baked gluten free bailey's chocolate donuts

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love the celebration of all things Irish and today I'm sharing a healthier donut by baking instead of frying and I've been playing with gluten free flour again.  My kids gave these two Irish thumbs up.  There's something about a chocolate glaze that makes all baked goods wonderful...and kids go crazy.  These don't take long to come together, the donuts come together in one bowl, they're quick to bake, and may I suggest playing some Irish music while you decorate and enjoy!

Baked Gluten Free Bailey's Chocolate Donuts
(makes 6 donuts)

Ingredients

Donut Ingredients
-3 eggs
-4 tablespoons melted butter
-1/4 cup non-alcoholic Bailey's Irish Cream Coffee Creamer
-1/2 cup coconut sugar (you can substitute regular sugar if you prefer, but I find that the coffee creamer adds sweetness also)
-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
-1 cup gluten free flour (I'm loving Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF Flour)
-1/2 cup cacao powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon espresso powder

Glaze & Decoration Ingredients
-1/2 cup powder sugar
-3 tablespoons cacao powder
-4 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream Coffee Creamer
-1/4 cup green candy melts
-Green sprinkles or decorating sugar

Directions
Spray 6 wells of a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix the eggs, butter, creamer, coconut sugar and almond extract in a bowl by hand. Add in the flour, cacao, salt, baking powder and espresso powder.  Mix until a thick batter comes together.  Using a spoon, scoop the batter into each of the donut wells and spread to fill the entire well.  Lightly tap the donut pan on the counter to help the batter settle into the wells.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes (these donuts rise quite a bit).

Prepare the chocolate glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, cacao powder and coffee creamer until a glaze forms.  Optional: melt 1/4 cup of green candy melts and place into a bottle, piping bag or just plan to use a spoon.  Once the donuts have cooled, dip them one at a time in the chocolate glaze and then drizzle with the green chocolate and top with sprinkles or decorating sugar.  The donuts are ready!

Have a great weekend!