Gluten Free Crumb Donuts (Homemade Mock Entenmann’s Crumb Donuts)

Name: Gluten Free Crumb Donuts (Homemade Entenmann's Crumb Donuts)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 59 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients: 4 Tbs butter or vegan butter, room temperature; ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed; ¾ cup (102 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour; 1 tsp. cinnamon, ground; 1/8 tsp. salt; 1 cup (135 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour; 1/3 cup granulated sugar; 1 tsp. baking powder; ¼ tsp. baking soda; ¼ tsp. salt; 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, ground; ¼ cup mild oil (safflower, sunflower, avocado or non-GMO canola); ½ cup yogurt, dairy or non-dairy OR sour cream; ¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy; 1 egg, room temperature or substitute; ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract; 2 cups confectioner’s sugar; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; ¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy; Confectioner’s sugar to dust tops of donuts (optional)

Jump to Recipe

There are a few store-bought packaged foods that we all know and love, that raise eyebrows (in a good way) and make peoples’ pupils dilate a little just hearing the name, and that many of us mourn the loss of when we go gluten free. One of those is Entenmann’s Crumb Donuts.

You know the ones. They come in the white box and they have copious amounts of delectable coffee cake crumbles all over them, with powdered sugar and glaze and pretty much all the good stuff.

It’s because this iconic donut is so easily recognized that I knew right away both the call of the treat and the import of the request when a mom entreated me to develop a gluten free copycat recipe for these donuts.

She shared the story of her celiac son sneaking his grandparents’ stash of Entenmann’s Crumb Donuts and becoming so very sick – multiple times – because he just simply couldn’t resist. He would climb cabinets and forage pantries for the goodies, even though at his tender age he still knew he would suffer painful consequences from sneaking them.

I can’t say I would risk my health or make myself sick for a gluten-filled Entenmann’s Crumb Donut, but I can say I would actually really, really like to have a gluten free version, and so really, really felt bad for this poor mama and her donut-loving celiac little boy. Deep down I understood this longing in my celiac heart of hearts.

So here we are. Weeks later, and many many many donut iterations later. But I finally have a truly amazing gluten free crumb donut recipe for her, and for me, and for you!

I have tried out this gluten free Crumb Donut recipe on lots of gluten eaters who can still eat the real store-bought version of Entenmann’s Crumb Donuts, and I can assure all you fellow gluten free’ers out there that they have given this recipe the thumbs up, both on its overall yumminess and its similarity to the original.

Making the crumb topping is super simple, making the batter is super simple, and all you need to do to make these yummy treats is to pipe them out using a simple plastic bag with the corner cut out … how easy is that? No mess, no fuss and easy clean up — my kinda recipe! Of course, you can always just spoon the batter into donut pans and smooth the tops, there’s always that method, too.

(For another recipe showing this piping technique, check out my gluten free churros and gluten free funnel cakes and even gluten free baguette recipes! I have videos in these recipes if you’re looking for technique.)

To make these gluten free crumb donuts the even easier way, just sprinkle the crumble topping onto the donut batter before baking. The donuts will be ready to enjoy when you pop them out of the donut pans after baking!

Plus I’ve taken the recipe one step further and I’ve actually given you another option to make it even easier (aka quicker to make) so you can choose to make them very much like a mock Entenmann’s Crumb Donut or make them more like a regular coffee cake donut instead. Choices are good, right?

You can even bake these gluten free crumb donuts as MUFFINS! Or, if you’re like me and only have a 6-donut pan, you can bake 6 donuts and one or two extra as muffins. How’s that for fun?

gluten free crumb donuts muffins | gfJules — Gluten Free Crumb Donuts and batter baked as muffins.

Oh and lest you worry that you simply must eat all these donuts yourself in one sitting because two day old gluten free donuts have such a bad reputation, don’t worry. With my award-winning gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, these baked donuts stay fresh for days!

I even took some camping with us just to test them out and they were yummy days later!!! But of course, don’t let me stop you from eating them all in one sitting if you wanna. You do you.

gluten free crumb donuts camping with coffee 2| gfJules — Gluten Free Crumb Donuts 3 days later on our camping trip — still soft, fresh and yummy because they were made with gfJules Flour!

So follow along, pick your method and enjoy donut nirvana in under an hour! No tummy aches, unless perhaps you do choose to eat them all in one sitting; no promises there.

If you try this recipe and love it, please give it 5-stars!

Gluten Free Crumb Donuts

Gluten Free Crumb Donuts (Homemade Entenmann's Crumb Donuts)

Yield: 6-8 donuts

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Additional Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 59 minutes

These gluten free Crumb Donuts are the real deal! Just like the ones that come in the white box with copious amounts of delectable coffee cake crumbles all over them, powdered sugar and glaze and pretty much all the good stuff. Only none of the tummy aches, because they're gluten free!

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

4 Tbs butter or vegan butter, room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ cup (102 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/8 tsp. salt

Donuts

1 cup (135 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg, ground
¼ cup mild oil (safflower, sunflower, avocado or non-GMO canola)
½ cup yogurt, dairy or non-dairy OR sour cream
¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 egg, room temperature or substitute
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Glaze

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy
Confectioner’s sugar to dust tops of donuts (optional)

Instructions

To prepare the crumb topping, melt butter in small sauce pot
over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add brown sugar and stir
until smooth.

Whisk gfJules Flour, cinnamon and salt together in then add to saucepot, stirring to mix into the butter-sugar mix. Stir occasionally while cooking the mix. The mixture will be crumbly and dry with some chunks larger than others.

Set aside to cool after five minutes of cooking.

To make the gluten free donuts, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter or oil a donut pan well.

Whisk together dry ingredients: gfJules Flour; sugar; baking powder; baking soda; salt; nutmeg.

To a mixing bowl, add the liquid ingredients: oil; yogurt; milk; egg; vanilla.

Stir dry ingredients into the mixing bowl to combine. If using a stand mixer, I prefer using a flat paddle attachment. Beat until the batter is smooth, only about 1-2 minutes on medium speed; do not overmix. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.

Transfer batter into a quart or gallon plastic bag then cut a small corner out. Use that corner to pipe batter equally into donut pans or simply spoon batter into pans instead. If any extra batter remains, spoon into muffin cups to bake. With my donut pan, this recipe made 6 donuts and two muffins.

There are two options at this point:

Either sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the batter in the donut pans (or on top of the muffins) before baking OR bake the donuts and then make the glaze after they cool; the crumb topping will stick to the glaze.

Either way, place pans in the preheated oven on the middle rack and bake for 12-13 minutes, testing with a toothpick, removing the donuts when the toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake, though. The donuts should also spring back when pressed with a gentle touch.

Remove to cool on a wire rack.

If making the glaze, make it while the donuts cool.

To make the glaze, measure out the confectioner’s sugar and pour into a flat-bottomed bowl. If not already sifted, whisk the confectioner’s sugar at this point to remove lumps. Add vanilla and milk, whisking to make a smooth glaze. The consistency should not be too thin, but should be thin enough to be able to swirl the donuts through the glaze easily. If it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar; if too thick, add more milk (only a tablespoon at a time).

Once cooled, swirl the donuts through the glaze in the flat-bottomed bowl – only the tops are necessary, but you’re welcome to dip both sides if you like – then gently press down onto the crumb topping you’ve set aside. Set them back onto the wire rack to allow the glaze and crumbs to
set.

I recommend only doing one donut first, in case your glaze is too thin and the crumbs start to slide off; you’ll notice this right away with the first donut and you can stir extra confectioner’s sugar into the glaze to thicken it and correct the issue before it happens to all the donuts!

Dust with more confectioner’s sugar before serving if you like.