Homemade Baked Donuts

I have a very weird relationship with donuts. I remember many a road trip where we would pick up a box of donuts just after leaving home. And then I would pretend to be asleep just to avoid eating them. They were always so sweet and full of sugar that it make my teeth hurt. And those were my feelings as a child.

Over time, I came to realize that I prefer the baked style of donut over the fried version and that opened me up to more options and flavors. I also found it fun to put my own spin on flavors because donuts really can act like a blank canvas.

Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.

The ingredients for a donut are fairly simple and I would imagine that they can be found in any kitchen. The first step is to whisk and sift all of the dry ingredients. This is the first opportunity to add some special flavors! Some of my favorite spices to put in are cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, all-spice, and ginger.

Then it’s time to mix all of the wet ingredients together. I tried to used soften butter for this part at first but I found that melted butter gives much better results. And once again, there is an opportunity to add in some extra flavor of the liquid variety. For general spice donuts, vanilla extract is the way to go. But there are other extracts that you can try! I put a list of flavor combination in the bottom notes section for inspiration.

Then it’s time to combine all of the ingredients together. The batter is going to be a cake like consistency. Which makes it a little unwieldly and that is why I prefer using a piping bag to put everything into the molds. It makes it a little simpler and a little less messy. (I forgot to take pictures of this step, sorry about that!)

Lastly, it’s time to bake! I always have trouble and end up mixing convection bake and regular bake but generally, I will also recommend regular bake. These will cook in about 15 minutes but sometimes it can take a little longer but that golden brown color is what you’re aiming for.

I’ve been watching a lot of Worst Cooks in America recently so the phrase “Brown food tastes good” is stuck in my head. For an extra crunch, you can finish these off in an air fryer if you want but I prefer the plain baked version! And there you have a wonderful donut!