Baked Glazed Chocolate Donuts

Make a healthier choice for a beginning-of-the-school year breakfast treat! Baked chocolate donuts have less fat as fried ones and are just as tasty.

It's #BackToSchoolTreats week! What a weird time for back to school. In our area, each school district is making its own decision, and our district in particular is giving parents a choice of hybrid (part-time in-person, part-time virtual) or 100% virtual.

Even so, my soon-to-be third-grader will still need breakfast, lunch and snacks each day. I like to start the school year off with a breakfast treat, like these chocolate glazed donuts, just like my father used to do when I was younger. They are similar to my son's favorite donut from a popular chain. These, however, are baked instead of fried, making them, a smidge healthier.

In fact, I'll tell you a secret: I made these with ½ a cup of all-purpose flour, and ½ a cup of white whole wheat flour (a whole wheat flour made with a type of flour that's lighter in color and milder in flavor) and no one could tell! It doesn't change the calorie count much (seriously, 2 fewer calories per serving), but it does increase the amount of fiber.

I would probably even eat one of these donuts without the glaze. The donuts themselves are so soft and moist thanks to the buttermilk, they don't even need the glaze!

How to Make Baked Donuts

First, you'll need a donut pan. The batter is rather liquidy, so the pans give the baked donuts their distinctive shape. Mixing the batter is very similar to mixing up a batch of muffins. Combine the wet; combine the dry; mix them together.

I find it easiest to use a piping bag to portion out the batter. I use a kitchen clip to keep the tip closed, place it tip-side down in a tall glass, then pour the batter into the bag. Twist the bag to keep the larger end closed. Hold the bag with the tip angled slightly upward to remove the clip, then portion the batter into the pans. If your piping bag has a large opening, your batter will come out very quickly, so be careful!

Are Baked Donuts Really Healthier?

Well, compared to fried donuts, yes. But that doesn't mean they are a health food! They still contain refined flour as well as sugar. These baked donuts have about 7 grams of fat, while a fried chocolate glazed donut has over 20 grams of fat.

So, if you're really craving a glaze chocolate donut, these are a healthier choice. You can also bump up the fiber content by substiting half of the flour listed in the recipe with white whole wheat flour. It's still whole wheat flour but make from a milder winter wheat, which means the donuts will still taste like donuts made from just all-purpose flour.

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Baked Glazed Chocolate Donuts

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Make a healthier choice for a beginning-of-the-school year breakfast treat! Baked chocolate donuts have less fat as fried ones and are just as tasty.

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Ingredients

For the donuts

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• ½ cup plain prepared coffee (see notes)
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

For the glaze

• 1 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 to 2 ½ tablespoon milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease two donut pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, unsweetened cocoa powder, and brown sugar. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, coffee or water, egg, and vanilla extract (and coffee extract if using).
5. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
6. Stir in the butter just until incorporated.
7. Portion the batter into the prepared doughnut pans, filling each well ¾ full.
8. Bake for 6-7 minutes.
9. Let the baked donuts cool in the pan for five minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
10. While donuts are cooling, make the glaze: whisk together the sugar, butter, 1 ½ tablespoon of the milk and the vanilla until well blended. If the mixture is too thick, add another ½ tablespoon of milk at a time, stirring well after each addition, until the glaze reaches the desired consistency.

Notes

You can use decaf coffee, or you can use water plus 1 teaspoon of coffee extract

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls (Set of 5)
• 
  Wilton Non-Stick 6-Cavity Donut Baking Pans, 2-Count
• 
  Wilton Disposable 16-Inch Decorating Bags, 12 Pack
• 
  OXO Good Grips 11-Inch Better Balloon Whisk
• 
  Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet Pan (2 Pack)
• 
  Stainless Steel Wire Cooling Rack

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 donut with glaze
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 148mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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