Chocolate chip donuts (Déjà vu)

Well...here we go again!  We find ourselves in the midst of another snow storm.  As I type this, there's a good feet of snow on the ground and another half-dozen or so inches expected before dawn.  This one snuck up on us.

Another snow day, another batch of donuts...

The little one had a half-day at school today and it'll be a delayed open or, more rationally, a full snow-day tomorrow.  The last snow day we had was little more than two weeks ago and if you recall, we kept busy by finally breaking in our donut pan and making donuts together for the first time.  It was fun because donuts are not only tasty but so pretty to look at.  Turns out, we found that baked donuts are easy to make and awesome to eat, too.

So this is where the déjà vu comes in.  With the afternoon ahead of us, I thought it'd be fun to do it again.  I wasn't planning on making donuts (and thus post about it) again so soon but it was such a good snow day project last time that I thought of it again today.

After that first batch two weeks ago, the little one and I had a few other varieties in mind to try. Being very much like his mother in this kind of thought process, the varieties essentially boiled down to...chocolate, or adding more chocolate!  So this time, we made chocolate-chip donuts.

We very closely followed the recipe from last time but omitted the nutmeg altogether and added one-third cup of miniature chocolate chips into the batter.  Mini chips are definitely the way to go here and I like using it in cupcakes and muffins in general.  I made things even easier by using plain melted butter this time instead of browned since the chocolate chips give us plenty of extra flavor.  With the same easy chocolate glaze, these came together quickly and the little donut chef was very pleased!

The white nonpareils were our ode to the snow day

The little one loved these so much that I think we'll be making this version for a while to come.  The pure vanilla-chocolate flavor is familiar and the moist spongy donut itself just make for a great package.

These donuts were ready by the time the little one's dad walked in the door from work.  After a long and messy commute, dad was hungry and more than ready for some donuts.  He raved endlessly about them, as dads/husbands are supposed to do.  Needless to say, the donut chef and I were very satisfied with our second donut project.

The last time we baked donuts, we were outrageous enough to use the extra chocolate glaze for dipping on the side.  These chocolate chip donuts have enough chocolate going on that we didn't need that this time (though "need" and "want" are two different things).  Not liking to waste, I reduced the amount of glaze I made for this batch of donuts and that is reflected in the recipe below.  It will still be more than enough to dip your donuts in.

And while we're on the subject of not wasting, I got an idea from my friend Kelly at Life Made Sweeter, who made beautiful red velvet donuts recently.  She had extra batter and used it to fill a mini bundt pan.  This is the part where I wish I had a mini bundt or an individual mini mold or liner on hand today.  Since I didn't, I grabbed my muffin tin and made a muffin with my extra batter (it just takes an extra couple of minutes in the oven).  It's great to have this little bonus muffin though washing my muffin tin afterwards wasn't quite as fun.  : )

Recipe:

Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

Based on/adapted from this recipe from Joy the Baker (please see prior post)

- For 6 baked donuts (you will likely have a little extra batter left; consider filling it into a mini cake pan like a bundt or an individual baking cup or mold) - 

For Donuts:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

2 to 3 tablespoons (or so) milk

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Sprinkles, or other toppings of your choice, for decorating

Make donuts: Lightly spray a 6-cavity donut pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the upper third of the oven. 

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Whisk in the mini chocolate chips to combine.

In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, and melted butter.  

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until just combined.  Avoid over-mixing.  Fill each donut in the pan (I use two spoons) about three-quarter full with batter, smoothing the top. Bake until a cake tester inserted inside comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes.  Check early and avoid over-baking.

Make glaze:  Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a medium bowl (you can also try just whisking the two together if you do not have large lumps). Start by adding 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and the vanilla extract.  Whisk together.  Add more milk, as needed, to make a thick but still fluid/pourable glaze.

Dip fully cooled donuts in the glaze, top side down.  Set on a wire rack and add sprinkles or other toppings (don't wait too long to do this since glaze will begin to set).  Let glaze set before serving. You can store any leftover donuts, covered, at room-temperature for about 2 days.