Donuts with my dumpling (on a snow day)

A few months ago, I saw baked doughnuts at Joy the Baker and I literally went out within a few days and bought a donut pan (I realize the proper spelling is "doughnut" but I've always gone the shortcut route so I'll stick with it here for the most part).  There was something about those gorgeous chocolate-glazed donuts. They are the very kind I always went for as a kid (albeit fried, of course) and the same ones my son likewise favors now.  Chocolate-frosted donuts with sprinkles have a special place in my heart. 

My little one presenting the results of our snow day project

I took it as a sign that I really should get a donut pan and make donuts - baked donuts - at home.  I showed my little one and he was certainly enthusiastic about it since he is, not surprisingly, a big donut lover.  I think I may have simply used him as an excuse because I was thinking all along about the many times I walked over to a local donut/coffee shop (a non-franchise one in the neighborhood) as a kid, to order one, two or a half-dozen donuts.  Once in a while, I went for a toasted bagel with cream cheese instead.  

  

It took about 4 months for us to get to this project.  Meanwhile, I was happy to have the little donut pan tucked away in the pantry.  This was essentially my first real baking project of 2014 and I'm thrilled I got to share it with my little dumpling - my rapidly-growing 3rd grader!  We made these last Friday, on a snow day from school.  As my husband shoveled the 8-9 inches of snow outside in the frigid cold, the two of us "toiled" away in the warm kitchen making these beauties.

I learned that baked donuts are easy to make, a great project to do with kids since it's simple, fast, and there's no frying involved.  I love working/playing in the kitchen with my son and I'm so glad he's shown more interest in it lately. To hang on to that interest, I try to keep it simple and interesting because like most 8-year old boys, he has the attention span of well...an 8-year old boy!  I think he does get a kick out of these food experiments and learns a little something along the way too.  I know it makes me feel useful and we all certainly enjoy eating these "projects"!

And in this instance, we get to play with sprinkles so you know it's fun!  The only problem I have with sprinkles is deciding which and what colors to use.  Rainbow is too classic to resist but it's certainly fun to decorate them for different holidays.  I was thinking ahead to Valentine's Day for one of them.

The young donut chef and his parents enjoyed this inaugural batch of homemade baked donuts. They're somewhat spongy and moist, a bit denser than cake, which makes it easier to dip them in the glaze.  We went light on the nutmeg in this recipe - I usually prefer it in moderation and so does the little one.  

The chocolate glaze is very simple and as you might imagine, we had some leftover glaze after dipping our half-dozen donuts.  You know what we did with it?  We used it as a dip so we enjoyed our donuts, fondue-style! Talk about guilty pleasure!  I was channeling how churros, and even beignets, are eaten (at least these donuts are baked).  So yes, it's indulgent but we had so much fun.  And we will all attest to the fact that baked donuts, served with a side of extra chocolate glaze for dunking is a very delicious experience!

We are looking forward to more homemade baked donuts in our future.  Would you believe my son just told me that we should dip the entire donut in chocolate glaze next time?  I don't know where (or who!) he gets these wild ideas from!  ; )


Baked donuts take less than 10 minutes in the oven and not much more time to get the batter together (well, unless you're working with little ones...).  

Whisking dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately

This recipe makes use of browned butter, which I made and set aside right before starting the project with my little one.  I like the notion of using browned butter more (beyond just for financiers).  While I don't know if it added a load of extra flavor and nuttiness here (we only use 2 tablespoons), it sure doesn't hurt.

Measuring out the browned butter

The batter is as simple as combining the wet ingredients into dry, and stirring the two together.

The little guy is hard at work

Then simply fill your greased donut pan, using 2 spoons and smoothing out the top.  I had a little batter left and I think the natural inclination is to use it up, filling the cavity.  You really shouldn't go beyond 3/4 full since the donuts will rise and if you fill it all the way, you might end up without a hole in your donut!

Here they are out of the oven in about 8 minutes.  Avoid over-baking.  They might look undone but check with a cake tester and it's ready when it comes out clean.

They don't take much time to cool (particularly when it's about zero degrees outside and the heat can't seem to catch up to the chill).  After a few minutes, you can flip them out to cool thoroughly and work on the glaze.  As you see below, our donuts are a bit bumpy on top and smooth on the bottom.  I dipped them top side down since it just seems more natural that way given the wider surface area of the tops.

As for the chocolate glaze, I've seen many different recipes but I really like the simplicity of this one. It's made by simply whisking together powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, and milk.  Add enough milk to make it a fluid, dipping consistency.

Then time to dip...

(As you can tell, I like a lot of behind-the-scenes reality shots when I'm "documenting" these projects with my son...)

Needless to say, we had a lot of fun with the sprinkles!  

The "little one" is standing on a step stool, by the way...

Don't wait too long to add the sprinkles - or whatever topping you like - because the glaze will slowly begin to set.

What fun it was to create these little treats with my fella!  It was truly a very nice snow day activity for us.



Recipe:

Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze (aka, "Chocolate-Frosted with Sprinkles")
From Joy the Baker

- For 6 baked doughnuts - 

For Doughnuts:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and the flavor is still quite pronounced)
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter (to be browned, and 2 tablespoons used)
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Glaze*:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
3 to 4 tablespoons (or so) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Sprinkles, or other toppings of your choice, for decorating

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

In one bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and sugar.  Set aside.

To brown butter, place it in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat.  Allow it to cook for several minutes, swirling the pan or gently whisking the butter, until it turns amber brown.  Butter will sizzle a bit as it cooks and since it browns pretty quickly, keep a close eye on it to avoid burning.  It will also smell nutty when done.  Remove from the heat and transfer the browned butter to a small heatproof bowl.

In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of the browned butter.  

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until just combined.  Avoid over-mixing.  Fill each doughnut 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 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 doughnuts 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 doughnuts, covered, at room-temperature for about 2 days.

* You will have some leftover glaze after dipping the donuts.  Short of reducing the recipe by, say, one-quarter or discarding it, you could go "crazy" and do as we did: serve a little extra chocolate glaze on the side for "dipping".  You can pretend it's a churro if it makes you feel better.