Chocolate Maple Zucchini Donuts with reCAP Mason Jars

From The Mighty Mrs:

One of our guilty pleasures is grabbing a package of chocolate glazed donuts from the bakery section as an easy breakfast for the kids and a change of pace from their cereal/pancake/oatmeal rotation. Inevitably, the Mr. and I always eat one too, let’s be honest. Once I realized this was becoming more of a habit than an occasional indulgence, the wheels started turning. How could we still enjoy our donuts but in a healthier way?

Alas, zucchinis to the rescue. Zucchinis blend in really well with any baked food. They don’t have an extremely distinct flavor and they provide some much needed moisture. My fam loves my chocolate zucchini bread, so as you can imagine, that’s where the evolution of the Chocolate Maple Zucchini Donuts began. And by evolution I mean, not really that different at all. These “donuts” are basically chocolate zucchini bread baked into a round shape, glazed and topped with sprinkles. Do my kids know or care? Nope. They still get their donuts. I get them to eat their veggies. Win-win. The blend of maple syrup and chocolate is a beautiful thing that only nature can properly explain in scientific terms but I’ll just tell you, it’s good. Real good. The more “real” the maple syrup the better, but if you’re trying to avoid calories, it’s fine to go with a light maple syrup.

Finally, let’s talk about the sprinkles. If you’re lucky enough to live near an Amish or country market, you will likely find an aisle full of fun sprinkles. Typically the sprinkles come in square, plastic packaging. No shaker cap. So, if you’re a bulk-sprinkle-buyer, a really handy thing to have is a few mason jars and these shaker caps. The caps fit on any sized mason jar with a regular mouth. I’ve found they work great for storing and shaking out breadcrumbs, powdered sugar and also acts as a lazy-man’s sifter for flour too!

So, go ahead and get your kids to help you make this fun, easy recipe and enjoy some donuts—guilt-free!

Things you will need for this recipe: a donut pan, a mixer, and a cooling rack.