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Old-Fashioned Vegan Buttermilk Bar Donuts

If you're a die hard fans of buttermilk bars then you'll be thrilled to find out you can make them for yourself!

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 14 - 16 bars

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coconut cream *see note
  • 1/4 cup 4 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
  • 1 cup "buttermilk" 1 cup plant-based milk + 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons nutmeg optional
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups pastry flour plus more for work surface
  • oil for frying

Glaze:

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 4 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Doughnut Dough:

  1. Stir the wet ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl until well mixed and in a separate large bowl, sift 4 cups of flour and the other dry ingredients together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir well until it forms a thick, slightly sticky dough. If it seems too sticky add a little more flour as needed. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to make it easier to work with.
  2. Divide the dough in half and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out one half into a rectangle that's about 3/4 inch tall. (The dough may seem a bit sticky so try to keep your hands lightly floured and handle it as little as possible.) Cut the rectangle into bars (I did 8 smaller ones but If you'd like them a bit bigger only do 6) and repeat with the other half of dough. Now you should have 12 to 16 bars. (Alternatively, you can cut them into traditional doughnut shapes and doughnut holes if you'd like.)
  3. Heat a few quarts of oil in a deep fryer, deep and wide skillet, or dutch oven to about 350 degrees F (180 C).

Glaze:

  1. Make the glaze while your oil is heating up. Whisk the salt, milk, vanilla, and syrup together in a medium bowl then add the powdered sugar a little at a time until incorporated into a smooth glaze.

Frying:

  1. Carefully drop a few bars at a time into the hot oil and fry on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a plate or tray lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Allow them to cool for 3 to 4 minutes as they are a little bit fragile when hot, then dip each one in your glaze and place them on a wire rack to dry. Serve as soon as possible and store any extras (Ha, as IF!) in an air-tight container.

Recipe Notes

If you have trouble finding coconut cream at your local grocery store it's completely fine to use full-fat coconut milk and scrape the cream off of the top. Just be sure that it's cold enough to separate.