Fruity Pebbles and Coffee Donuts

Baking with Cereal

Think back to childhood. What was your favorite cereal? I was always a Lucky Charms fan and also Fruity Pebbles. My one and only complaint about Pebbles was that it got soggy too fast once milk was poured. I don’t often eat bowls of cereal anymore but usually have a box or two for baking purposes. Fruity Pebbles are amazing in pancakes, so I knew they’d be fantastic in donuts. With the coffee glaze, I bet Cinnamon Toast Crunch would be amazing too. So many possibilities!

Fun Collaborations

If any of you follow along on Instagram (if you don’t, follow @rachelbakesathome), you will know that I try to participate in collaborations once or twice a month. Collaborations are groups formed to post on a specific day with a specific theme. For example, I host a seasonal chocolate collab with over one hundred participants. It’s a fun way to support each other and meet new foodies. Earlier in September, I joined the Cereal Bake collab. The theme was to create a bake featuring cereal as the star ingredient. That is what motivated me to perfect this donut recipe. I had been tinkering with it for a couple of months, and joining the collab was the push I needed to nail it down.

Recipe Time – Baked Donuts

Materials Needed:

1. Donut Pans – regular or silicone
2. Cookie sheets if using silicone donut pans
3. Measuring cups
4. Measuring spoons
5. 1 large mixing bowl
6. 2 medium mixing bowls
7. Rubber spatula
8. Tall glass
9. Piping bag
10. Whisk
11. Toothpicks
12. Nonstick spray
13. Wire cooling rack
14. Mesh sieve
15. Small bowl
16. Spoon
17. Parchment paper

Ingredients:

Donuts

• 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs – room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup Fruity Pebbles

Glaze

• 1/4 cup low fat milk – warmed
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar – sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup Fruity Pebbles for sprinkling

Process:

Yield: 12 donuts

Preheat oven to 350F. If using silicone donut pans, add cookie sheets to preheat with the oven on the middle rack. Spray pans with nonstick spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and use whisk to blend. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, low fat milk, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla with a rubber spatula until blended. Add dry ingredients and incorporate until almost blended. Fold in the cereal.

Place piping bag in a tall glass and fill the bag with batter. Snip end of piping bag off and pipe evenly into donut pans. If you don’t have a piping bag, use a spoon to carefully scoop dough into the pans. Place pans in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes until a toothpick comes out with only moist crumbs. If using silicone donut pans, place on the preheated cookie sheets to keep pans level. Let donuts cool in pans for only a short time before using toothpicks to carefully place donuts on wire cooling rack.

While donuts cooling, prepare glaze. Warm 1/4 cup milk. You want it warm, not hot. Add instant coffee powder and stir until dissolved. Sift powdered sugar into mixing bowl. Add coffee mixture and vanilla and blend with spatula until no lumps remain. Place a sheet of parchment paper under wire rack to catch drips. Using hands, pick up donuts one by one and place in glaze until half submerged. Remove from glaze and let drips fall back into bowl before placing back on rack to set. Once glaze set, sprinkle Fruity Pebbles on top to complete. Enjoy!

Donuts are best served fresh/same day. Can be stored in airtight container for one day but glaze will soak into donuts so best to wait until day of serving to glaze.