Chocolate Zucchini Donuts

For the donuts:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the salt, applesauce, yogurt, buttermilk, and zucchini and continue to cream. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Do not over mix.

Spoon the donut batter into a large Ziplock bag and cut one tip off of the bag. Fill the donut pan (see note below) cavities at least 3/4 full. Bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and let donuts cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the topping:

Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl with the shortening. Put the bowl into the microwave and heat and stir 30 seconds at a time until melted.

Dip the tops of the donuts in the white chocolate. Then set them on a sheet of waxed paper or a rack and allow the topping to set.

Melt the red and blue candy melts in separate bowls following the instructions on the package. Place the melted candy into two small Ziplock bags with a tiny tip cut off one corner of each bag. Drizzle both colors onto the donuts and sprinkle with clear edible glitter. Let the toppings set before serving.

Store in an airtight container. Makes 18 donuts.

*Note: These can also be baked as muffins if you don’t have a donut pan. Fill the muffin liners 3/4 full and bake for approximately 20-22 minutes.