Best-Yet, Homemade Baked Doughnuts!

Hey everyone! I can't believe this is my 100th post! And what better way to share a delicious doughnut recipe with you all!
I've been looking for a great baked doughnut recipe for quite some time now... I mean, baked doughnuts are good - they're cakey and moist and, oh let's face it, they're nothing like those doughnut shop doughnuts. I mean, even the cakey doughnuts at the doughnut shops taste different - denser, somehow more satisfying... Well, I stopped making doughnuts for a bit because I wanted to find a recipe that would give me a more traditional donut taste without all the fat and oil. Impossible? Quite possibly, but I was optimistic..

After mulling it over in my head and scouring the internet and cook books for a mind-blowing recipe, still baked, mind you, I came across a sweet blog, The Baker Chick. She had a recipe for Baked Churros that spurred my interests... Hmm, churros.. crispy exterior, fluffy and a pastry-like interior, actually very similar in nature to a doughnut - those chocolate- or vanilla-frosted plain ones - you know the ones...

With a little nipping and tucking, the churro recipe became my new favorite doughnut recipe! This recipe is actually a pate-a-choux recipe with the addition of sugar. The texture of the doughnut is the closest yet to a traditional doughnut without being fried.. The glaze on top is the same I recently used in my Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast Cake recipe. This glaze sealed the deal and these doughnuts became the perfect Valentine's Day breakfast for my loved ones.

But don't think this doughnut is too fancy for any old morning... With a 10-minute prep, 30-minute bake-off, and 5-minute glazing, this recipe is fit for any day of the week.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Check out my most recent post on White Cake, Three Ways! at Leelabean Bakes! - White cake, confetti cake, and chocolate chip cake all from one batter? It can't be beat!)

Best-Yet Homemade, Baked Doughnuts
(Inspired by The Baker Chick's Baked Churros Recipe)

(Yield: about 12 doughnuts)

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 t salt
1 c water
1 t vanilla
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
3 eggs

cooking spray

Chocolate Glaze


Set your oven to 350 F. 
Spray a doughnut pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the water, salt, butter, and vanilla until boiling. While this is coming to a boil, whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Once boiling, take the saucepan off the heat and dump the flour and sugar mix into the pan. Using a wooden spoon, mix vigorously until it comes together and no lumps remain. The mixture will be very thick. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. The mixture will begin to loosen just a bit and when you can spoon up a bit and have it drop back into the pan rather than staying put on the spoon, you know you have achieved the right consistency. It should flow very slowly. Depending on the atmospheric state of your kitchen, you may need to add or subtract an egg to find that desired consistency.
Spoon all the dough into a ziploc or piping bag. Snip off the bottom (the hole on the bottom of the bag should be about 1/3" - 1/2" in diameter). Pipe the dough into the doughnut pan. Using some water and your finger, you can smooth the tops of the doughnuts if there are any points sticking up or unevenness.
Bake for around 30 minutes or until the tops get lightly browned. While the doughnuts are baking, make your chocolate glaze. Take them out of the oven and let them rest for about 10 minutes.
Let the chocolate glaze cool for about 15 minutes to allow it to thicken slightly. Then dunk the top half of your doughnuts into the glaze and eat alongside a tall glass of milk!

Kid Bites: Baked Donuts

My children must be spoiled.. At least in the "dessert-and-other-sweet-treats" sort of way. Every morning without fail, my son comes downstairs half asleep and asks me through barely open eyes, "Mommy, can we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast?" If I answer no, which is most days of the year, he'll proceed to list his favorite breakfast items (muffins, crepes, french toast, pancakes, scones, etc) hopeful that I'll say "yes" to one of them. Most days I don't (most technically means greater than 50%..) but when I do, the eyes open wide and a big grin spreads across his face..

One such morning happened upon us the other day and my son asked "Donuts?" He was pleasantly surprised when I said, "Sure!" I'd made his day. He was even more excited when I told him he'd be making them.

Always trying to be as healthful as I can while juggling my love of baking and raising two kids, I decided to bake, rather than fry, these donuts. Which is one of the reasons this recipe is so kid-friendly - no pot of splattering hot oil. Another plus - no kitchen appliances needed. Just mix the ingredients together by hand and bake them off. It will take you 10 minutes from start to finish (that's factoring in the kids)!
These donuts were soft and fluffy and a marvelous start to the morning alongside a cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk. Remember that when *baking* donuts, the end product will not have the crispy sort of outer layer that a traditional donut usually does, since we are not frying it. But that was a-okay with my family as they helped themselves to seconds and thirds (which of course, weren't allowed).

Baking with your kids is great fun as long as you know there will be plenty of messes and spills and that preparation time will most likely be at least doubled. But those things are temporary. The memories will last forever.

Baked Donuts
(Recipe by: Leelabean)

Yield: 10-12 regular-sized donuts OR 40-45 mini donuts.

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3 T light brown sugar
2 T granulated white sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t nutmeg
1 large egg
3 T oil
1/4 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract
2 T maple syrup (you may omit this and substitute an extra tablespoon of sugar, here)

4 T unsalted butter, melted (for coating the donuts in cinnamon sugar)

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 c granulated white sugar
3 t ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Whisk together until well incorporated and any lumps from the brown sugar are broken up. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup, if you are using it. Whisk to form a homogeneous mixture. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the batter is even. Be careful not to overmix.
Liberally coat your donut pan with cooking spray. I used the Wilton regular and mini donut pans. Fill each cavity of the regular-sized donut pans with 2 level tablespoons of batter. Fill the mini-sized donut pan with a heaping 1 teaspoon of batter. You do not want to fill the donut sections more than 1/2 full because they will overflow and look more like muffins sporting a holey bottom than donuts.
Bake the mini donuts for 8-10 minutes and the regular donuts for 10-12 minutes. They will become a golden brown when they are ready and a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the donuts will come out clean. Let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
While the donuts are cooling, make your cinnamon sugar by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Take a cooled donut and brush it with melted butter. Then toss it in the cinnamon sugar to coat. These are best eaten the day they are made.
Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house. It was low-key but special and completely enjoyable with the kids parttaking in the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first year I truly felt like they were involved and sharing in the true meaning of the celebration.
We roasted a turkey and all the trimmings - sausage sage stuffing, roasted veggies, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, apple cider gravy and a dish of "plain jane" green beans, specifically requested by the kids. For dessert we had a Nutella cheesecake with an almond crust and pecan & walnut bars rather than the usual pies.
To start the day, I made a batch of apple cider donuts. I'd just purchased a donut pan and wanted to try baking donuts - something I'd never done before. They were easy to throw together for breakfast and ended up being a delicious start to the most wonderful day of the year (in my opinion), especially with a steaming hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate (topped with whipped cream, of course)! Go over to The City Sisters blog to get the recipe that I used. This version is a healthy swap-out to the usual fried donut.
I dipped some of mine in cinnamon sugar, some in a maple glaze, and others in a maple glaze with crumbled bacon on top. The sweet and salty combination was my personal favorite.

Happy Thanksgiving...!