baked pumpkin donut holes

Just the other day, I was out on a Target run with baby A when I spied a most welcome addition to the shopping center.  There, in the midst of such esteemed eating establishments as Chevy's, Wing Stop, and Five Guys, were the curving red letters against a cheery green and white background, a beacon of sweet decadence, Krispy Kreme.

Never mind that when it comes down to it, I prefer a good old-fashioned cake doughnut to the yeasty glaze that is Krispy Kreme's classic offering.  Never mind that the last thing I need is another excuse to visit Target.  THERE ARE DOUGHNUTS IN MY VICINITY!

As I drove past the Krispy Kreme, showing an incredible amount of restraint (truthfully, this could also be attributed to the fact that I have a little darling to satisfy, and it wouldn't exactly be nice for him to be pulled out of his new big boy car seat and then thrust back in only five minutes later), I contemplated my deep and abiding love for doughnuts, concluding that they are my greatest culinary weakness.  I thought of all the times I picked up a bag of Entemann's or Mrs. Baird's cinnamon miniature doughnuts, vowing to share, but inevitably devouring all of the little treasures in a few days.  I recalled with great pleasure the blueberry cake doughnut (or two) from Dunkin Donuts that used to sustain me on my commute from Hoboken to the Bronx.  I remembered the warm and cozy feeling that I got from my stops at the local doughnut shop in our neighborhood, where the kindly Korean proprietor always tossed in a doughnut hole or two for free, on top of the sugared doughnuts I picked up those first few weeks after we bought our house.  Ah, the doughnut.  Is anything better?

Unfortunately, the humble fried treat is not the sort of thing one should eat if aspiring to be the picture of health.  There isn't the slightest hint, in fact, of "good for you" in a doughnut.  Enter two peas and their pod, a lovely new blog I found that I now cannot stop visiting.  Run by a husband and wife team, the recipes on the blog not only look delicious and appealing, but are often exactly the kind of thing a responsible eater should consider whipping up.  The moment my eyes glimpsed baked pumpkin donut holes, I knew that I would be a faithful follower forever.  The little gems are the perfect solution for my perpetual doughnut craving!  Yes, they are dipped in butter before being rolled in a generous amount of cinnamon sugar but they are BAKED.  And they contain pumpkin, that excellent squash, bursting with antioxidants, healthy fats, and fiber!  One should feel nothing short of virtuous after reaching for a second or third helping.

I should tell you that the recipe makes 24 decadent miniature doughnut holes.  My SH and dear SIL ate six between them.  Approximately 3 1/2 are sitting forlornly in the bowl right now.  You do the math.

I must also say how excited I am to have found two peas and their pod.  Besides my new favorite treat, I've also tried their sweet potato kale pizza with rosemary and red onion (delicious, definitely post-worthy), and I plan to make roasted chickpea fajitas this week.