Double Chocolate Donuts

Rich chocolate flavor in a minimally sweetened, sweet-potato-packed donut!

To skip to the printable recipe, click here.

We don't do a lot of sugar in the mornings. Monster 1 home-schools and WILL NOT FOCUS with a high-carb breakfast. We do a lot of sausage, bacon, berries, cucumbers, granola parfaits, and baked goods with no added sweeteners most days.

Saturdays, however, we like to have a little more fun. If we're not grabbing paleo waffles from our favorite spot at the farmers market, we'll break out the maple syrup, jam, or in the case of today's delight, extra chocolate!

With only 2 T coconut sugar in the batter, these fudgy donuts are still relatively low in sugar, but decadence is delivered in the silky chocolate glaze. The sugar content of your glaze will be determined by the chocolate chips you use. I always go for something dairy free such as the Enjoy Life brand. These are sweetened with "evaporated cane juice," aka the evaporated juice of sugarcane.

Followed by sugar beets, sugarcane is the top source of conventionally-produced sugar. Conventional sugar undergoes a more rigorous refinement process than evaporated cane juice and other sweeteners generally considered paleo-friendly. This process typically involves chemicals like polyacrylamide flocculants, which are generally considered nontoxic but may have the potential to release toxic acrylamide residues. For a no-frills geek-out session on the sugar-refining process, click here.

This is all to say that while the quality and origin of sugar is important, the quantity is even more so. Whether you buy chocolate with a paleo stamp of approval or simply grab a bag of Nestle's, remember that all sugar is, well, sugar.

The good news is that these delicious donuts are power-packed with satiating ingredients like sweet potato, almond flour, and eggs to fill you up and fuel you for your day. No empty-calorie indulging here!

These are also a pretty fun way for the kids to get involved in the kitchen, as you can see below.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup cooked purple (or regular) sweet potato

• 1 cup almond flour

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup cocoa powder

• 2 T coconut sugar

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp almond extract (optional)

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ cup chocolate chips

• ¼ cup coconut oil, plus more for greasing pans

Here's what you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and thoroughly grease the cups of the donut pan(s) with coconut oil.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, thoroughly combine sweet potato through baking powder with a fork. This can also be done in a food processor.

3. Transfer the mixture to a gallon-sized zip-top bag.

4. Snip about a half-inch off the corner of the bag and pipe the batter into the prepared pans.

5. Bake the donuts at 350 for 13 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pans before transferring the donuts to a cooling rack to cool completely.

6. While the donuts are baking, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together to make the glaze, stirring gently till smooth. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before using.

7. Set the cooling rack with the donuts over a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips, and spoon the glaze over the donuts. If desired, place in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set the glaze (you may need to run a knife under the donuts to release them from the cooling rack if the glaze has “glued” them down). Any leftovers may be stored in the fridge.

Special equipment used:

*donut pans

*rimmed baking sheet

*metal cooling rack

For the printable recipe, click here.