Baked chocolate chocolate-chip donuts

It's been a while since I last used my little donut pan (maybe due to the lack of snow days) so I thought it was time to take it out for a spin.  Baking a batch of donuts also served the purpose of helping me use up some of the buttermilk in my fridge. Whenever I buy buttermilk to make pancakes or a cake recipe, I'm on a mission to put as much of it to good use as possible.  

Baked chocolate chocolate-chip donut with peanut butter glaze/icing

Well, the buttermilk went towards a very good mission here.  These baked chocolate chocolate-chip donuts are essentially a fun way to enjoy a few bites of chocolate cake! Handheld, portable, fun, and, most importantly, tasty - they made me glad I hadn't forgotten about my little donut pan.

We already love chocolate chip donuts but hadn't tried chocolate chocolate-chip ones until now, and we may have found a new favorite.  I used Christina's recipe from Dessert for Two and it turned out great; I love the lady - when she says the recipe makes 6 donuts, it really makes 6 donuts!  And they're tasty little things - moist chocolate cake rings imbedded with mini chocolate chips.  The donuts are good enough on their own that you almost don't need a glaze.

Have fun with the glaze! 

Much as I could eat these donuts all on their own, you have to admit that the glaze on a donut (like icing on a cupcake) is half the fun and most people wouldn't want to go without it...so add a little extra flavor, and have fun!  I loved Christina's original recipe of making mint chocolate chip donuts (and I knew my son would love it) but I had a strong hankering to make peanut butter glaze.  Really, there are many varieties you can make by simply tweaking what you add to the powdered sugar for the glaze - it can be anything from a little maple syrup, to cocoa powder, fruit juice, or peanut butter.  It's fun to customize!  

I have to fess up to the obvious: my peanut butter "glaze" was more of an icing. I have trouble gauging just the right consistency for my donut glazes so I thought I'd experiment with making it a little thicker and spreading the icing onto the donuts. Since they are called "frosted" donuts and we're basically looking at chocolate cake here, a thicker icing totally works, right?

Besides the peanut butter glaze/icing, I also felt like making a coffee glaze for these donuts...so I did!  I glazed 2 of the six donuts from my batch with a coffee glaze (pictured on the round plate below; you can tell it's a thinner glaze there).  The coffee glazed donuts were quite popular at my house!

In front, donut with a coffee glaze

And you know something?  These donuts were so enjoyable, they disappeared so fast, and I was feeling so guilty about not making the mint chocolate chip donuts my son really wanted that I made a second batch in the same week!

Mint chocolate chip donuts, with a mint glaze

I'm glad I did!  The mint chocolate chip donuts were much-appreciated by the little guy.  It tasted a bit like you're having chocolate chip ice cream somehow!  And so I've now learned...a dozen baked chocolate donuts is totally reasonable for a family of 3 to enjoy in a few days!

The moral of this little blog post today is this: If you have a donut pan that you haven't used in a while, take it out for a spin and have a little fun.  You'll remember why baking donuts at home makes you smile.  And you get to eat chocolate cake in the round, and with your hands!  

Recipe:

Baked Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Donuts
Adapted from Dessert for Two

- Makes 6 donuts - 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I use a slightly rounded 1/4 cup)
Glaze/Icing/Topping(s) of your choice (see suggestions below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 6-capacity donut pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract together.  Add wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until almost combined. Toss in mini chocolate chips and stir until just incorporated.  The batter will be thick. 

Divide the batter among the 6 donut molds (I use two spoons), smoothing the tops. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and immediately turn donuts out from the pan to cool on a wire rack.  Glaze and top the cooled donuts with glaze of your choice.

Mint Glaze 
Adapted from Dessert for Two

Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1 drop of green food coloring (optional), and 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk.  Add more milk, as needed, until glaze comes to a smooth, thick consistency.  Spoon glaze over donuts (or carefully dip the top half) and top with mini chocolate chips or chocolate curls.  Let glaze set before serving.

Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted from Rachael Ray

Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter and 1 tablespoon milk.  Add more milk, as needed, until glaze is a smooth, thick consistency.  Spoon over donuts (or carefully dip the top half) and add toppings, if desired.  Let glaze set before serving.

Coffee glaze
Adapted from Rachael Ray

Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons strong coffee.  Add more coffee, as needed, until glaze is a smooth, thick consistency.  Spoon over donuts (or carefully dip the top half) and add toppings, if desired.  Let glaze set before serving.