I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. I am not a doctor; please consult your practitioner before changing your supplement or healthcare regimen. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Morning Glory Donuts may just be the best donuts you’ve ever eaten — and yet!, they’re grain-free, Gluten-free, Paleo, AIP, egg-free, nut-free and dairy-free. How can this be? Well, whole foods are delicious, and grain-free baking’s come a long way!
Dusted with the best cinnamon maple sugar, these donuts are perfect for afternoon tea, breakfast or an anytime treat. And one donut is the perfect portion size, so you’ll feel satisfied.
I made this recipe three times to get it just perfect, and I know you and your loved ones are going to cherish and delight in this recipe!
Jump to Recipe
Plus, yes, this recipe is easy! Thanks to silicone donut pans, it’s as easy to make donuts as it is to make muffins.
But the cake texture of these donuts is unique, just as donuts should be.
Ingredients in Paleo AIP Morning Glory Donuts
By the way, what’s Morning Glory mean?
This recipe name and concept was invented back in the 70s — a moist muffin studded with lovely ingredients: grated carrots, pineapple (or apples), raisins, coconut and cinnamon.
Since that time, there are some variations, but the basics stay the same.
The dry ingredients in our version are:
- flours: tiger nut flour, arrowroot and coconut flour
- coconut sugar
- gelatin — This ingredient replaces the egg and can not be substituted.
- spices — dried ginger powder, cinnamon and cloves
- baking soda
- sea salt
Wet ingredients are:
- palm shortening, or similar (coconut oil, animal fat) — for greasing the donut mold
- milk of choice — Use coconut milk for AIP (or another compliant milk)
- coconut oil
- dates or raisins, minced small
- pineapple — canned crushed, or minced small if using fresh; you may also use applesauce here if preferred
- pure maple syrup
- carrot — grated
- lemon juice, or lime juice, fresh
And that important garnish, because our Morning Glory recipe is for donuts: maple cinnamon sugar:
- maple sugar + cinnamon —Here ‘s the best maple sugar.
Variation
In the photos, I’ve not only shown the main garnish for Morning Glory Donuts, but also a maple glaze option.
This is actually just pure maple butter. You can find this product at natural food and gourmet grocery stores near the jams and apple butters. It is very fun and pretty, but the Cinnamon Maple Sugar is more of a perfect fit with these donuts!
How to make Morning Glory Donuts
- Preheat oven, and grease donut pan. Set aside.
- In large bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.
- In small saucepan, warm gently: milk, oil, dates or raisins, pineapple and maple syrup. Stir over low heat until it’s just warmed but not hot.
- To large bowl with flour, add saucepan ingredients, grated carrot and lemon juice. Mix well.
- For best (prettiest) results, use pastry bag to pipe batter into donut pan. Or use two spoons to scoop it in.
- Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until puffed, very golden brown and toothpick inserted into one comes out with a crumb or two adhering.
- Cool completely on rack before gently unmolding each donut.
- In small bowl, stir together maple sugar and cinnamon. Dip each donut into sugar (it sticks great); you can roll it over and dust both sides, or I like to dip about 2/3 of the donut, so the very bottom doesn’t have sugar. Dip all, and set on plate to serve!
Morning Glory Donuts (Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free, Egg-free)
Equipment
- grater for carrots
Ingredients
- palm shortening or similar, for greasing the donut mold
Dry ingredients
- 1-¼ cups tiger nut flour
- ½ cup arrowroot
- 5 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin
- 2 teaspoons spices 1 teaspoon dried ginger powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ⅛ teaspoon each: cloves and cardamom -- For AIP: Omit allspice and cardamom.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon milk of choice: use coconut milk for AIP (or another compliant milk)
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- ⅓ cup dates or raisins, minced small (if dates are extra gooey, fine to just dice small)
- ¼ cup pineapple crushed canned, or minced small if using fresh, most of the juices strained out, so you're mostly using the juicy solids; okay to sub with applesauce if preferred
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup carrot grated
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice, fresh
Garnish
- 2 Tablespoons maple sugar + ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Grease donut pan. Set aside.
- In large bowl, add all dry ingredients. Stir to mix, making sure to break up any clumps.
- In small saucepan, combine: milk, oil, dates or raisins, pineapple and maple syrup. Stir over low heat until it's just warmed but not hot.
- To large bowl with flour, add saucepan ingredients, grated carrot and lemon juice. Mix well to combine (without over mixing); I use handheld electric beaters.
- For best (prettiest) results, use pastry bag (with no tip) to pipe batter into donut pan. Or use two spoons to scoop it in.
- Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until puffed, very golden brown and toothpick inserted into one comes out with a crumb or two adhering.
- Cool completely on rack before gently unmolding each donut.
- In small bowl, stir together maple sugar and cinnamon. Dip each donut into sugar (it sticks great); you can roll it over and dust both sides, or I like to dip about ⅔ of the donut, so the very bottom doesn't have sugar. Dip all the donuts, and set on serving plate. Eat, and enjoy with tea or Hot Carob Drink.
Notes
Nutrition
You can Pin Morning Glory Donuts here:
Sarah Lemay says
I‘ve been craving donuts. Glad to see a healthier version! I don’t have many of the ingredients, will have to figure out if I can get my hands on them. Thank you!
Megan says
My pleasure, and I’m so glad! 🙂
Heather Hollinger says
These look so good!! I see that you are using carrots, just curious are the donuts VAD friendly?
Megan says
Hi Heather, yes and no: I use white carrots. Can you get these? I find the best places are from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. I have to pull out the white ones and create my own bundle (very sneaky) or compost the colored ones (which I do at Trader Joe’s because they are only $2, so it’s more affordable — I get three huge white carrots for that price, not cheap, but not too bad). These could be a “cheat” for VAD, if you think your body can handle it??, because there are no high A ingredients here … but tiger nut flour can be not great for VAD because it stirs up so much action in the colon from its resistance starch that those who are detoxing can get symptoms. I can eat one of these, but I’ve been VAD for over 4.5 years. So … not ideal for most people starting out the diet, but low A with white carrots.
June says
Megan,
How would you adjust the baking time to make these as mini muffins instead?
Thank you. Can’t wait to try this!
Megan says
Hi June, you’ll just need to use a toothpick and your eyes to judge when they’re done. I haven’t made mini muffins with this, but it sounds fun as donut holes if you roll them in the cinnamon sugar afterwards? Is that the idea? I purposely made the texture of the finished cake donut-like and less muffin like, but I’m sure either way, you’ll enjoy. 🙂 You can see from the photo with Step 6 the brownness to look for; I’d maybe start checking at 12 or 15 minutes, and then use the toothpick and look for it to be clean or with a crumb or two adhering. Let us know how it goes. 🙂
Christine says
What is the icing on morning glory donut shown in photo? I have all my ingredients and plan to make this week.
Megan says
Hi Christine, I mention it in the post also, but it is pure maple butter, so one ingredient and no recipe. I mention in the article to look at your natural grocery store near the jams for this product, or here’s a product similar to the one I use: https://amzn.to/49ISC3c While it’s pretty and yummy on the donuts, I do actually more recommend the cinnamon sugar, as it fits perfectly with the cake donut. 🙂