Ever since I was a little girl, I always loved the Donut Wheel in Livermore, California. My parents would take my brother and I after church each Sunday – and each visit I would have to get one of their frosted sprinkle cake doughnuts, with a side of what I called “doughnut water”. I swore their tap water was the best in town. Now living in Boston, I look forward to making a visit to the Donut Wheel every time we are on the West Coast. I recently got a few doughnut pans (impulse Amazon purchase), and my childhood favorite would become the inspiration for this recipe. I am so happy that I decided to purchase the pans, because making doughnuts at home is so much easier than you might think.
While the doughnuts are certainly not “healthy”, they do feel far less guilty than the fried doughnuts you find at your local bakery. Topped with a super easy 2-ingredient icing, these doughnuts are delicious any time of day, especially for breakfast or dessert.
Tips: Everyone’s ovens and pans are different – watch your doughnuts closely as they may need more than 10 minutes for cooking. You should be able to see golden brown edges forming when they are ready. If your icing is a little runny, whisk in more sugar until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
Baked Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup milk (4 more tablespoons for icing)
- 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two doughnut pans with butter or cooking spray
- Step 2 In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, brown and granulated sugars until smooth
- Step 3 Add the eggs, beating to combine
- Step 4 Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla
- Step 5 Stir the flour and milk into the batter
- Step 6 Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans
- Step 7 Bake for 10 minutes, allowing to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack
- Step 8 While cooling, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and 4 Tbsp of milk to form a glaze
- Step 9 Once doughnuts are cooled, dip each 1-2 times in the glaze and top with sprinkles
- Step 10 Place doughnuts back on the rack and allow the glaze to harden before serving