Lunch: Pumpkin Doughnuts

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Pumpkin Doughnuts

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for frying
2 tubes buttermilk biscuits, such as Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups regular cream cheese, such as Philadelphia
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
3/4 cup solid pack canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch ground cloves

Instructions

Place a kitchen towel on the counter. Open the packages of biscuits and lay the biscuits on the towel in a single layer. Cover with another slightly damp towel. Set aside for 20 to 25 minutes while you prepare the filling. Fill a heavy, deep saucepan halfway with oil and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Please don't fry in oil any cooler than 350 degrees F; it will make your doughnuts greasy and yucky. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest and cream on medium speed, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg and continue to mix until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 more minutes. Fill a pastry bag with a large open tip with the pumpkin mixture and set aside. Prepare the dusting for the doughnuts in a large mixing bowl; add the sugar, cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves, toss to combine and set aside. Fry the biscuits in batches of 2 or 3 until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Carefully with tongs, lift the biscuits (doughnuts) out of the hot oil allowing them to drain over the oil for a second. Toss the warm doughnuts in the the spiced sugar. Make a hole large enough along the edge of the doughnut to fit the tip of the pastry bag. Pipe the pumpkin filling into each doughnut and eat these babies right away!