OREO PROTEIN DONUTS

March 30, 2016

Craving Oreos AND donuts? Have both! These Oreo Protein Donuts combine the best of both worlds. The donut itself reminds me of the chocolate cookie part of an Oreo, while the frosting tastes like the “best” part of an Oreo: that yummy creme filling! These donuts are not only delicious, they’re packed with protein and low in sugar. This recipe can be made gluten-free, too!

You might also like my Peanut Butter & Jelly Protein Donuts 😉

Protein substitutions

The donuts were made with Quest Protein Powder in Chocolate Milkshake. Quest uses a whey blend (whey isolate, casein, and milk protein isolate) that works great for baking! A whey concentrate would be my second choice, with whey isolate being the absolute last resort for baking. After five years of protein baking, I’ve found that whey isolate almost always makes baked goods dry and crumbly, or weird and spongey.

I have not tested this recipe with a plant-based protein, egg white protein, or collagen protein… and to be honest, you’re better off using a recipe that was designed for the protein powder you’re using. The baking properties vary quite a bit between protein types!

Flour substitutions

For this recipe, I used coconut flour to keep the carbs down. If you don’t have coconut flour, you could also use twice as much all-purpose flour, cake flour, cassava flour, brown rice flour, gluten-free baking flour, oat flour, or sweet white sorghum flour. These all behave similarly!

If substituting almond flour, I would suggest starting with half a cup of flour, omitting the milk, and adding more as needed to get a very thick but spreadable batter.

Sweetener substitutions

To sweeten these Oreo protein donuts, I used my favorite organic stevia blend that’s twice as sweet as sugar with no bitter aftertaste! If you’ve ever had bitter stevia, chances are it was a cheap brand that uses the bitter part of the stevia leaf! That said, feel free to substitute twice as much granulated monk fruit, granulated erythritol, or baking stevia.

You can also substitute double the amount of coconut sugar or regular white sugar, but this will increase the calories, carbs and sugar per donut.

Other substitutions

I definitely recommend dutch process or special dark cocoa to make these donuts taste more like Oreos! However, you can substitute the special dark cocoa for regular unsweetened cocoa in a pinch 😉

These Oreo protein donuts also call for nonfat plain Greek yogurt and coconut oil to give a nice tender texture. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, pure canned pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce would also work (will change the texture and taste slightly). If you don’t have coconut oil, any vegetable oil or buttery spread will work (vegan butter, unsalted butter, ghee).

Of course, the unsweetened almond milk can be swapped for whatever milk you have on hand. Make these egg free by substituting the egg whites for two tablespoons of ground flaxseed in one-quarter cup of warm water!

Frosting options

For the frosting, we have two options! Either a decadent sugar-free buttercream glaze, or a thicker cream cheese based frosting.

For the sugar-free buttercream frosting, you’re going to need some sort of powdered sweetener like confectioner’s erythritol or powdered monk fruit. Or, if you’re not worried about the added carbs and sugar, just use powdered sugar! Simply blend your powdered sweetener with a buttery spread (vegan buttery spread or unsalted butter), cornstarch (or tapioca starch), unsweetened almond milk (any milk will do) and pure vanilla extract. This stuff is pure bliss! It’s hard to believe it’s sugar free!

For the cream cheese frosting (shown in photos), you can use fat free or reduced fat cream cheese. Blend with your powdered sweetener, a little nonfat plain Greek yogurt, and some pure vanilla extract. That’s it! This one’s a little thicker and higher in protein, too.

Last but not least, you’ll need some Mini Oreos or gluten-free Glutino cookies to crumble on top. Surprisingly enough, Oreos are dairy-free, and contain fewer weird additives than most “sugar-free” sandwich cookies… so why not? You only live once and these donuts still have only 4 grams of sugar each.

Now, here’s the recipe for these Oreo Protein Donuts! Don’t forget to comment below if you try these 😉

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