These blood orange poppy seed donuts are a treat you can enjoy anytime! Vegan and gluten-free alternative included. Can also use regular oranges.
We may not have access to fresh, summer berries, but one thing the winter does bring are these gorgeous blood oranges! This beautiful fruit is similar in taste to regular oranges, but slightly less acidic, and depending on the orange, can be a little more bitter. They’re flesh can range from a bright red-orange to a deep crimson, but the difference they have from regular oranges isn’t always obvious from the outside.
At the grocery store, their bins are side by side and I had a hard time distinguishing the two without reading the sticker on each orange. Some of their skins have a deep reddish-brown hue, but a lot of the ones I saw looked like regular oranges on the outside.
The darker the flesh, the more vibrant the juice, which works well as a natural food coloring. It tinges the glaze a beautiful peachy-pink. However, blood oranges have such a short season so you can only find them a few months out of the year, typically from December through April.
If you can’t find blood oranges, regular oranges work and taste just as good in this recipe! 🙂 I hope you enjoy these blood orange poppy seed donuts as much as we did!
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Blood Orange Poppy Seed Donuts
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 1 dozen 1x
Description
These baked donuts have a bright citrus flavor and color thanks to blood oranges. Vegan or gluten-free options are included. Can also use regular oranges in place of blood oranges.
Ingredients
Orange Poppy Seed Donuts (gluten-free version below)
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
, plus extra for greasing pan
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or other sweetener of choice
- 1/4 cup orange juice (from blood oranges or regular oranges)
- 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
- zest of 2 medium oranges
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
, plus extra for greasing pan
Gluten-Free Orange Poppy Seed Donuts:
- 1 1/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice, plus extra for greasing pan
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or other sweetener of choice
- 1/4 cup orange juice (from blood oranges or regular oranges)
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
- zest from 2 medium oranges
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla
extract
Naturally Sweetened Orange Glaze: (powdered sugar version below)
- 4 oz. vegan cream cheese (can also use regular cream cheese, if not vegan/dairy-free)
- 2–3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- juice of 1–2 blood oranges/regular oranges
- zest of 1/2–1 whole orange, optional**
Powdered Sugar Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons blood orange/regular orange juice
- zest of 1/2–1 whole orange, optional**
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, optional
Instructions
Donut Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 donut pans
with coconut oil or non-stick spray and set aside.
- Combine the flour(s), baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, oil, sweetener, juice, vinegar, zest, poppy seeds, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Spoon or *pipe batter three quarters full, leaving the center post clear. Place pans onto the middle rack of your preheated oven. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until donuts are lightly browned and spring back when touched. Let cool in the pan slightly before inverting to cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
with coconut oil or non-stick spray and set aside.Naturally Sweetened Orange Glaze:
- Place cream cheese, sweetener, juice from one orange, and zest of 1/2 orange into a small mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy. Add extra juice, if needed, to get the right consistency. Add extra sweetener or zest, to taste. The zest makes the glaze a little lumpy, so if you want a perfectly smooth glaze then you can omit the zest. It just won’t taste as orange-y.
- If glaze is too runny, blend in an extra 1-2 spoonfuls of cream cheese. If glaze is too stiff, add additional juice until you get the right consistency. This is enough to glaze the tops of the doughnuts. If you wish to glaze the whole donut, you may want to double the glaze recipe.
- Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze and decorate with poppyseeds, sprinkles, etc. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool room for 1-2 days.
Powdered Sugar Glaze:
- Combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons orange juice, zest and vanilla (if using) in a small bowl, whisking until smooth. Add additional juice, if needed, to get the right consistency.
- Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze and decorate with poppyseeds, sprinkles, etc. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool room for 1-2 days.
Notes
*I scoop my batter into a large quart or gallon sized plastic baggie and snip about 1/2 inch at one corner to pipe the batter into each cup. Makes clean-up a breeze!
**Adding zest to the glaze adds more flavor, but it also adds little specks; it won’t be smooth like in the photos.
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: dessert, vegan, gluten-free
You may also enjoy these similar recipes:
Blood Orange Sweet Rolls
Blood Orange Bundt Cake
Orange-Cranberry Bundt Cake
and 
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Hey, friends! I know it’s been a while since my last post. I didn’t mean to be away so long, but sometimes life has a way of keeping you busy. We bought and sold a house in May, then had the daunting task of moving during a global pandemic, which I would never recommend doing, btw. We quickly tried to make our new house feel more like home with family coming to visit just a few weeks later. 
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(make sure they’re certified gluten-free, if needed)
(or melted butter, if not dairy-free)
(honey or other liquid sweetener can also be used)
blended with 2 tablespoons water
until finely ground. Blend in almond flour and salt. Pour in coconut oil and maple syrup, pulsing until mixture is crumbly. If mixture is too dry, add water a teaspoon at a time, just until it holds together when pressed between two fingers.
Fall may officially be kicking off in just a couple of days, but with temps in the mid-90’s here in the south, it seems there is still a little more summer to be had. Many people are super ready for the new season, already making all the pumpkin and apple things. It made me want to jump on the autumnal bandwagon! But, at the market, there was this big pile of peaches on sale, and one thing led to another, and I ended up walking out with five pounds of peaches instead of the apples I had planned to get. 🙈 Yes, this girl is a sucker for some produce sales! 
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, pure cane sugar, or brown sugar (to taste)
, melted coconut oil, or other oil of choice
or three 
and line the bottom with a 
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, brown sugar, or pure cane sugar
or heavy cream
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, maple syrup, or pure cane sugar (can use more or less, to taste)
)
or cold butter
, optional
, refrigerated overnight OR 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (if not dairy free)
I tested these half a dozen times at least, trying different flours, sugars, etc. to figure out the right combo. Without the use of eggs, it was tricky to get these to hold together with certain ingredients. They did not turn out well using melted chocolate, so I opted for cocoa powder instead, and they also did not firm up with regular or brown sugar, although the end product was like unset 
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for less coconut flavor
if necessary
(Don’t omit! This acts as a binder)
