Homemade (and Healthy) Donut Recipe

These are what I call my "healthy" donuts. It's so easy to change and customize the flavors. And my six-year-olds actually prefer these "healthy" donuts because it means they get to eat more of them without any complaint from me!

Now, yes, I realize they're covered in sugar, sprinkles or icing... but I figure they're still way more healthy and filling than most of the breakfast stuff out there.

What You Need:  
(Yield: 1 1/2 dozen large donuts, about 3-4 dozen small donuts)
For the Donuts:
2 large eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt best)
1/4 cup milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons melted butter

For the Icing:
4 Tbsp. Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
2 Tbsp. Butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk
splash of vanilla extract

*Note: See end of recipe for many variations

Beat the eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl until they are fluffy and bubbly.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well-blended.

Pour/spoon the batter into a quart-sized zip-top baggie. (You can see that I added 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to these.)

Cut a small corner off of the bottom of the bag. Squeeze the batter into donut pan or donut maker, and bake according to pan/maker instructions.
(For my large donut pans, that is 5-7 minutes on 425(F). My mini donut maker is 1-2 minutes.)
When the donuts are baked, remove them to a cooling rack.

To make the frosting: Combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add some milk a tsp. at a time if the frosting is too thick to coat the top of the donut when dipped in.
Dip the tops into the frosting. (See below for many frosting flavor ideas.)

Add sprinkles by dipping the frosted part of the donuts in the sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Donut Flavor Variations:
Chocolate Chip: add 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Chocolate Donuts: add 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder and 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips
Banana Donuts: add 1 smashed overripe banana
Peanut Butter Donuts: add 1/4 cup peanut butter
Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts: add 1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon to the batter (to taste), shake warm donuts in paper lunch sack with cinnamon sugar
Powdered Sugar Donuts: Use basic batter recipe and either sprinkle with powdered sugar, or shake in a paper lunch sack with powdered sugar

Icing Flavor Variations:
(omit vanilla, replace with:)
Maple Icing: 1-2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
Chocolate Icing: 1-2 Tbsp. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Strawberry (or other berry) Icing: 1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped berrries (may need to add extra powdered sugar if they're really juicy)
Peanut Butter Icing: 1-2 Tbsp. melted peanut butter
Lemonade Icing: 1 tsp. lemon zest + 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice (can just do lemon juice if you don't want to bother with zest)

Click the Links Below to See:
The Best Donut Makers & Pans
Easy Donut Recipes from Cake Mix (many flavor ideas)Best Donut Frosting and Glaze Recipes
(Coming Soon!) Crazy Chocolate Donut Concoctions

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Crazy Chocolate Donut Concoctions {Recipe}

The whole reason for the donut craziness this week is to prepare for my Father's Day visit to Fox 9 to make "Donuts for Dads." And in our house, if it involves Dad, then it involves chocolate... lots of chocolate. The other top three would be beer, coffee and spice.

So, I came up with some 'manly' flavor combinations using chocolate cake mix and some of my husband's favorite things.

What You Need:
For the Donuts:
Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup Guinness
1/2 cup stong brewed coffee
1/2 cup milk
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Fresh cayenne pepper to slice for garnish
Pretzels for garnish

For the Chocolate Ganache Icing:
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

*Note: Every cake mix is a little different. This one called for 1 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil, so I made my three liquids equal the same amount. Check your cake mix and adjust accordingly.

Bake the Donuts:

Beat one egg in each of three small mixing bowls.

Divide the cake mix evenly between the bowls. (This mix ended up being just over 1 cup in each bowl.)
Add 1/2 cup coffee to one, 1/2 cup Guinness to the second, and to the third add 1/2 cup milk and 1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper.

Mix each bowl of batter well with a wire whisk until the batter is smooth. (Be sure you keep track of which is which flavor!)

Spoon the batter into a zip-top baggie, being sure to label each.

Squeeze the batter into prepared donut pan or donut maker. (Click the link for more information on which donut pans and donut makers I use and recommend.)

Make the Icing:

Combine 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 Tbsp. corn syrup (optional) in a heatproof 2 cup measure, and microwave on high for 60-90 seconds, until bubbles just form around the edges of the liquid. Pour the hot cream over 8 oz. of chocolate.
Let that sit for about a minute.

Stir with a whisk or a fork. It will look weird and kind of separated at first. Keep mixing.

Eventually, it will turn into a dark, chocolatey soup.
You need to then refrigerate it for about 15-30 minutes, stirring often to check the thickness. You want the consistency, when you use it on the donuts, to be almost pudding-like. If it's too thin it will just run off of the donuts or soak in and get soggy.

When it is thick enough, dip the top half of the donuts in the chocolate icing.

It will smooth out as it sits.

Assemble/Garnish the Donuts:

These donuts were a lot of fun to put together. For the chili ones, I sliced a fresh hot pepper, and placed the pepper rings in the center of the donuts. I also dusted the tiniest bit of cayenne pepper on top.

For the mocha ones, I placed a couple of coffee beans on top, and dusted them with cocoa powder.

For the Guinness ones, I eventually landed on adding a pretzel to the center, which I wasn't sure about, but the Dad in this house said that made them fantastic. (Just keep in mind that the pretzels will get soggy within hours.)

Click the Links Below to See:
Homemade Healthy Donut Recipe
Easy Homemade Donut Recipe (using cake mix + flavors)
What's the best donut maker/ donut pan?
Homemade Donut Frosting Recipes
(Coming soon!) "Donuts for Dads" segment on the local news

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Homemade Donuts Made Easy {Recipe}

In my family, we all have different opinions about what the best donut flavor/ flavor combination is. So, I've come up with some ways to make a number of different flavors with just one cake mix and a few additions.

I'll give you lots of options for flavor combinations at the end of the recipe, but the one that my family tends to go back to is using a white cake mix to make vanilla, chocolate and peanut butter donuts. A little bit of something for everyone.

What You Need
For the Donuts:
1 White or Vanilla Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup Plain Yogurt (Greek Yogurt is best)
1/2 cup milk
(below is divided)
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp. Melted Chocolate Chips

Optional Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp. milk

For the Icing:
4 oz. (half-brick) cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/4 cup (half-stick) butter (at room temperature)
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk
Vanilla, Chocolate Syrup, Maple Syrup or other flavor to taste

Yield: 2-3 dozen large donuts. 5-6 dozen small/mini donuts
Bake the Donuts:

Beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl with a mixer until bubbly and fluffy.

Add the cake mix, yogurt and milk. Mix on low until blended (about 1 minute).
*Note: I add the yogurt to make the donuts a little more dense and chewy. I find that if I just use 1 1/2 cups of milk, they're too airy, and fall apart when I try to glaze or frost them. Plus, it makes them a teeny bit better for you, right?!

Divide among three bowls. (This usually ends up being about 1 1/2 - 2 cups per bowl.)
To one bowl, add the vanilla. To another, add the peanut butter. To the other, add the chocolate and cocoa powder. Mix each for an additional minute.
*Note: These bowls are cute, but so illogical for mixing. Be smart, use mixing bowls, or you'll end up with batter everywhere.

Pour each kind of batter into a zip-top baggie. (You may want to label which is peanut butter and which is vanilla. They look a lot alike. But one sniff tells you pretty quickly which is which.)

Squeeze into prepared donut pans or donut maker and bake according to pan/maker instructions. (This large pan takes 5-7 minutes in a 425-degree (F) oven. My mini maker takes just 1-2 minutes each.)
(Click the link to see more information about the donut makers and donut pans I use.)

Glaze the Donuts (optional):
If you want to glaze the donuts with a powdered sugar glaze, you need to be sure you do it when they're warm. If they're cool, they don't glaze, they just get sticky and mushy. (Trust me on this one!)

Combine the powdered sugar and milk in a bowl, and mix until it is soupy and runny. Dip the donut in the glaze, and coat both sides by flipping it with a fork.

Set the glazed donut on a cooling grid (placed over a baking pan or waxed paper to catch drips). It shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes for the glaze to dry.

I usually skip the glazing step. It's just added sugar, and I don't really miss it when I put icing on top anyway. One of my guys is in love with the glaze, though, so we do it occasionally-- in place of frosting.

Frost/Ice the Donuts:

To frost the donuts, combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk in the bowl of a mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until combined.

I divide my frosting then into bowls and thin them with either vanilla, maple syrup or chocolate syrup. (Like I said, we like options in this house.)

You want the icing to be thick enough so that it's not pouring all over the place, but thin enough that it sticks to a warm donut when you dip the top in the icing.

Like so.

Top with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, crushed up potato chips... whatever your heart desires.

Other Donut Flavor Options:
(The amounts of additional ingredients below are based on dividing the batter by thirds, so if you are doing an entire cake mix, you will need to multiply the below amount by three!)
Chocolate Chip Donuts: add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips 
Banana Donuts: add 1 smashed banana (probably only need two for a whole batch)
Cinnamon Donuts: add 1-2 tsp. cinnamon to the batter. Shake the warm donuts in a paper bag with cinnamon sugar.
Coffee Donuts: substitute 1/2 cup brewed coffee for 1/2 cup milk in entire recipe

Click the Links Below to See:
The Best Donut Makers & Pans
Healthy Homemade Donut Recipe
Best Donut Frosting and Glaze Recipes
(Coming Soon!) Crazy Chocolate Donut Concoctions

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Donut Frosting Recipes

What's a donut without frosting?? But there are so many options when it comes to frosting. Chocolate, vanilla, just glaze, maple... we all have different opinions in this house!

What You Need:
For Glazed Donuts:
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp. milk

For Chocolate Ganache Icing:
1 cup whipping cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
2 Tbsp. corn syrup (optional)

For Basic Cream Cheese Icing:
4 oz. (1/2 brick) Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter (at room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk

Flavors:
Vanilla: 1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
Maple: 1-2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
Chocolate (option 1): 1-2 Tbsp. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Chocolate (option 2): 2 Tbsp. Melted Chocolate Chips
Chocolate (option 3): 2-3 Tbsp. cocoa powder + 2-3 Tbsp. milk
Peanut Butter: 2 Tbsp. Melted Peanut Butter
Coffee: 2 Tbsp brewed strong coffee
Mocha: 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder + 2 Tbsp. brewed strong coffee

Donut Glaze:

Glaze is the easiest way to sugar-up a donut. But there are a few things you need to remember. First and foremost... only glaze donuts when they're warm. If you do it when they've cooled the glaze just soaks in and get goopy.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the powdered sugar and milk until the glaze is runny, almost like maple syrup.

Drop the donut in, and use a fork to flip it so that both sides are coated with glaze.

Remove the donut to a cooling grid set over a cookie sheet or waxed paper to catch the drips.
The glaze will set up within five to ten minutes.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

The most chocolatey frosting you can make is chocolate ganache. This is the favorite in our house. Ganache isn't too hard to make. The hardest part is waiting the right amount of time so that it's not too runny.

Start with 1 cup of heavy cream + 2 Tbsp. corn syrup (optional). Combine those in a heatproof 2 cup measure, and microwave on high for 60-90 seconds, until bubbles just form around the edges of the liquid. Pour the hot cream over 8 oz. of chocolate (Any kind will do. I usually make my life easier and use chocolate chips.) Let that sit for about a minute.

Stir with a whisk or a fork. It will look weird and kind of separated at first-- like in this kind of bad photo above. That's okay, keep mixing.

Eventually, it will turn into this gorgeous chocolatey-ness. No, it really will!
You need to then refrigerate it for about 15-30 minutes, stirring often to check the thickness. I know that's a wide range of time, but it really depends on about 75 things. You want the consistency, when you use it on the donuts to be almost pudding-like. If it's too thin it will just run off of the donuts or soak in and get soggy.

But when it's right, it's sooooooo good!

Cream Cheese Frosting
Now, of course you could use just about any kind of icing you'd like on a donut. But I find that the cream cheese icing makes these homemade donuts that much more special.

Combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk in the bowl of a mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until combined.

I divide my frosting then into bowls and thin them with either vanilla, maple syrup or chocolate syrup.
See all of my flavoring options above. You can really flavor the base of cream cheese, butter and sugar with just about anything your heart desires!!

You want the icing to be thick enough so that it's not pouring all over the place, but thin enough that it sticks to a warm donut when you dip the top in the icing.

Like this!

And then, of course, the toppings... you need sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, I even like pretzels or chili peppers! But I'll have more on those ideas tomorrow! Stay tuned.

Click the Links Below to See:
Homemade Healthy Donut Recipe
Easy Homemade Donut Recipe (using cake mix + flavors)
What's the best donut maker/ donut pan?
(Coming soon!) Crazy Donut Flavor Concoctions
(Coming soon!) "Donuts for Dads" segment on the local news

Enter your email address below to receive the latest recipes, tips and ideas in your email inbox:


Delivered by FeedBurner

And don't forget, if you shop at Amazon.com through my link, you support this blog and its contents. Thank you!

Read More