The Hubster and I don’t have any children. Instead, we come home to the pitter-patter of little…paws. We have 12 paws in the house with not 1, not 2, but 3 little dogs that we call “forever puppies.” Mr. BNP coined the phrase, “forever puppies”, because our dogs will never, ever be very big.
Scrappy Rowan was the first, and is the oldest in our little pack. Weighing in around 8 pounds, he is a Yorky-Silky mix. We got him in 2003 when we were still living in the Tampa Bay area and before the Hubster and I were even married. Being the first, and the sweetest, my Mom and his Dad fight over who Scrappy likes better…Nana or Papaw.
Bogart Mahan came a few years later in 2005. We had just moved to NC and I had convinced my husband that we needed a playmate for Scrappy. Playmate, yes, but this dog has also convinced us that we needed several new pieces of furniture over the years…if you know what I mean. Maybe Chewy would have been a better name?
We found Waffles Orilius roaming the streets about 6 months ago. It was cold and rainy outside and we just had to stop. The Hubster was taking me to the doctor’s that morning because we thought I had the flu (I did), so while I was at the doctor’s, he took Waffles to the vet. He was underweight, shaky, and scared. We took him home, gave him a bath, and put up flyers, but no one claimed him. He fit right him with the other two, so we decided to adopt him.
Now I know these doughnuts are dubbed as doggie doughnuts, but I also made them an Inspired by E recipe because there is no sugar, chocolate, or all purpose flour in the ingredient list. As a matter of fact, these doughnuts would be perfect for the less-furry, human kind of mammal inhabiting your home.
They have a cakey doughnut texture with just the hint of sweetness to them. You can eat them by themselves, or add a bit of cream cheese “frosting” if you’d like.
Bogart preferred the “frosting”, while the other two…
…devoured the doughnuts!
Scrappy ate 2 all by himself!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup organic peanut butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsweetened, organic applesauce
- 1 ripe organic banana, mashed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened carob chips
- Cream Cheese frosting: 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon organic vanilla
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray your doughnut pan with flour spray. I use Pillsbury Flour Spray and it works great.
- In your stand mixer bowl, combine mashed banana, eggs (one at a time until well mixed), vegetable oil, honey, applesauce, and peanut butter.
- **Tip** Measure the honey using the same measuring cup you used for the oil. The oil makes a slick surface and your honey will come out of the cup easier.
- In a separate bowl, combine four and baking soda.
- With your mixer on low speed, carefully incorporate your flour mixture a little at a time.
- Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and then mix on medium speed for about a minute.
- Fold in the carob chips.
- Carefully spoon mixture into prepared pan, about 2/3 full, using the back of the spoon or a spatula to spread it around the doughnut circle.
- Be careful not to overfill.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cream Cheese frosting: Combine cream cheese, vanilla, and honey until well incorporated.
- Refrigerate left over frosting until ready to use.
