Moist chocolate donut holes, baked not fried, and thickly covered in a sweet glaze.
Happy Friday! Breakfast is served.
I love everything about donuts (doughnuts, donuts whatever). Fluffy, light, sugary, airy, doughy, sweet, GLAZE. So much glaze. While jelly donuts have been and will always be my favorite variety, I have a huge soft spot for glazed chocolate. Especially glazed chocolate donut holes—aka munchkins.
Donuts have been on my mind for the past few weeks. Ever since I went out for coffee and donuts with a friend back in Philly. We went to this adorable little donut shop selling the most unique flavors. We each couldn’t decide on one, so we got three to split: blueberry pie, peanut butter & banana cream (!!!), and Samoas. I want to recreate them all at home. But for today? Simple, yet extraordinary chocolate + glaze.
You don’t need any crazy ingredients or gadgets to make today’s recipe. Just a few simple things mixed together and baked in a mini muffin pan. That’s right—today’s donuts are baked, not fried. Let your oven do all the work. It’s the same process we use to make powdered sugar donut muffins.
Since the donut holes are baked, they won’t taste *exactly* like the fried donuts you are used to. But hey—it’s chocolate and glaze. You know it’s gonna be good. 😉
The dry ingredients for the recipe are nothing out of the norm. Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, leaveners, salt. Make sure you sift the flour, sugar, and cocoa together. You’ll be left with huge lumps of cocoa in your batter otherwise. You’ll also need a sifter for the powdered sugar in the glaze. We’ll get to that later.
I use white whole wheat flour when I make these mini donuts. Feel free to use all-purpose. I prefer white whole wheat flour because it’s (very) slightly denser.
The wet ingredients in the batter are all probably in your kitchen right now. Eggs, milk, yogurt, butter, vanilla. Any recipes where I don’t have to make an extra trip to the grocery store make me happy.
Whisk the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together. Careful not to overmix. We all know how dense and heavy overmixing will make your baked good. Avoid it at all costs! Whisk *just* until everything is moistened and combined. Portion out the batter and bake your donuts in a mini muffin pan. The batter yields about 36 mini donuts holes.
Because there is always a need for 36 donut holes, right?
Once baked, let the donut holes cool for just about 10 minutes. I like to glaze them when they are still a bit warm. A triple or quadruple dunk in the glaze is necessary. I like a little bit of donut with my glaze, thankyouverymuch.
Powdered (confectioners’) sugar, cream, vanilla, and a touch of lemon juice. Yes to the heavy cream. Do you want an extra thick glaze? Use a thick liquid like cream. Milk or water or half-and-half won’t give you the same color or richness that heavy cream will. While it’s not necessary, I highly recommend cream for the glaze. If you find the glaze is *too* thick, just add more cream. The lemon juice gives a VERY slight tart taste to cut all the sweetness; don’t leave it out.
Pour the glaze into a large bowl. Dunk the donut holes, one by one, using your fingers or a fork. I used my fingers, it was easier. Place on a wire rack and let the glaze drip. Repeat however many times you want until your glaze is gone. I glazed my doughnuts three times. Totally worth it.
More glaze = better donut holes.
These mini donut holes may also be baked as regular donuts in a donut pan for about the same amount of time. They may also be baked as regular sized muffins for about 5 minutes longer. Use the toothpick testing method to check for doneness.
I am totally in love with these little guys. I stored them on a plate, covered with clear plastic wrap, and whenever I walked by I had to grab one. They are completely irresistible. Sticky, gooey, soft, moist, chocolatey, and sweet. And the best (dangerous) part? They are so darn easy to make.
The next time they’re made, I’m totally covering them with sprinkles. Yes, doing it.
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Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 36 donut holes
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Moist chocolate donut holes, baked not fried, and thickly covered in a sweet glaze.
Ingredients
Donut Holes
- 2 cups (250g) white whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled), or half all-purpose + half whole wheat, or all-purpose
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, beaten + room temperature*
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk, room temperature*
- 1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt (or regular, plain or vanilla, nonfat or low fat)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
Glaze
- 1 and 3/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream (see above for substitution description)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts. Sift the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder together in a large bowl. Sifting is important; you want to remove any clumps of cocoa. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the beaten eggs, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Whisk in the melted butter until combined. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Careful not to overmix. Mix the two together only until no flour pockets remain. Over-handling this batter will make your donut holes dense and tough.
- Spoon batter into the mini muffin tins, only about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake them; they burn easily. Allow the donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 more minutes before glazing.
- Make the glaze. While the donuts are slightly cooling, make the glaze by sifting the confectioners sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth and combined. Add more confectioners’ sugar to make it thicker if desired; add more cream to make it thinner if desired. Dunk each slightly warm donut hole into the glaze using a fork or your fingers. Place on a wire rack on top of a large baking sheet to let the glaze drip down. Repeat dunking two to three more times if you want a thick glaze coating. I dunked mine three times. If you run out of glaze to dip each three times, make a bit more.
- Donut holes taste best served on the same day. This recipe may easily be halved. Store extras in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 24-count Mini Muffin Pan | Fine Mesh Sieve | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Eggs and milk at room temperature is preferred. Yogurt can be at room temperature as well. Good rule of thumb—whenever using melted or warm butter, make sure your cold ingredients are room temperature as well.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are good. Cakey tasting but still good. Easy recipe. I had to substitute the yogurt for cream cheese and mascarpone cheese. Everything else the same. Oh I did add about 3 tablespoons more of cocoa since everyone eating these love chocolate. I used my new mini cast iron donut pan. Makes 7 at a time. The first batch, they were a little dry. My mistake. They cooked fast. Still ate them. Second batch much better. OH the batter was fine after I put it in the fridge about 12 hours. I dipped them in melted chocolate.Chocolate sprinkles on top. I also used one of my silicone muffin pans. All said, I’ll use this recipe again.
Hey Sally, just wondering, is it better to use natural or dutch processed cacao for this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Stéphanie, We use natural here. Enjoy!
I’m excited to make these. My question is about the powdered sugar for the glaze. It calls for 1-3/4 cup of powdered sugar. Does it need to be sifted to remove any lumps? Or just leave it as is? What about increasing the amount of cocoa for a more chocolate flavor. Or does it have a good chocolate flavor to it already? TIA.
Hi LuAnn, if your powdered sugar is extra clumpy, you can sift it first, but in general we don’t think it needs sifting for this glaze–whisking will do the trick. If you want to add a little cocoa powder to the glaze, you can do that. Enjoy!
Do you have a suggestion on how I could make chocolate flavored donuts? I tried using one of your better recipes for a donut and substituted a few measurements to add cocoa powder but I feel like I am missing something
Hi Ambrose, that recipe will actually be in Sally’s new cookbook, out next year!
Hate to be that person, but any idea what the calories are per donut? I love baking, but definitely still watching my waistline 🙂
Hi Brandy, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
These are SO GOOD! I thought that with the mini muffin pans it would just be like a mini muffin, but with the glaze it is AMAZING! Thanks so much Sally!
How did you get the round donut shape?
Hi Cindy! If using a mini muffin pan, they will resemble a muffin on the bottom (if you look closely at the photos, you can see the outlines of the muffin tin). The tops do round up nicely, though!
Thanks! I. Making them tomorrow, can’t wait. Love all your recipes.
Hi Sally,
Can I use regular whole wheat flour instead of white whole flour?
Hi Deedee, We prefer white whole wheat flour because it’s (very) slightly denser than all purpose. Whole wheat flour will be even more dense. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hi Sally, quick question I have just ran out of granulated sugar was just wondering if it’s possible to use brown sugar instead?
Hi Tamika! Just seeing your question now – brown sugar should be just fine. Hope you loved them!
Hi Sally, is it 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar or 1/2 cup?
Thanks!
Pascale
Can you make the batter the night before, then bake the following morning? Just trying to think of maximum donut weekend enjoyment with the least amount of morning-of work 😉
Hi Bethany! No, we don’t recommend it because the raising agents will activate too early and the donut holes won’t rise when baked. Great question!
Any idea how long the bake time would be if I baked these in a regular sized muffin pan?
Hi Joy, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, but likely just a little bit longer than the 10 minutes called for. Keep a close eye on them, as they burn easily. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Hi there,
Can I cut this recipe in half and will it taste the same?
Thanks!
Hi Alexa, Yes, you can cut the recipe in half. Enjoy!
Huge fan of this recipe. It was easy to follow and make. I like the layout of the recipe and explanations throughout the recipe instead of as a footnote. My family is enjoying these as I write this. I look forward to make this and other recipes from this site in the future. Very light donut holes with the right amount of richness.
These are absolutely amazing!! Definitely use the weight measurements! Thank you so much for providing those! They came out super light and soft. I definitely had to add more cream to the frosting, about a 1/4 cup, but that’s all based on preference. I used all purpose flour and greek yogurt. Greek yogurt will make a denser bake than plain yogurt, so I have found that a ratio of 2:1 greek yogurt to water replicates the effect of plain yogurt. Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Delicious! I used an egg substitute for my kids with an egg allergy and they turned out great. The dough was pretty thick and sticky making it difficult to stir and put into the pan but they are delicious. I think I might double the icing recipe next time as I just had enough to dip them once each but it was nice and thick icing so I also could have thinned it out
Hi Sally!
I’m making the fried yeast donuts tomorrow, but I also would like to make these cake donuts. The only thing is my oven is in use all day tomorrow because I’m making a slowly cooked meat. Can I fry these instead of baking? Thanks so much!
Hi Marie! Unfortunately this batter cannot be fried and still maintain the shape, flavor, or texture.
Hi Sally,
I was wondering how you could get the classic donut hole shape with a mini muffin pan. Wouldn’t they just look like muffins? Thanks
Hi Julie! They do resemble little muffins, but the batter is so thick that they have more of a rounded bottom. Regardless if you’re concerned– if you have a mini doughnut hole pan, this batter would work.
These were absolutely scrumptious, and so quick and easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!! 🙂
Could I use sour cream instead of yogurt? If it doesn’t work to use sour cream, i know that I could use bananas but does that taint the chocolate flavor?
Sour cream works.
Will these work as whole donuts instead of donut holes? I just got the donut pans & want to experiment. 🙂
Absolutely. Probably the same bake time, maybe a tiny bit less.
Such a great recipe to wrap up summer for my kids! They loved having a sprinkled donut treat, and they loved these!
Hi Sally! What may I use as a substitute for yogurt? I don’t buy that stuff. These look so delicious and I would love to make them. Thanks!
Applesauce should be ok instead of yogurt.
Should I use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce, and how much?
Unsweetened! Same amount.
Hi Sally!
I just wanted to know if you thought this recipe would work with almond milk? I happen to have some but don’t want to alter the taste too much.
Thanks!
Brianna
Almond milk would be fine in the donuts, Brianna. Enjoy!
You’ve done it again Sally!!! These are awesome! I made this for my son’s 5th birthday he absolutely loves them! My 2 year old daughter just keep sticking the hole donut in her mouth all at once. It was pretty funny. They were gone in 5 minutes and I made 24 of them! LOL! I make your funfetti donuts every Sunday so I know how awesome that glaze, I used that for these chocolate donut holes. They looked and tasted amazing!!! Thank you for another awesome recipe!!!
Hi Sally! Let me just say that these look amazing!! I wanted to know if I could make these in a cake pop maker? And thanks for sharing another great recipe 🙂
Hey Nia! I’ve had a few readers have success in a cake pop maker. I’ve never personally tried it before though. Enjoy!
Hi Sally,
these look delish. Can I make them in advance and freeze them?
Thanks!
Ali
While these donut holes taste best when they are fresh, you could freeze them (unglazed) and thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Hi just wondering is there anything you can do if you don’t have a mini muffin pan?
Hi Laura! A regular muffin pan, mini bread loaf pan, or regular donut pan would work. The baking times will vary though.
Hi Sally,
These look delish! I’m planning on making them this weekend! Does the glaze harden as it sets or does it stay gooey?
Love your site!
It hardens. And it’s amazing. 😉 Enjoy!
Can you substitute buttermilk instead of milk? Or would it be too dense?
Hi Erin, That should be fine. Let us know if you give them a try!
Made these this morning as a surprise for my hubby. They didn’t even get a chance to cool long enough for me to consider glazing them before he was taking them out of the pan to eat! Will definitely be making them again.
I’m not huge on glaze on donuts, so I didn’t glaze them and they were still wonderful! (May have to glaze a few for the hubby though…)
Sally, I was wondering how many regular sized donuts this recipe would make? Thank you !
Hi Sherry! About 12-14, give or take.