, I don’t pretend that I’m eating a “healthy” breakfast. Also, I’ll take a baked donut over their fried version any day!
As you know, I will be in town at the end of March. I think you need to start baking and stock piling some of these confections! They look so good!
I’m on it.
{ 3 trackbacks }