Vanilla-Glazed Baked Donuts
Vanilla-Glazed Baked Donuts is an easy recipe to give you familiar, old-fashioned dessert without all the hassle of rolling, cutting, and frying the dough. These donuts will remind you just how delicious breakfast can be!
This vanilla-glazed baked donut recipe with pretty pink frosting is perfectly sweet and cakey without being too sugary. It honestly reminded me of eating a funfetti cake, but completely made from scratch. Lucky for you, the batter calls for simple ingredients that most people already have on hand.
These donuts make a great breakfast treat, dessert or delicious snack at any time of day! The beauty of donuts is they have multiple purposes. You can get away with eating them at any point in the day and for any occasion.
The day I made these, I had a major craving for yummy donuts. Honestly, the idea of having to deal with the oil and fry them scares me. The last time I tried to fry something (Chicken Avocado Spring Rolls) I ended up screaming and running all over the kitchen because the oil was splattering literally all over my kitchen. I’m terrified of frying! I mean, I’m sure if anyone was watching me, it would have been comical. But I swore to never fry anything ever again after that.
So one day, Eliza asked to make donuts. It was completely out of the blue and much to Mr. Wishes’ dismay, I hardly ever say “no” to my baby girl. If she wants donuts, I will make it happen. We don’t have any great donut shops that are really close to our house, so making them was our only option. Luckily, I had a donut pan given to me shortly before this request was made.
These Vanilla-Glazed Baked Donuts perfectly satisfy those donut cravings and they are easily customizable (by adding mix-ins or flavorings or in trying different types of glaze). Go crazy with it. The results are a soft and tender cake-like crumb, a sweet and simple vanilla glaze and sprinkles for the perfect finishing touch.
I’m a sucker for a fresh, hot donut right out of the oven or fryer. Coffee or hot chocolate recipes combined with donuts (hello, Cinnamon Sugar Mini Pumpkin Donut Muffins) for breakfast or a snack are some of life’s simplest pleasures.
Tips:
- The batter for these glazed donuts is mixed up similar to a muffin batter. Some clumps of flour may be visible but this is okay and will actually end up giving you tender donuts.
- Make sure you apply the glaze while the donuts are still somewhat warm, but not hot. This will cause the glaze to sort of melt and set in a thin layer just like true old-fashioned donuts. If the donuts are too hot, the glaze will just run off of them and be a mess.
Vanilla-Glazed Baked Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup + 1½ tablespoon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 TBSP whole milk
- Optional: food coloring and sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside for later.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg, whole milk, butter and vanilla extract.
- Slowly combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir together until no flour lumps and all the ingredients are well combined. Don't over-mix the batter or you'll have tough dough.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan or use a large ziplock bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 8 -10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a donut comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the donuts onto a wire rack until cool enough to handle but still warm.
Glaze:
- In a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.
- Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, whisk to combine. If the glaze is too thick, add additional milk, ½ teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Add food coloring (optional).
Assembly:
- Dip the somewhat warm donuts in the vanilla glaze, return to the wire rack, and immediately top with sprinkles.
- Allow glaze to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes before stacking or serving. Enjoy!
Cute pictures! And really nice recipe. Who doesn’t like donuts? I want some too! 🙂
Lovely vanilla donuts. My daughter will love them. Thanks.