Baked Donuts – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Wild Blueberry Donuts

A few years ago homemade baked donuts were all the rage. I definitely think it was due to the availability of donut pans. You no longer needed to roll out dough and cut it to make a donut shape that would then be fried. You could simply pipe batter into a pan and pop it in the oven and within 20 minutes you had delicious homemade donuts. Recipes were popping up everywhere. I definitely jumped on the bandwagon as well. Nowadays I don’t come across as many new recipes and I probably only use my donut pans 2 or 3 times a year. That doesn’t mean I don’t have recipe/flavor ideas swirling around in my head. One of my favorite donuts is a Blueberry Donut from The Doughnut Plant in NYC. This year in honor of National Donut Day I decided to create my own version, Wild Blueberry Donuts.

While using fresh blueberries would have probably given my donuts a nice blue hue I decided to go with dried wild blueberries since their flavor is consistent and they worked so well in my Blueberry Crumb Cookies last year. I didn’t want to have too many donuts, so I decided to make a small batch – only 6. It was the perfect amount. And once they cooled, I added a blueberry glaze that wasn’t too sweet and did give them a nice blue hue!

Happy National Donut Day!

Wild Blueberry Donuts

Servings: 6
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For the donuts:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup dried wild blueberries

For the glaze:

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 6-cavity donut pan with baking spray and set aside.

Sift together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt & nutmeg – into a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, buttermilk and egg until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until just combined. Fold in the dried blueberries.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag (or a resealable bag) and snip off the end. Pipe the batter into the donut pan about three-quarters full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the glaze: Place the blueberries in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30-45 seconds. Just to get them warm, but you don’t want them exploding. Transfer the blueberries to a fine mesh sieve and then mash them over a medium bowl to get the juices out. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar to the blueberry puree, stirring between each addition. Continue adding the sugar until the glaze is pourable but thick. Drizzle the glaze over the donuts or dip the top of the donuts in the glaze. Let set and then enjoy!

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Baked Peach Crumb Donuts

It’s the first Friday in June which means it’s National Donut Day! It’s been a while since I have shared a donut recipe on here. And to be honest, they are not something I bake all that often. My favorite donut that I have made are the Rainbow Cookie Donuts I posted a little over 4 years ago. I have made those a few times since then. And these Baked Peach Crumb Donuts I am sharing today are a very close second. If you are not a fan of peaches, you can swap out the peaches for blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. The base of the donut would work well with any of those fruits and crumb topping works well with any of those fruits and is always delish!

A few things to note… Whatever fruit you choose to use you don’t want to add it to the batter of your donuts. After making the batter pipe or spoon it into your donut pan and then sprinkle the fruit on top lightly pressing it into the batter.

Once your fruit is placed then sprinkle the top with the crumb topping and once again lightly press it into the batter to make sure it sticks while your donuts are baking and doesn’t end up falling off.

And finally, once your donuts have cooled dust the top of them with Confectioners’ sugar. The added sweetness of the sugar is just what these donuts need since they aren’t too sweet to begin with. Which is perfect by me.

Baked Peach Crumb Donuts

Servings: 8 Donuts
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For the donuts:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk*

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup diced peaches (can use fresh or frozen)

For the crumb topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

*Make your own by combining 1/2 cup whole milk with 3 teaspoons of white vinegar. Stir together and let sit for 15 minutes.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 2 6-welled donut pans with butter, or spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until well combined.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pans until 2/3 fill. You can also transfer the batter to a large piping bag or Ziploc bag and pipe the batter into the pan.

To make the crumb topping whisk together both sugars, cinnamon and flour. Using a fork, pastry cutter or your hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it’s pea sized and looks like coarse sand.

Divide the diced peaches among the donut batter, pressing it lightly into the batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each donut, once again pressing it lightly into the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven 10-11 minutes. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled dust the donuts with confectioners’ sugar.

Recipe from Katie Bird Bakes

Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts

Donuts are one of those treats that are perfect anytime of the day. They are go-to for many as a quick breakfast, but they are just as good as a midday snack or an after-dinner dessert. Now, I am not a coffee drinker at all. The closest I come is a Frappucino from Starbucks, but let’s face it, that’s more sugar than coffee. LOL! I am a tea drinker though, and one of my favorite teas is Chai tea. So, when I saw this recipe for Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts, I knew I had to try it and I wasn’t disappointed.

What is great about this recipe is that it doesn’t require you to use a hand mixer or stand mixer. You mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and the dry in another and then combine the two. Next, you transfer the batter to a piping bag (or resealable bag) and fill your donut pan.

After baking them for about 10 minutes, let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. And once they are cool enough to handle, brush melted butter on both sides and then dredge them in a chai sugar topping.

Final result… A donut that had a nice vanilla flavor with a coating of warm spices that made it extra delicious.

Vanilla Chai Baked Donuts

Servings: 10 Donuts
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Ingredients:

For the Donuts:

1/2 cup milk*

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Chai Sugar Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Pinch of black pepper

*I used whole milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a donut pan with baking spray and set aside. *

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, butter, sugar, egg, sour cream and vanilla extract until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.

To make filling the donut pan easy, transfer the batter to either a piping bag or a large Ziplock bag and fill the cavities of the donut pan halfway.

Bake for 9 – 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. To test for doneness, when you poke the donut it should bounce back. Cool the donuts for 2 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. If you don’t have a second donut pan, wipe the pan out and re-spray and fill with the remaining batter.

In a medium bowl combine the ingredients for the sugar coating, except the melted butter. Place the wire rack the donuts are on over a large baking sheet or a piece of wax paper. While the donuts are still warm, but, cool enough to handle, brush both sides with the melted butter and then toss in the chai-spice sugar.

*If you have 2 donut pans, prepare both of them.

Recipe from Mike Bakes NYC

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

I remember that the only time I was able to get Apple Cider Donuts was when I would go apple picking in upstate NY. I used to look forward to that 2-hour car trip, not only for the apples, but because I knew on the 2+ – hour (thanks to the inevitable traffic) car ride home I would be enjoying some freshly made warm donuts. Nowadays, it seems like you can get Apple Cider Donuts just about anywhere. Practically every apple orchard and farm I have visited sells them. Thankfully there are two places not terribly far from me that sell them year-round and both are quite delicious. There are some other places that sell them and they are, well, to be kind, I will say not so delicious.

While the Apple Cider Donuts I have had are deep-fried, I have attempted to make my own baked Apple Cider Donuts at home and until recently haven’t been that successful. The recipes I tried usually involved reducing the apple cider and I am not sure if I wasn’t reducing it enough or what, but, they were always a fail. Recently though I came across a recipe that didn’t involve reducing the apple cider and included olive oil that produced a delicious donut that actually stayed fresh & moist for a few days – thanks to said olive oil. I wouldn’t say that these are a perfect substitution to the delicious ones I get upstate, but, they are pretty close.

If you are looking for something bite-sized so you don’t feel as guilty (granted, they are fried though!), check out these Apple Cider Fritters I posted last year.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Servings: 18-21 Donuts
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Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice*

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup apple cider

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar**

2 tablespoons cinnamon**

*If you have apple spice, use 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon & 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice and omit the nutmeg & allspice.

**If you have cinnamon sugar you can use that in place of mixing together cinnamon & sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray donut pans with baking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a second large bowl whisk together the sugar, apple cider, olive oil, applesauce, vanilla and eggs. Once well combined, add in the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer the batter to the prepared donut pan, filling each cavity three-quarters full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

Let the donuts cool for a few minutes in the pan and then invert onto a wire rack.

In a small bowl whisk together the sugar & cinnamon. Brush each donut with the melted butter and the sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on to the donut.

Store the donuts in an air tight container.

Recipe from Inspired By Charm

Lavender Ricotta Donuts

Happy National Donut (or Doughnut) Day! For almost 80 years now (77 to be exact) the first Friday in June has been declared Nation Donut Day – started by the Salvation Army as a way to honor the volunteers of World War I who served donuts to soldiers. Not that there needs to be a reason to enjoy these incredibly sweet and delicious treats, but, on this day enjoying them may be a little more enticing as some places will give you a free one! In honor of today I decided to convert a Lavender Ricotta fritter recipe I made a few years back in a cooking class into donuts.

To make the batter I combined ricotta cheese, eggs, vanilla paste, sugar, baking powder and flour in the bowl of my stand mixer and used the whisk attachment to mix the ingredients. I then added in dried lavender and continued mixing the batter until it was thick.

Next I used a piping bag – I just snipped the end of the bag off – and piped the batter into a prepared donut pan; I sprayed it with baking spray.

I then baked them for about 15 minutes in a 350 F preheated oven. After removing them from the oven I let them cool in the pan before inverting them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Final outcome… They definitely tasted good – especially after an extra dusting of powdered sugar on top – but I definitely need to work on my donut making skills. I’ll be the first to admit that they are a bit wonky looking! One other thing, they didn’t have the typical dense texture of a donut, more like the moistness of a cruller thanks to the ricotta cheese.

If you like the flavor of lavender check out these other recipes I’ve made using the herb: Lavender Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting and Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream. With both of these recipes I was able to get the flavor of lavender into them by soaking the dried flowers in milk overnight and then straining the milk prior to using it in the recipes.

Lavender Ricotta Donuts

Yield: 10 Donuts

Ingredients:

2 cups ricotta cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*

1/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons dried lavender

Confectioners’ powder, for dusting

*Can also use vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep donut pan by spraying it with baking spray.

2. Whisk together the ricotta cheese, eggs, vanilla bean paste, sugar, baking powder and flour until combined. Add in the dried lavender and continue mixing until the batter is thick.

3. Transfer the batter to a piping bag or Ziploc bag and snip off the end and pipe the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until a cake tested comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Once cooled use a sifter to sprinkle the donuts with confectioners’ sugar.