This past November, my husband and I took a trip to Zion National Park together. Have you been? It was my first time in Utah and the scenery was even more beautiful than I expected. Holy amazing, was it gorgeous. We had the most awesome time hiking, being out in nature and enjoying everything that goes along with it. Right outside of the national park is a cute little town where we stayed, and each morning we’d get up and walk over to this cozy coffee shop where I rekindled my love of chai. Today’s recipe is a tribute to that – Chai-spiced Paleo Donuts, wonderfully spiced, so simple to make, and minimal ingredients to boot.
My father is Indian (and my mom American), so I grew up drinking chai at a very young age. Tea and milk is what I called it, but unfortunately milk and I don’t exactly have a loving relationship. And when you are a kid, tea without milk and sugar is, well, not so exciting.;) So it wasn’t until my trip to Zion where I found myself considering the choices: Do I go with the traditional half-caff (black, no nothing added, yep – pretty boring) OR do I get out of my comfort zone and try something different? This independent coffee shop made their own tea mixes (enticing, right?) and I spotted chai as a choice: SOLD! And for the next 3 days, I got the SAME THING since it was so incredibly tasty.
Flash forward a few months when I had to go grain-free and I had the perfect idea: Chai-spiced Paleo Donuts! The first two takes were not winners, I have to tell you. But the next one is a keeper. I may or may not have made these weekly since I perfected the recipe. Here’s how easy it is:
Grain-free paleo donuts kicked up with a chai spice.
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 5 eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon chai spice see below
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a donut pan with coconut oil spray.
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Mix coconut oil and maple syrup in a small bowl.
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Beat eggs in a medium-sized bowl; add coconut oil and maple syrup to eggs.
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Add coconut flour, baking soda and chai spice and mix to combine.
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Spoon into prepared donut pan and bake for 15-17 minutes.
Make your own Chai mixture:
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Items needed to make Chai-spiced Paleo Donuts
- A donut pan. Here’s the cool thing – most muffin recipes can also be made in a donut pan. So if you’re fearful that you won’t use it much, you’ll likely use it more than you think!
- Coconut or avocado oil spray. Yes, the above are non-stick pans. No, I don’t love that, and yes, I still spray them. This is by far my favorite clean spray.
- I love baking with coconut flour. It’s a great paleo and grain-free option, and though you can’t use it 1:1 in other recipes, it’s really wonderful once you get the hang of it. Nutiva is one of my favorite brands.
You’ll notice that I didn’t put a glaze or coating on these. You can certainly dip them in some of the chai mix combined with coconut sugar (or even white sugar) if you’d like, but I like to try to keep my sweets to a minimum. I’ve enjoyed these Chai-spiced Paleo Donuts with a cup of coffee for many a breakfast, and also as an afternoon snack.
Don’t let the “paleo” part scare you; the ingredients are minimal and all real, and these are delicious. Let me know if you try them!
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