These Baked Donut Holes are made in a mini muffins pan, then brushed with melted butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with a vanilla cream cheese glaze! Pure lush!
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!
Yes, I am too excited about this recipe. 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! 🙂
Why you need to try these baked donut holes:
The batter for these baked donut holes comes together quickly in a bowl and whisk. 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!
There’s something about bite size everything that’s irresistible for me. If I could, 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 easier and faster than the myths that go around them.
How to make Baked Donut Holes with Cinnamon Sugar & Vanilla Glaze:
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 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 you want the ultimate baked donut experience, I recommend you do it! Your baked donuts will turn into 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.
Now 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 your baked donut holes a faint drizzle. And yes. Bite away! Pure bliss!!!
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 🙂
For more mini dessert and bite-sized appetizer recipes:
Make sure to check out these 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.
Tips for success:
- By using a mini muffin pan, these baked donut holes are done in half the baking time.
- You can dip the whole donut into butter, but brushing the tops already does the trick.
- Feel free to add some ground cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom to the cinnamon sugar for chai spiced donut holes.
Baked Donut Holes with Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Glaze
These Baked Donut Holes are made in a mini muffins pan, then brushed with melted butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with a vanilla cream cheese glaze! Pure lush!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Coating:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing:
- 2 ounces room temperature softened cream cheese full fat, low fat or fat free-your preference
- 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk any type
Instructions
For the donuts
- 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 cavities).
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.
Mix cinnamon and sugar. 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 too 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.
Recipe Notes
- By using a mini muffin pan, these baked donut holes are done in half the baking time.
- You can dip the whole donut into butter, but brushing the tops already does the trick.
- Feel free to add some ground cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom to the cinnamon sugar for chai spiced donut holes.
I can’t wait to try them out! They look heavenly ?
Hope you do and enjoy them!!!
Is the cornstarch necessary for the donuts?
Cynthia, the cornstarch makes the donuts extra tender and soft. I feel it’s good here since they’re baked and not fried, however you can just replace it with regular flour.