While there are some people who have given up on their New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, some haven’t. I have a lot of respect for those people, because I am not one of those people.

However, even those who choose to eat healthier deserve a bit of dessert, and, while it’s not as healthy as everything else, baked donuts are the way to go.

They don’t have the fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture of Krispy Creme, but they do satisfy any sweet tooth — healthy minded or not.

Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 8 donuts

Here’s what you need:

For the donuts:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat or almond flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup raw sugar, finely ground

1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/4 cup milk (whole, reduced fat, skim or almond)

For the glaze:
1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Here’s the fun part:

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a donut pan with nonstick baking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds.

In a separate bowl, use your fingers to press together the lemon zest and sugar to release the natural oils from the zest.

Add the butter to the sugar mixture and mix well.

Add the egg and extracts into the sugar mixture and mix until as smooth as possible.

Alternate adding the milk and the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, starting and ending with the milk.

Transfer the batter into a zip-top bag with the tip cut off.

Fill the donut wells in the pan until ¾ full, tapping the pan on a hard surface lightly to release some air bubbles.

Bake 10-11 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the donuts.

Quickly pull the donuts from the pan and put them onto a cooling rack to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice.

Dip one side of each donut into the glaze, twisting it as you pull up to drop off excess glaze. Glaze should harden within 1 to 2 minutes.

Here are some tips:

• Add sprinkles or extra lemon zest to garnish and add texture
• Add a little bit of yellow food coloring into the glaze for an iconic lemon look
• Spray some nonstick baking spray onto your fingers and flatten out the thick batter after putting it into the donut wells so the donuts will have flatter bottoms

That’s the hole of it … see what I did there? Until next week, fellow foodies.

Junior Laken Wagner has been spending time in the kitchen since she was five years old, where both baking and cooking have always filled her extra time. She enjoys baking more than anything else and can frequently be found decorating cakes or trying out new recipes.