Baked Apple Pie Mochi Donuts, the Best Fall Dessert

I'm so excited that fall is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate the fall than with apple pie? Chewy, thick and absolutely scrumptious, these apple pie mochi donuts are healthy treats worth every bite!

Ingredients used to make this

_{**I've linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂}

• Glutinous Rice Flour - this goes by many names. You'll see Glutinous Rice Flour and Mochiko Flour (my favorite) in Asian grocery stores, and Sweet White Rice Flour in most other stores. ***Please note that regular white rice flour or brown rice flour is NOT the same thing as glutinous rice flour!!!

• Oatmeal / Oat Flour - Oat flour is a whole grain flour that’s made out of rolled oats. The rolled oats are just simply blitzed and processed until it resembles a fine, powdery flour. It's also a healthy gluten-free alternative to white flour that's rich in manganese, biotin, vitamin B1, magnesium and fiber. The fiber can aid in digestion and keeps you full for a longer time. The vitamins and minerals in oat flour can also help you maintain good health and well-being. In addition, it has a direct impact on your energy levels, brain function and cell metabolism.

• While you can buy oat flour in any major grocery store, you can make your own oatmeal flour by grinding either old-fashioned (rolled) or quick-cooking oats in the food processor (like how I made it below). If you want to keep this strictly gluten-free (some oats are produced in the same facility as wheat), be sure to buy the one with the GF label like this one.

• Eggs – I used regular large eggs. I haven't tried using egg replacements like flax or chia yet, so you might not get the same results if you decide to substitute.
• Salt – Pink Himalayan salt is what I have at home, so it’s what I use, but you can use any kind for this recipe.
• Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice, but coconut, date and maple sugars are less processed sugars I would recommend. Honey and maple syrup should also work. For keto options, you could also use monk fruit sweetener or stevia (but be sure to convert according to package instructions). I used dehydrated honey (honey powder) which I find is a great substitute for regular sugar.
• Light Olive Oil – Instead of olive oil, you can use coconut oil, or avocado oil here if you'd like.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - helps the mochi donuts to rise better. Lemon juice also works if you don't have apple cider vinegar
• Apple Pie Topping - like my 10 Minute Cinnamon Sugar Cooked Apple Pie Topping

More Healthy Apple Recipes

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

• Explore different natural flavoring / extracts. Feel free to add a teaspoon of flavorings or extracts, such as vanilla bean paste, almond extract, coffee extract or maple extract. Or citrus flavors such as lemon or orange extract. Peppermint extract also works.
• You can also bake this in a muffin or mini cake pan instead of a donut pan.

How to Make this Healthier

• Add antioxidants: Did you know that cinnamon is a good source of antioxidants?  Dried fruits such as cranberries, blueberries (I like the one with no added sugar) and goji berries, and citrus zests like orange and lemon are terrific antioxidants, as well as immunity boosters. Add up to a teaspoon of these superfood powders and up to 2 Tbsp of dried fruits to the batter before baking to make this recipe even better!
• Increase fiber: Add a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds. Add a tablespoon of nuts, seeds and old-fashioned oats to add texture and nutrition to the cake.
• Reduce sugar: You can also reduce the sugar by half (to make this less sweet), or replace it altogether with a sugar-free substitute.

Other ways to eat/ glaze/ frost

• Eat plain and warm. Microwave before eating if cold to restore the mochi's chewiness.
• Frosted with my 2-Ingredient Almond Butter Frosting , or this Healthy Powdered Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting
• Dusted with powdered sugar or sugar-free powdered sugar. Just make sure you use a sieve to sift the sugar on top!

Texture Guide

Instead of the almond (alternative) flour that's listed in the recipe, you can use other healthy flour substitutes (oat, coconut, whole wheat flour) instead. Also if you want these donuts to be chewier/ mochier, you can also use more mochiko flour instead of almond flour. Be sure to refer to the guide below, or read my Mochi Donut Experiment to read how the results differ! 

How to Store

• You can store mochi donuts covered at room temperature for 1-2 days. For longer storage, you can place them in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze up to 4 months. You can microwave them (30 seconds) before eating, to restore the mochi's "chewy" texture, but the glaze will melt, too

Final Tips

• I used a silicone pan because the donuts were easier to remove after baking.
• Spray or grease the pans (even the silicone ones!!) with oil before using. It’ll save you a lot of frustration when taking your donuts out of the pans.
• Baking time (as well as serving size) will vary based on the size of your donut pan, the material (silicone vs metal) of the pan, and thickness! Bake the mochi donuts until the color is golden-brown on the top, or until a toothpick comes out clean/dry when poked into the middle.

More Mochi Donut Recipes