Looking to make something fun for Halloween? How about creepy crawler spider doughnuts.
The kids and I had fun making these creepy crawler spider doughnuts over the weekend — my younger boys helped glaze while I webbed them, then they put a plastic spider on top (found those at Target for two bucks) for the extra creepy effect.
Amidst all the messy glaze it was fun to make. And eat.
Did I mention these are gingerbread spiced doughnuts? Yes, gingerbread spiced for Halloween. It may sound strange to merge holidays here, but let me tell you it works. So well.
I don’t think anyone will complain when the aroma of heavenly gingerbread spice is permeating the air. It just conjures up happiness. Orange and gingerbread flavors work well together so I added orange extract to the vanilla glaze, which comes through with every bite. I called it a vanilla glaze, for lack of a better word, but not to be misleading here, there really isn’t any vanilla in it.
So, what did I use to web these spider doughnuts?
It was making my head spin as to what to use for the web effect that is also dye free for my little guys to eat. Then it occurred to me, when my son took out the chocolate syrup the other day … use chocolate syrup. Done.
Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, nut free AND dye free. I just realized these halloween doughnuts are also top 8 allergen free. For those with multiple allergies, this is a fun Halloween treat they can enjoy. Life with allergens may have it’s restrictions, but we don’t have to restrict tasty treats on Halloween!
Speaking of allergen free … here is my 2014 Allergen-Free Halloween Candy List with a separate list for soy free, in addition to gluten free, dairy free, and a corn free section.
Enjoy!
Makes 16 doughnuts
You will need doughnut pans
Ingredients:
Doughnuts:
115 grams (1 cup) gluten free oat flour
75 grams (1/2 cup) tapioca starch
225 grams (3/4 cup) white rice flour
47 grams (1/4 cup plus 1 TBS) sorghum flour
75 grams (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS) coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
3 teaspoons ginger
8 ounces earth balance soy free
168 grams (1 cup) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup light molasses
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons chunky applesauce
Vanilla Glaze:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon coconut or almond milk
1 tablespoon ginger syrup (I use Ginger People, found online or health stores)
2 teaspoons unsweetened coconut yogurt
1 teaspoon orange extract
Chocolate sauce for decoration (I use Alaska, a gluten free, dairy free, soy free brand)
For the doughnuts:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease doughnut pans. Dust lightly with white rice flour, shake out excess. Set aside.
Measure coconut milk then add apple cider vinegar to the measuring cup. Do not stir. This is the “buttermilk”. Set aside.
In a a large bowl, whisk flours, salt, baking soda, and all the spices. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the earth balance and brown sugar until light and creamy. Add the molasses, beat until blended. Add oil, and applesauce, beat until blended. Alternate between flour blend and buttermilk, starting with flours and ending with flours.
Spoon batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the doughnut comes out clean. Let it cool in the pans for 20 minutes before removing.
Turn doughnuts upside down onto a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before glazing, about an hour.
This smell amazing, by the way.
For the glaze:
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar. Press any remaining clumps through the sifter.
Add hot water, whisk until combined. It will be hard to whisk, that’s normal.
Add coconut milk, ginger syrup (a great substitute for corn syrup), coconut yogurt, and orange extract. Stir until combined well and lump free. Let it sit a few minutes to let any air bubble come up to the surface, then stir again before glazing.
Place parchment paper on baking sheets and place the cooling racks, with the cooled doughnuts, on top. This prevents additional mess, and is optional.
Take a doughnut and dip into the glaze, twist then gently brush the bottom of the doughnut against the edge of the glaze bowl to catch additional glaze. Give the doughnuts another dip in the glaze for a thicker glaze. The dark specks are from crumbs that got into the glaze, hardly noticeable after decorating. If you want a cleaner look give the kids another task. We thought the crumbs were a charming touch (wink, wink).
Note: to prevent bubble, stir the glaze occasionally then let it sit so the air bubbles will come up. Truthfully, though I may know this, I do get a bit lazy. Sorry, Martha.
An orange glaze (actually the color orange) would be fun to do also. If you choose to do that, remove a tablespoon of hot water and substitute with a tablespoon of carrot juice. I would love to see pictures – do share!
Glaze all doughnuts. Let it set 5 minutes before making spider webs.
Note: I think I would add a little bit of arrowroot starch next time to thicken up the chocolate syrup. I found it to be a little runnier than expected, still able to make the webs, but only one doughnut at a time. They may not be perfect, but these don’t have any artificial food dyes (as I quietly say hooray), which is a good thing. If you choose to thick the syrup, add 1 teaspoon of arrowroot or cornstarch, whisk to blend very well then pour into the squeeze bottle. Try it on paper first before decorating doughnuts.
Draw 2-3 circles (similar to a dart) on each doughnut (do one at a time), using a toothpick or bamboo skewer, drag lines across to pull the chocolate sauce through the spaces.
Note: I put the chocolate syrup in a teeny squeeze bottle for better control when making the circles, which worked well, and used a bamboo skewer (that I cut in half) to pull the syrup for the web effect.
Place plastic spiders in center for garnish.
Serve immediately.
I left 2 in the fridge for the next day, uncovered, to see how they would taste and they got dry so it’s best to eat the same day. Enjoy!
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