Homemade Glazed Donuts

Okay, we’re halfway through the “I’m not baking cookies between Christmas and New Year’s” vacation… and while I’ve managed to stay the course there, I can’t completely abandon my kitchen. In the craft store this morning my 6 year old picked up a donut pan and asked me what the heck it was- and I saw my opportunity to bake something! Who doesn’t love a homemade donut, warm out of the oven? No one, that’s who! It’s super easy to do, they’re made with ingredients you already have, and 100 times better than what you can get in a grocery store. Trust me, I’ve done a lot of sampling… for science. That’s it.

I love this recipe because it’s easy to knock out in twenty minutes. You can decide you want some donuts and have them done and in your belly in less time than it would have taken you to get dressed and drive to the store and back.  And because they’re baked and not fried, you don’t have to feel all greasy and gross, and there’s barely any clean up needed once you’re done. You can live your best life and take a nap on the couch instead of scrubbing grease off your cooktop, doesn’t that sound nice? Besides the ingredients for the recipe, you’ll make your life easier if you have a couple things:

• A pastry bag with a large sized round tip
• A donut pan (you could also use a pan with all the mini-bundts if you’re feeling like it)
• A cooling rack with parchment paper or a drip pan underneath

Homemade Glazed Donuts (printable version click here!)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk (click here for help with a buttermilk substitute!)

Glaze:
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp milk

Start by preheating your oven to 425 and preparing your donut pan with a baking spray. Combine your oil, sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl, and then add in your vanilla extract and the eggs, and mix well. Set this bowl aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

Pour half the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until combined. Pour in about half of the cup of buttermilk and mix again. Add the other half of the flour, mix, and then add most of the remaining buttermilk. You only want to add as much as you need to keep the mixture thick- I usually end up with about 1/8th of a cup of buttermilk that I don’t need.

Once the batter is well combined, scoop it into your pastry bag. Pipe the batter into the donut forms- but don’t overfill! Three quarters of the way full is plenty. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

While donuts are baking, make the glaze by combining all three ingredients in a bowl and blending well.

Pop the warm donuts out of the baking tray and onto the cooling rack. Spoon glaze onto the top of each donut with a spoon, and use the back of the spoon to smooth it out and down the sides. Allow at least a minute or two for the glaze and donut to harden up just a bit and then they’re ready to eat!

These donuts are so good! Usually my girls won’t touch a donut that isn’t covered in sprinkles and pink frosting, but they went crazy for these. The first time I made them, 10 of the first 14 were gone before the oven had time to cool all the way back down. I hope you love them just as much!

Here’s a print-friendly version of this recipe!