Baked Mini Donut Recipe (makes great muffins and pancakes too)
I have a strange relationship with doughnuts. I used to love them, then I hated them for a while, and now I’m back to liking donuts again. Before I get into why I feel this way about donuts, I want to point out that I’m choosing to spell it the American way for this blog post. I’m just not feeling it with the 8-letter version of the word (doughnut).
Now back to my relationship with donuts. I fell in love with Boston Cream and Chocolate Glazed donuts at Tim Hortons shortly after moving to Canada. Within a couple of years, I landed a part-time job at Tim’s and worked there throughout my teenage years. So, needless to say, I got sick of donuts during that period of my life. Even after I stopped working there, I just never felt like eating a donut. Then a few years later, I tried Krispy Kreme and found a new appreciation for this treat.
I was driving by my local Krispy Kreme store a few weeks ago and saw the drive-thru line was around the entire plaza. It got me thinking about their donuts and how they are so good but way too sweet and oily. That evening I ordered a mini donut pan and got started on developing this recipe.
I am so happy with how easy and versatile this recipe is. It can be used to make donuts, pancakes and muffins. Trust me; I’ve tested them all. And the best part, all you need is a whisk to mix it all together.
The first time I made these donuts, I realized that I should’ve ordered more than one donut pan since the yield is more than 2-dozen mini donuts. I didn’t want to wait around to make a second batch, so I decided to make the rest of the batter into pancakes. My 2-year old, Emma was asking for a snack, so I gave her one pancake, and she asked for a second one and then the third one. She had never eaten more than one pancake before! That’s when I knew this recipe was going to become a household favourite.
Since both my kids loved the pancakes, I’ve been experimenting with the recipe and replaced half the flour with ground almond flour and added some ground flaxseed to improve the nutrition profile. The result was a fluffier donut with a mild, nutty flavour!
This recipe needs only a handful of common household ingredients, except for almond flour and buttermilk. I never buy buttermilk because I’m not sure if and when I’ll need it, so I just make it at home. All you need is 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar for every cup of milk. I used a little extra lemon to add a mild citrus flavour for this recipe, which works nicely with the nutty flavour from the almond flour. Once the batter is mixed, spoon or pipe some into the donut (or muffin) pan and bake.
I dipped these donuts in melted semi-sweet chocolate instead of making a traditional donut glaze, which requires icing sugar, corn syrup, etc. I recommend adding a little bit of unsalted butter to the melted chocolate to thin it out slightly, which will help with the dipping process. Since Halloween is just around the corner, I made some scary faces and spider webs with the melted chocolate.
Other Dip Options:
Cinnamon sugar mixture
Powdered sugar glaze
Sprinkles
If you don’t have a mini or regular size donut pan, you can simply bake these as muffins (regular or mini size) or make pancakes.
DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by OneTab. All opinions and recipes are my own. For more information, please read my Disclaimer.
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Here’s a video tutorial on how to make these super easy and delicious mini donuts. This is my first ever recipe video! Let me know if it was helpful in the comments below. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated 😊.
Prep time: 10 mins | Bake Time: 7 - 8 mins
Ingredients
½ cup all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
½ cup almond flour**
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk (whole or 2%)
1 tbsp lemon juice
For the dip:
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ - 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
Start by making the buttermilk: add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the milk and let the mixture sit for a few minutes.
Place butter in a medium-sized bowl and melt in the microwave.
Add vanilla, sugar, and egg to the butter and whisk together.
Add the buttermilk and whisk until everything is well mixed.
In a small bowl, gently stir together the flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder. Add ground flaxseed if using.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk until well combined.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Grease a mini donut (or muffin) pan and scoop the batter to fill ⅔ of the cavity. Do not overfill.
Mini donuts: bake for 7-8 minutes; mini muffins: bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove donuts from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool before dipping.
If making pancakes, heat up a non-stick pan, melt some butter or use non-stick spray and spoon some batter to make your desired size of pancake. Cook on low heat for 1-2 mins on each side.
In a small bowl, heat semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second intervals until completely melted and smooth. Add butter to thin out the mixture and reheat for another 15-20 seconds and stir well.
Flip each mini donut and gently dip into the melted chocolate. Turn the donut around slightly to ensure the entire top surface is well coated. Carefully lift the donut and scrape off any excess chocolate from the side with a small spatula. Allow at least 3 hours to set the dip.
Store leftover donuts in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
*Spoon & level method - do not scoop flour out of the bag/container with your measuring cup. Instead, use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup and once full, use the back of a knife to level off the cup; do not tap the cup.
**Unlike traditional flour, measure almond flour by scooping your measuring cup directly into the bag and then level off with the back of a knife. Don’t pack it down too much but use a slightly heavier hand 😊.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
Comment below or share a photo on IG and tag @emmaya.us.
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About Me
Hi there! I’m Tahmina - mom of two girls, an engineer, a passionate baker and a creative event planner.
I’ve always enjoyed baking but became passionate about it after I had my first child. Now I combine my knowledge from working in the food industry and increased interest in food and nutrition to experiment with various ingredients and recipes.
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