Moist chocolate donut holes, baked not fried, and thickly covered in a sweet glaze.
Happy Friday! Breakfast is served.
I love everything about donuts (doughnuts, donuts whatever). Fluffy, light, sugary, airy, doughy, sweet, GLAZE. So much glaze. While jelly donuts have been and will always be my favorite variety, I have a huge soft spot for glazed chocolate. Especially glazed chocolate donut holes—aka munchkins.
Donuts have been on my mind for the past few weeks. Ever since I went out for coffee and donuts with a friend back in Philly. We went to this adorable little donut shop selling the most unique flavors. We each couldn’t decide on one, so we got three to split: blueberry pie, peanut butter & banana cream (!!!), and Samoas. I want to recreate them all at home. But for today? Simple, yet extraordinary chocolate + glaze.
You don’t need any crazy ingredients or gadgets to make today’s recipe. Just a few simple things mixed together and baked in a mini muffin pan. That’s right—today’s donuts are baked, not fried. Let your oven do all the work. It’s the same process we use to make powdered sugar donut muffins.
Since the donut holes are baked, they won’t taste *exactly* like the fried donuts you are used to. But hey—it’s chocolate and glaze. You know it’s gonna be good. 😉
The dry ingredients for the recipe are nothing out of the norm. Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, leaveners, salt. Make sure you sift the flour, sugar, and cocoa together. You’ll be left with huge lumps of cocoa in your batter otherwise. You’ll also need a sifter for the powdered sugar in the glaze. We’ll get to that later.
I use white whole wheat flour when I make these mini donuts. Feel free to use all-purpose. I prefer white whole wheat flour because it’s (very) slightly denser.
The wet ingredients in the batter are all probably in your kitchen right now. Eggs, milk, yogurt, butter, vanilla. Any recipes where I don’t have to make an extra trip to the grocery store make me happy.
Whisk the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together. Careful not to overmix. We all know how dense and heavy overmixing will make your baked good. Avoid it at all costs! Whisk *just* until everything is moistened and combined. Portion out the batter and bake your donuts in a mini muffin pan. The batter yields about 36 mini donuts holes.
Because there is always a need for 36 donut holes, right?
Once baked, let the donut holes cool for just about 10 minutes. I like to glaze them when they are still a bit warm. A triple or quadruple dunk in the glaze is necessary. I like a little bit of donut with my glaze, thankyouverymuch.
Powdered (confectioners’) sugar, cream, vanilla, and a touch of lemon juice. Yes to the heavy cream. Do you want an extra thick glaze? Use a thick liquid like cream. Milk or water or half-and-half won’t give you the same color or richness that heavy cream will. While it’s not necessary, I highly recommend cream for the glaze. If you find the glaze is *too* thick, just add more cream. The lemon juice gives a VERY slight tart taste to cut all the sweetness; don’t leave it out.
Pour the glaze into a large bowl. Dunk the donut holes, one by one, using your fingers or a fork. I used my fingers, it was easier. Place on a wire rack and let the glaze drip. Repeat however many times you want until your glaze is gone. I glazed my doughnuts three times. Totally worth it.
More glaze = better donut holes.
These mini donut holes may also be baked as regular donuts in a donut pan for about the same amount of time. They may also be baked as regular sized muffins for about 5 minutes longer. Use the toothpick testing method to check for doneness.
I am totally in love with these little guys. I stored them on a plate, covered with clear plastic wrap, and whenever I walked by I had to grab one. They are completely irresistible. Sticky, gooey, soft, moist, chocolatey, and sweet. And the best (dangerous) part? They are so darn easy to make.
The next time they’re made, I’m totally covering them with sprinkles. Yes, doing it.
Moist chocolate donut holes, baked not fried, and thickly covered in a sweet glaze.
