Monday at work, I rushed into my editor’s office and complained about a frightful person who figures heavily on my workload this year. Full of panic, I whispered, “I’m not sure how to say this, but they might have to choose between her or me.”

Later, I stopped her in the hallway to apologize for being so melodramatic. She laughed and said, “No, I loved it! She’s actually human, I thought!”

First, thank God for bosses who are kind and understanding and laugh things off. Second, “actually human”? I keep thinking about that and wondering what impression I’m giving. I promise you, I am fully human:

I gave my boss a childish ultimatum on Monday.

I went home and had a glass of wine after that.

I accidentally got paint on a new sweater last week and I haven’t wanted to cry so hard since we said goodbye to family over Christmas.

There is a giant pile of clothes on my dresser that aren’t yet dirty enough to launder but putting them away feels like way too much work.

I gave major side eye to a woman on the train whose hunter green coat looked horrible with her lime green tights.

I’ve been slowly eating my way through 1/3 of a bag of chocolate chips.

I love doughnuts.

Specifically, I love these doughnuts. I made them Sunday morning (after the paint got on my sweater, but before the dramz at work). Brad took a bite and said, “Now I know what heaven tastes like.” I’m not so superhuman that it didn’t make me grin with pride.

These doughnuts are caramel-y from the coconut sugar and vanilla bean paste, light from the mix of gluten-free flours, and, well, heavenly from the jammy glaze I spread on top. The whole thing is cobbled together, borrowing the base from Shanna, the flour mix from a book recommended by our food editor at work, and the glaze is adapted from another cookbook I baked out of earlier in the week, but the result is one of the happiest surprises to come out of our kitchen in a bit.

Get while the getting is good–it’s only human.

berry-glazed doughnuts (gluten-free)
makes 10 doughnuts, plus 2-1/2 cups sauce
adapted from Food Loves Writing, Zoe Nathan, and Catherine Ruehle

Life changed for the better when we bought a doughnut pan. Baking doughnuts is easier than making pancakes. These come out of the pan easily when they’re still warm, less so when they’re cold. Not that you’d just leave them sitting around, but just in case. 

gluten-free all-purpose flour mix:
2-3/4 cups/430 g brown rice flour
1-3/4 cups/430 g oat flour
1-3/4 cups/230 g potato starch
1/2 cup/90 g cornmeal (I pulsed mine in my blender to get a finer grain)

doughnut:
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
1 egg
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup almond milk + 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour mix (recipe below)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

berry-cherry sauce:
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen antioxidant berry mix (mine featured lots of cherries, but whatever you have will work)
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 tablespoon water

First, mix up the flour mix by whisking all the ingredients together in a large bowl. It will make way more than you need for this recipe, but I like it for other things too. Warning: It does make baked goods super tender, but it held up well here. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Then, start the glaze: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until the sugar melts to form a thick syrup with the fruit juices and you can easily mash the berries with a spoon. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Cool completely, then pour into an airtight container and refrigerate.

Finally, make the doughnuts: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the doughnut pan with coconut oil (or whatever). In a large bowl, cream the coconut sugar and coconut oil. Add the egg, the water, and the almond milk and vinegar, and vanilla bean paste. Mix until combined. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the doughnut pan, not quite filling each cup. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the doughnuts feel firm to the touch.

Remove them from the pan, then spoon the glaze over them just before serving. Honestly, I don’t know how long they last because we ate them all in about 15 hours. I’m not ashamed.