Vegan Cookies and Cream Donuts

This vegan cookies and cream donuts excursion is basically an ode to two important things: 1) my love for the fact that Oreos are vegan, and 2) my love for my deep fried things.

Now, I have nothing against baked donuts. I've been known to eat one or two of them before...but if I'm going to eat a donut I would prefer if it were deep fried. This is not a necessity but a...preference. So, if you're looking for a healthy donut recipe you may want to close your eyes instead.

I'm a girl who gives into her cravings, because I know that ignoring the things I really want just doesn't work for me. And I was craving an Oreo donut pretty badly a few days ago, so I whipped out my dutch oven and got it heating up in preparation for these vegan Oreo donuts. There is Oreo cookie in every single bite, and I have zero issues with that.

I adapted this recipe from Sweet and Simple Kitchen, making a few key tweaks so these are a Sam-friendly dessert: I'm not a fan of frosting, so instead of making a cream cheese frosting I just dunked the finished donuts in a vanilla glaze, and rolled the donuts in Oreo cookie crumbs for that extra mmm. This is a simple step that you won't regret!

This Oreo donut recipe does require a whole package of Oreos, which I'm not mad at ;) Funny enough, I'm not a fan of eating Oreos by themselves but cookies and cream is my favorite flavor of pretty much everything: ice cream, cheesecake, and now donuts, obvs.

Hope you enjoy!

Recipe

Ingredients

Cookies and Cream Donuts

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cup Oreo cookie crumbs

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 flax eggs (2 TBS flax meal + 6 TBS water)

1/3 cup vegan butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup coconut milk

Canola oil, for frying

Vanilla Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup hot water

Directions

1.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 cup of the cookie crumbs (you'll be using the rest of the cookie crumbs later), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together flax eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Drizzle in melted butter and beat until combined.

3. Add half of the coconut milk in and beat to combine. Add the remaining coconut milk and beat until smooth and completely combined.

4. Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold until just combined.

5. Pour dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap up tight. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

6. When you are ready to cook your donuts, pour at least 5 inches of oil in a dutch oven. Heat to 350 degrees and maintain that temperature.

7. Meanwhile, lightly flour your counter and turn your donut dough out. Dust the top with flour and roll your dough to about 1 inch thickness. Using a donut cutter (or a jar lid, which is all I have) cut out your donuts and set the donut holes aside.

8. Once your oil is heated, gently place 3-4 donuts at a time into the oil. Once your donuts float nicely to the top, allow them to cook for about 1 more minute before flipping and frying for an additional one minute on the other side. You can always look to see the color before flipping to check that your donuts are a nice light golden brown.

9. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon and allow the donuts to drip off any excess oil into the pot. Place the cooked donuts onto a wire rack with some paper towel underneath to cool and drip off anymore excess oil.

10. Allow to cool for a few minutes before dunking into the simple vanilla glaze.

Vanilla Glaze

1.In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla and water to form a fairly thin glaze. You can thin it out with a little more water if needed. Dip the donuts in, one at a time.

2. Pour the remaining 1 1/2c cookie crumbs into a large bowl, and roll the donuts in the crumbs until fully coated. Yum!