There’s something about bite size donut holes that’s irresistible! And while these are baked, so they’re technically not the inside hole of a regular donut. I promise you though, they’re just as DELICIOUS and pillowy! The batter comes together quickly in a bowl and whisk, and it bakes in a mini muffin pan for 12 minutes. You’d probably think they’re divine once they’re out of the oven, but once you brush them with butter, dip them in cinnamon sugar and finally, vanilla glaze them…OMG divine is not a word anymore. They’re pure lush!
Yes I am too excited about this recipe. I feel I’m like the girls when they’re sugar high lol But you know what, I don’t do it as often so today I’m plunging right in! It seems like forever I didn’t do a nice sweet treat on the blog, and it’s much needed— on the blog and in life! 🙂
I also almost feel like I should stick to fresh Spring recipes, but hello. Where are you Spring?! It’s been cold. Really cold. Like a with snow flurries last week. So yes, we’ve been having a good load of soups here. One of which I can NOT wait to share with you by the end of the week!! That’s the brightest side of this awful weather by the way. That and these donut holes 🙂
There’s something about bite size everything that’s irresistible for me. If I could (and lots of time I do!), I would never have a huge plate of anything. Just bite sizes of everything. I know I sound like my picky little eater, a person with too much time on hand, and above all, I sound unreasonable. But the truth is, bite size foods are MUCH more easier and faster than the myths that go around them.
Before I get to the donut holes, I’ll share a few of my other foods made in mini’s which have saved time and energy for me! Before judging, just check them out. Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes, Easy Mini Black Forest Cupcakes, Kale Veggie Mini Frittata, Easy Mini Lemon Pudding Cake, Best Feta Cucumber Salad Bites and Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes. While these are not all the mini things, I think they’re good enough for you to start with!
Here’s the deal. A bit of extra prep time at first saves you SO much at the end. You save on baking and cooking time which is totally worth it! Let’s start with these donut holes. You’ll make a simple quick bread batter, similar to any muffin batter. Then you’ll scoop the batter into a mini muffin pan—this is the 3 minute tiny bit of extra prep work for the recipe. And as a result , the donut holes bake in 8-10 minutes versus 18-20 minutes if they were regular size.
These donut holes are seriously fluffy, tender and super moist as they are right out of the oven. So don’t feel like you have to cinnamon sugar or vanilla glaze them. But if I would to ignore any guilt, I would say you HAVE TO cinnamon sugar and glaze them!! Have to. It becomes a real divine treat, not just a fluffy bite size muffin. So close your eyes and trust your heart with it.
When the donut holes start to cool, brush the tops with melted butter and dip them in a cinnamon sugar mixture. You can of course brush and dip the entire donut, but that would almost 100% make me feel too guilty lol. So let’s just go for the tops. Then make a nice vanilla cream cheese glaze and give them a faint drizzle. And yes. Bite away! Pure bliss!!!
Now for the glaze, I used my good old vanilla Cream Cheese Icing. So it tasted close enough to a cinnamon roll. YUM. You’ve probably noticed I have a thing for cinnamon rolls, I even started the blog with a Cinnamon Rolls Muffins recipe 🙂 Now I’m adding these donut holes to the cinnamon sugar love! Make some and enjoy 🙂
Baked Donut Holes with Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Glaze
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup of neutral oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
Coating:
- 1/3 cup of melted unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup Sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing:
- 2 ounces of room temperature softened cream cheese full fat, low fat or fat free-your preference
- 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of milk any type
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them up. In another bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them well. Be sure not to over mix the batter. Scoop the batter into a mini muffin pan (24 cavity). Bake the donut holes for 9-12 minutes depending on your oven. They will puff up and bounce back when pressed lightly at the center. Allow them to cool for a few minutes and then remove them from the muffin pan.
- Brush the tops of each donut hole with the melted butter and dip it in the cinnamon sugar bowl. Repeat with the remaining donut holes.
- For the glaze: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If the icing feels to thick, add milk a little bit at a time and whisk to make sure it doesn’t thin out. If you feel the icing is too thin, add a tablespoon of cream cheese with a tablespoon of confectioner sugar and whisk it in.
- Drizzle the donuts lightly with the vanilla glaze.
I can’t wait to try them out! They look heavenly 😊
Hope you do and enjoy them!!!