Popular Opinion...

Fall in Minnesota is pretty much perfection. Warmish-coolish temperatures. Plenty of sunshine. And the LEAVES!

I stocked up on a few cans of pureed pumpkin at the store last week and I still have an unused bag of hemp hearts I'd purchased a few weeks ago at Trader Joe's. If only I had a recipe to use both...hmm...I'm not creative or original, so MORE DOOOOOONUTSSSSSS!

I'll confess that I have never had hemp hearts before. Never bought them, never eaten them, and clueless as to how they taste. Nutritionally I knew they were packed- I mean look at that protein, and healthy fat content! They're a high calorie food, but with plenty of nutrition to back that up. I figured tossing them in the donuts would be a good way to test them out. I was not wrong!

Pumpkin Donuts with Hemp Hearts

1/2 cup light brown sugar (can sub white sugar)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup dry oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons hemp hearts

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixer, combine sugar, applesauce, pumpkin, egg, and oil until well mixed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Gently fold them into the pumpkin mixture. Try to stir just until combined rather than beating the heck out of this.

Spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place a freezer bag inside a large cup, folding the edge out around. Fill the bag/cup with the batter, then snip off a half inch of the corner. Now you can easily pipe the batter into the round donut pan with ease. I had enough batter for 8 donuts.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Let cool for a minute or two, then invert onto a cooling rack. Keep any leftovers in the fridge. I should say that my kids each ate one up immediately for a snack, then ate the rest for their breakfast in the morning. The hemp hearts had no taste, and thanks to the heartiness of the oats, they went undetected texture-wise as well (and you KNOW my kids would have something to say if they thought somethin' funky was in their food).

What a great fall snack- makes me want to make a chai tea, have a donut, sit outside and procrastinate raking and bagging all those leaves.

Per donut: 160 calories, 29 grams carbohydrates (including 3 grams fiber), 3 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 121 mg sodium.