Well well well, it’s Friday again. A day to plan weekend indulgences. Our free time. The time where we choose the things that are bad for us. Like staying up late, watching too much TV and eating weekend treats. Or, maybe you’re like me and you use the weekend to tidy up the house, organize the things that have exploded in our pantries and close all the browser tabs, finally.
And, not to mention, it’s the weekend before Valentine’s Day. So, there will be chocolate and gosh, I hope pasta. When Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, I like to wake up early and make breakfast for Daniel before he leaves for work. Last year, it was scrambled eggs and homemade pop tarts. I know, the fanciest. Years before, it was usually banana pancakes and crispy bacon. But, look, this is neither here nor there, because, he has had his breakfast full these last few weeks as I’ve been testing these Baked Buttermilk Frosted Mini Donuts.
We all know it, so let’s just know it together, donuts are meant to be fried. They are meant to be crispy and greasy on the outside and fluffy-fall-apart on the inside. So, when I’ve come to you today with a recipe for baked donuts, you better believe they are perfect. This recipe had to make up for the fact that they haven’t been bathed in 360 degrees of hot canola oil.
And we got there. It may have taken a literal 124 donuts, but we got there. They are light and fluffy but full of flavor. We used butter, buttermilk, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract. So, while you may look at these little cuties and think that all they’re good for is their charming sprinkled looks, you would be wrong. They pack a delightful punch.
I’ve taken to re-organizing my spice jars. I say RE because I already organized them nice and neat last year. New jars from Amazon, labels, you know, the whole gamut. But I always hated the label stickers. They were chalk board and, look, I didn’t like them. So, I spent one whole episode of Investigative Discoveries “See No Evil” peeling off old labels and placing Rifle Paper Co. washi tape on the jars instead. My cupboards have new life. And if you look closely at my ingredients shot, you can see an example of my hard work.
And, since it’s supposed to snow this weekend, leaving me stuck at home Sat. & Sun. (my fave), it looks like I’ll be tackling other organizational projects. I’m happy to say the January blues are long gone and my desire to bake all the things is back and better than ever. So, won’t you celebrate with me and make these mini donuts?
Also! If you need a dessert to close out Valentine’s Day, this Pink Champagne Cake with White Chocolate Frosting would do the trick or perhaps Pink Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. All the pink things.
Baked Buttermilk Frosted Mini Donuts
Find the most flavorful baked donuts in these baked buttermilk frosted mini donuts. They are simple and quick to make but will please a crowd.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
Ingredients
|| Donuts ||
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
|| Frosting ||
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
food coloring to your preference
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
|| Donuts || In a standing mixer, combine butter, sugars, and extracts. Add in the egg and mix just until combined. Stop the mixer and add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn the mixer on slow and slowly drizzle in the buttermilk. The batter will be thick. Place in a piping bag and cut a dime-sized hole for the opening.
Spray two mini donut pans with cooking spray and pip in the batter until 3/4ths full. Place in the oven for 7-8 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
|| Frosting || Mix the frosting ingredients together and microwave in 30-second increments until it’s a drizzle consistency. Dip the donuts into the frosting and place sprinkles on immediately. Mix the frosting in between each donut. You will need to re-heat the frosting as needed every few minutes.
Keywords: donuts, sprinkles
*updated title and text, 1/20/20
I can’t wait it make these. But how much buttermilk? It’s not listed on the ingredient list only stated in the directions. Also with a nut allergy in my family can substitute the almond for extra vanilla extract?
The recipe card has been updated, thanks! yes, feel free to omit the almond extract. Or, you can replace it with extra vanilla. Maple extract, coconut extract… etc. would be great substitutes as well to give it more flavor.
Thank you….
WOW!these doughnuts are beautiful and all of your recipes look amazing.
Girl!!! Thank you so much! So happy to hear this 🙂
Will the icing set/crust over? The last recipe I used tasted good, but the icing stayed wet, making them messy to handle.
Hey Marcia! Mine does crust over 🙂 in fact, it’s best to work fast.
Recipe is amazing , however the frosting is like water . Any suggestions on what to do (I even added more sugar)
He Da’shawn! Thank you! I’m not sure why that happened. I’ve made it several times since making it and always comes out super thick. I’d say continue to add more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like. And make sure that you’re using whole cream. I hope that helps!
Im planing to make them for my daughter bday but i was wondering if they can be done in one of there donuts makers like a waffelmaker? Or they should be baked for a better result? Thank you!
Hey Dana!
I apologize for the late response on this. I haven’t ever tried them in a waffle maker so I’m unsure. Might be worth the try? Hope it went well!
Karlee
Yummy! Also not a huge deal but I halved this recipe and it made 42 mini donuts using the Wilton mini donut pan that makes 1.5” donuts. I was definitely planning for just 12 like the recipe indicated but I guess I’ll have a few extra to snack on while I decorate 😉
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked it, Tabitha! I’ts one of my faves. Weird! did you fill the donuts 3/4 full? I just re-made the recipe and halved it and it came out 12. but oh yes, nothing wrong with a few extra 🙂
hi im love how yours came out but mine glase always comes out see-through. I can see the doughnut through the glass. how is yours so opaque? it’s stunning.
Hey Esty!
Thanks so much! I just retested the frosting to make sure the instructions were correct and the frosting came out thick and opaque. So, my best guesses are –
1. Make sure you’re using heavy cream and not milk or half and half.
2. Apply the frosting when the donuts are cool and the frosting is only slightly warm, not hot. We’re microwaving the frosting just to keep it to the consistency that’s easy to work with and apply. Every microwave is different, so maybe only a few seconds is all you need.
Excited to try these! Which brand and size pan did you use? The size looks perfect. Not too large and not too small. Thanks in advance!
They’re wilton mini donut pans 🙂
Where did you get the sprinkles?!?!?!?!
They’re from India Tree, and Wilton! 🙂
I saw your video on Sur La Table, but noticed that recipe and this one is slightly different? Which one do you prefer? I think the stand mixer would be easier, but noticed even the ingredients were slightly different.
Hey Andrea! Both are great! I would say the SLT version has a better method as for making the dough. But this one has almond extract which is SO GOOD!