My Vanilla Baked Donuts are soft and moist with a classic vanilla flavor and sweet glaze on top. They're made with only 8 pantry-staple ingredients and in 30 minutes. Instead of being deep-fried, I bake them in donuts pans (or mini donut pans for parties) and the kids love helping to make them!
Vanilla donuts are very easy to make at home and are great as a breakfast with a hot cup of coffee, for dessert with a warm cup of hot cocoa and for kids parties or holiday brunch. I have a chocolate version of baked donuts also, for the donut lovers!
Table Of Contents
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: or use bread flour to create a higher protein donut
- Granulated white sugar: for a healthier twist, use unrefined brown coconut sugar
- Egg
- Milk: whole milk is best, but plant-based milk should be okay (although I haven't tested this recipe with non-dairy milk)
- Vanilla extract: I make mine homemade in the pressure cooker.
- Butter
- Baking powder, salt
The vanilla glaze is made with milk, powdered sugar, butter and of course, rainbow sprinkles!
Love sweet breakfasts? Try this blueberry baked oatmeal next!
Kristina's Tips
- Want to make your donuts more colorful? Add a few drops of food coloring to the glaze. Pink is great for Valentine's Day and baby showers. Green is perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Orange works great for Halloween. Pick a festive color for any holiday or occasion!
- Make mini donuts for birthday parties and classroom celebrations or for small children. This recipe will yield 12 mini donuts using a mini donut pan.
How To Make Baked Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a donut pan with nonstick spray or butter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Spoon the donut batter into a piping bag or ziplock bag with the tip snipped off, and pipe the batter evenly into the donut pan, filling each cavity about ¾ full.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean. If making mini donuts, bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk (or cream), and vanilla extract until smooth. If you'd like a thicker glaze, add more sugar. For a thinner glaze, add a tiny splash of more milk.
- Dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze, letting the excess drip off. Immediately top with rainbow sprinkles before the glaze sets.
Storing Baked Donuts
Storing: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 4-5 days.
Freezing: freeze unglazed donuts for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and dip in the glaze before serving.
Recipe
Baked Vanilla Donuts
These Vanilla Baked Donuts are soft, fluffy, and sweet with a classic vanilla flavor. Baked and not fried, they're topped with a delicious white glaze and rainbow sprinkles. They make an easy treat for any celebration (or just because).
Bookmark Recipe
Equipment
- donut pan
- medium mixing bowl
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a donut pan with nonstick spray or butter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag or zip-top bag with the tip snipped off, and pipe the batter evenly into the donut pan, filling each cavity about ¾ full.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean. If making mini donuts, bake for 8-10 minutes. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk (or cream), and vanilla extract until smooth. If you'd like a thicker glaze, add more sugar. For a thinner glaze, add a tiny splash of more milk.
- Dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze, letting the excess drip off. Immediately top with rainbow sprinkles before the glaze sets.
Notes
Storing: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 4-5 days.
To Freeze: freeze plain (unglazed) donuts for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and dip in the glaze before serving.
Want to make your donuts more colorful? Add a few drops of food coloring to the glaze. Pink is great for Valentine's Day and baby showers. Green is perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Orange works great for Halloween. Pick a festive color for any holiday or occasion!
Make mini donuts for birthday parties and classroom celebrations or for small children. This recipe will yield 12 mini donuts using a mini donut pan.
Nutrition
Serving: 3ozCalories: 270kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 211mgPotassium: 37mgFiber: 1gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 162IUCalcium: 77mgIron: 1mg
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Kimmy says
These vanilla donuts are so delicious!
Jess says
These baked vanilla donuts are amazing! It is like having a bakery at home when I made these.
Jas says
Made these yesterday - for no reason - just because I fancied something sweet and an easy baking project. The results were superb: tasty, great textue, lovely glaze. May be making another batch tomorrow, as they didn't last long here!
Jan says
These were moist and so easy to make. We've tried a lot of other baked donuts and they were really dry. These were perfection.
Kristina Tipps says
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. It turned out great!
Anonymous says
My family loved this recipe! We can't wait to make it again.