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These baked donuts have a sweet cinnamon and sugar topping and a powdered sugar glaze, just like your favorite cinnamon roll recipe!
Is it weird to have food dreams?
There is this ridiculous pudding recipe that I developed in my sleep. I haven’t tested it while awake, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be fabulous. I mean, it’s pudding. What’s not to love?
Drinks? I mix drinks like a professional in my sleep. During the day? Not so much. I’ve never been very good at playing bartender, but it’s fun to dream about!
These donuts? I dreamed them. And then I ate the heck out of them.
It’s a good thing that calories don’t count while you’re dreaming. Then again, wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just dream exercise? I’d have plenty of time for cardio, weights, and whatever other stupid sweaty things I’m supposed to be doing!
But, let’s stop talking about that. Let’s focus on the donuts.
You’ll need a donut pan for this recipe, but they’re less than $10 and they are so much fun! I use mine weekly and my kids LOVE it! Check below for links to more donut recipes that will help you put that pan to good use!
I started with my usual base recipe, but then livened things up a bit with this cinnamon topping I spotted over at Top With Cinnamon. From there I whipped up a thick, sweet, two ingredient glaze that knocks my socks off. Powdered sugar glazes are so easy, but they’re so pretty when you make them extra thick and creamy. And my word, nothing is easier!
These cinnamon roll baked donuts made for a quick and simple breakfast. Definitely easier than kneading dough and waiting for it to rise! Did I mention they were even tastier than the ones I ate in my dreams? Because they totally were.
Not quite as calorie-free though, unfortunately. Guess it’s back to the stupid sweaty things I’m supposed to be doing when I eat donuts. Darn it.
Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tablespoons buttermilk or regular milk with a teaspoon of white vinegar added
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
For the cinnamon topping:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons heavy cream
Instructions
- To make the cinnamon topping, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the cinnamon, brown sugar, milk, and cornstarch.
- Heat just until it begins to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the cinnamon topping evenly into each well of your well greased donut pan.
- To make the donuts. reheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a donut pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a small bowl, stir together the butter milk, egg, and oil.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated.
- Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the donut pan over the cinnamon topping and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Some of the cinnamon topping will likely be left in your donut pan, but a good portion of it will have transferred to your donuts.
- Cool donuts before glazing.
- To make the glaze. whisk together the powdered sugar and cream until smooth. Spoon into a baggie and cut off a small corner of the bag. Pipe the glaze onto the donuts.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
If you like this baked donut recipe, you’ll love my others! I have a whole section on this site that will put your donut pan to good use! Go check out all of my baked donut recipes (and some fried donuts, too!)
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Margaret says
I just made these tonight and they are amazing! Added benefit is how great the house smells too from all the cinnamon. This is definitely going to be one of my standard donut recipe in my house. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Deb says
Thanks so much for responding!! I love cinnamon almost as much as I love donuts so that will be a perfect one to start with. Thanks!!
Deb says
I’ve just found your blog (you can thank Huffington Post’s best of February list!) and these donuts, like everything else, look amazing. I posted because….. I.love.donuts. Like almost as much as my husband and children. I see you have a lot of baked donut recipes and I was wondering if they truly satisfy….I bought the pan with the donut cavities for making them in the oven many years back. Tried one recipe for I think pumpkin donuts and they were better named pumpkin bricks. Some glaze (ok, lots of glaze) and a dunking in coffee and they were ok, but I’m looking for better than ok. Can you give me some tips on what to look for in a baked donut recipe…or your favorite recipe that I should start with? Thanks!!
Karly says
Hi Deb!
I never used to be a donut fan, but something has happened over the last few years, because I am a confirmed addict now! 🙂
As for baked donuts…do they satisfy? Well, they’re very good. Do they rival fried donuts? Eh. Probably not. I’ve always prefer the fried version myself. I do clearly love baked donuts though. I think of them more as muffins in donut shapes. And, since they’re donuts, they get to be topped with all manner of delicious things.
These browned butter glazed donuts are my absolute favorite: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2012/07/12/browned-butter-glazed-cinnamon-donuts/ I could literally eat the glaze with the spoon and the donut recipe is the one that I use as a base for most of my donuts.
I only post the recipes that I love though, so I think they’re all winners. 🙂
Tonia@thegunnysack says
Those seriously look awesome!
Kara says
I’ve never made donuts before but these look amazing! I might just have to give it a try now. Thanks for inspiring me!
Mackenzie says
Karly,
These look amazing! What a great recipe!
Mackenzie 🙂
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
I would much rather dream about food than all the crazy dreams I usually have. And I would be all over dream exercise, so I wouldn’t have to do it for real! These cinnamon roll donuts are a dream come true…haha couldn’t resist that one! But seriously, they are amazing looking!!
Jennifer @ Not Your Momma's Cookie says
I wish I dreamed about food. I have crazy awful dreams that usually involve missing exams in college. Or runaway cars.
These look fabulous!
grace says
you know i love these, karly! i always dream about food, and i can already tell there will be a new visitor sometime in the near future. 🙂
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
I want to dream of these tonight because they look amazing!
Elizabeth says
Oh my goodness I dream about food all the time! haha!
Plus, I love that two of my favorite things are together in one: doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. Yum!!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
How awesome would be to dream exercise and lose the weight?!! I’d be exercising all night just so I can eat a dozen of these donuts in the morning when I wake up.
Audra | The Baker Chick says
I have food dreams ALL the time. I only wish I could remember the details enough to make them happen in my awake hours!
Also- these donuts look amazing.
sally @ sallys baking addiction says
i love cinnamon rolls is every single form. I dream about buttercream all the time. it’s so weird.
Kristy @ Sweet Treats & More says
Karly these look amazing! Keep the food dreams coming:)