Carrot Cake Doughnuts

I haven’t made doughnuts in forever. In my first year of blogging I was making them left and right, but as of late my doughnut pan has been collecting dust. There’s no good reason for it, I just hadn’t really thought about it. Until now…and oh, what a comeback. These Carrot Cake Doughnuts are hands down the best doughnuts I’ve made to date. I’m so proud of them! They are light, yet filling, and the maple flavored cream cheese glaze adds the perfect amount of sweetness. I’m swooning.

If you don’t own a doughnut pan, I use this one (affiliate link) you can order from Amazon. They’re also carried in lots of different housewares stores. It’s pretty much worth buying one just for this recipe (seriously), but I also have recipes for Lemon Poppyseed Doughnuts, Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts, Spice Doughnuts, Peanut Butter & Jelly Doughnuts and Strawberry Doughnuts. It’s easy to just stir some ingredients together and pop them into your doughnut pan, and so much healthier than buying the deep fried kind at a donut shop.

These Carrot Cake Doughnuts would be a perfect addition to an Easter brunch, but they’re also just a fabulous recipe for a family breakfast or to make ahead for a grab and go morning meal all week long. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers because of the cream cheese glaze. No matter who you serve them to, I promise these are going to be a big hit. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

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Carrot Cake Doughnuts

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Calories: 181kcal

These Carrot Cake Doughnuts are light, yet filling with a sweet maple flavored cream cheese glaze!

Yield: 6 doughnuts

Ingredients

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour, I use King Arthur Flour – yes, you can use all-purpose instead
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup grated carrots
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla, divided
• ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons skim milk, divided
• 2 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon reduced calorie pancake syrup
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 6 cup doughnut pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar until well combined.
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg and then add the carrots, oil, applesauce, ½ teaspoon of the vanilla and ¼ cup of milk. Stir until well combined and then add to the dry ingredients from step 2. Mix until well combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the 6 prepared slots of the doughnut pan. Bake for 15 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Flip the pan to release the doughnuts onto a cooling rack and allow the doughnuts to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ teaspoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons milk and add the cream cheese, syrup and powdered sugar. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined. When doughnuts are cooled, spoon the cream cheese glaze over top.

Notes

To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Nutrition Information:

181 calories, 27 g carbs, 13 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 g protein, 3 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

MyWW SmartPoints per (1 piece) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 6 SmartPoints/ Blue: 6 SmartPoints/ Purple: 6 SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Points Plus:

5 per doughnut (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Donuts, Weight Watchers, WW Donuts