Holiday Treat: Baked Glazed Gingerbread Donuts

There are few things in the world that say Christmas to me more than the flavors of gingerbread.  Our family tradition is to indulge in Gingerbread Waffles on tree decorating day and for Christmas morning.  This weekend we had a busy weekend filled with fun holiday activities and I thought it might be fun to whip up a batch of baked gingerbread donuts as a special treat following my daughter’s holiday concert.

I spent the morning searching for a recipe to use and came up with not a single one. I had not intended to invent one, but once I had my heart set on a gingerbread donut, there was no turning back. I decided to pull together the ingredients from our gingerbread waffle recipe with a few of the ingredients from our Baked Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Syrup Glaze. By pulling these ingredients together, I just think I might have nailed down the perfect baked gingerbread donut.

As far as equipment goes for this, I did buy two donut pans with some Swagbucks that I set aside and credited those towards an Amazon gift certificate to purchase these. I found these Norpro 6-count Nonstock Donut Pans for $12.99 each and decided to put my certificates towards two of those.

If you don’t want to put these in a donut pan though, you could use a muffin tin or a mini-bundt pan. They have roughly the same amount of batter in them, but you will want to keep one eye on them to make sure they don’t overcook and test them with a toothpick to see if they have cooked all the way through. They won’t look like donuts, but will achieve all sorts of deliciousness without buying any extra equipment.

Let’s get started on our donuts! To begin making these donuts, you need to mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together all of your wet ingredients.  Then just add your dry ingredients to the mixed wet ingredients, just until they are combined. I just used my little hand mixer for this quick job.  It really is that easy.

Now it is time to fill your donut pans.  Lightly spray your donut pan with a little cooking spray.  To fill the pan, you can do my lazy version or you can do it the “right way.” To do it the right way, scoop the batter into a gallon size bag and cut off the end corner to pipe the batter in. The lazy version simply requires an ice cream scoop and trying to scoop half the batter in on one side and half the batter in on the other side. Then smooth the batter on top with a butter knife.

See this picture above? Do not fill them this high.  You need to only fill them 1/2 to 3/4′s full. If you fill them this high, they will not cook as evenly….trust me!

It’s time to whip up your glaze. This one is a simple one with just confectioner’s sugar, hot water, and a little vanilla extract. I mixed it in a bowl that is wide enough to give the donuts a little dip on top. This simple glaze won’t take away from the bold spices that are incorporated in the gingerbread. I consider the glaze more of a holder for the sprinkles than a frosting.

Once your donuts have cooled, place them on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack on top. Dip the tops of the donuts in your glaze you have prepared and then quickly give them a little shimmy shake with the sprinkles all over. This is a great way to use up some of those sprinkles that have been gathering dust in your baking supplies. I had quite a variety leftover from our holiday cupcake decorating extravaganza from last year.

Accept the wild compliments and applause from your family members. If a nomination for Mom of the Year is thrown around, accept your nomination graciously. Pledge to continue making fabulous food & family traditions for the holidays that your children will long remember.

Baked Glazed Gingerbread Donuts (courtesy of me)

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
4  tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 cup pumpkin purée

For the Simple Glaze:

1 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease two doughnut pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.In another medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla extract, milk, molasses,  and pumpkin puree. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Fill each doughnut mold 3/4’s full with batter. Be careful to not overfill the donut pans or the donuts will not cook evenly.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until the doughnuts spring back when touched. Remove from the pan and cool completely.

For the simple glaze: In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, water, and vanilla extract; stir well. Add additional water, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Dip tops of donuts in the glaze and then quickly sprinkle with colored sprinkles (if desired).

Eat.

Be Merry.