BAKED CINNAMON DONUTS

These baked cinnamon donuts with vanilla glaze are golden, fluffy and tender. Filled with fall flavor, these yummy pastries are deeply satisfying. Enjoy the pleasure of bakery-fresh donuts that are baked not fried!

📌 PIN BAKED CINNAMON DONUTS

With this easy recipe there’s no rolling or cutting out dough. No messy deep frying with oil splattering all over the stove. Just combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour into wells of a donut pan and bake. Smells so good!

Baked cinnamon donuts remind me of buttery cinnamon toast my mother would make. It was for special occasions, like the first day of school. Such warm aromatic goodness. It brought feelings of comfort and happiness.

Once the pastries have cooled, drizzle with vanilla glaze as it drips from a spoon. No pastry bag needed. If desired, you can also use a more traditional cinnamon sugar topping, or a bakery-style apple cider glaze.

FOR APPLE CIDER GLAZE: Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons bottled apple cider, and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. This yields 1/2 cup of icing. For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar.

FOR CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING: Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Dip donuts in warm melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Baked cinnamon donuts taste best when enjoyed fresh from the oven, or within the first 12 hours. They’re ideal for breakfast, brunch, snack time and dessert. Make a double batch and freeze half for later.

Serve freshly-baked donuts with maple whipped coffee or a warm delicious mug of pumpkin spice hot chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

DONUT BATTER

• All-purpose flour
• Light brown sugar
• Baking powder
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Sea salt
• Large egg
• Whole milk
• Vegetable oil
• Maple syrup
• Pure vanilla extract

VANILLA GLAZE

• Powdered sugar
• Whole milk
• Vanilla extract

👩🏻‍🍳 EASY INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

Missing an ingredient for these cinnamon donuts? Don’t put on your shoes and head to the market. Instead, head to your fridge and pantry. Check for these easy ingredient swaps.

It’s convenient and money-saving to use ingredients you already have on hand!

• ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: This ingredient gives baked donuts structure. Pastry flour or cake flour can be used as a 1:1 substitute for these baked cake donuts.
• LIGHT BROWN SUGAR: Use dark brown sugar or granulated sugar.
• GROUND CINNAMON: Use chai spice, ground nutmeg, or ground mace.
• WHOLE MILK: This is the main wet ingredient, so it’s very important. Substitute with the type of milk you have on hand, including non-dairy.
• VEGETABLE OIL: This ingredient keeps the donuts moist. Use melted butter as a 1:1 substitute for oil. After melting the butter, let it cool a bit before using it in this recipe.
• MAPLE SYRUP: This ingredient adds a beautiful richness to the baked cinnamon donuts. Substitute with honey or agave syrup.
• VANILLA EXTRACT: This ingredient enhances the cinnamon spice and nutmeg. Sub with maple syrup, bourbon, amber rum, or brandy.
• POWDERED SUGAR: Make your own powdered sugar from granulated sugar. Process sugar in a blender or food processor until fine and fluffy. One cup granulated sugar yields about 2 cups powdered sugar.

🍩 BEST DONUT PAN FOR THIS RECIPE

For tender, perfectly-baked cinnamon donuts, use high-quality bakeware. For this recipe I use 2 non-stick donut pans by the brand USA Pan.

Add 2 donut pans to your collection

Donut Pan

Buy Now →

📖 RECIPE STEPS

RECIPE PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Over the sink, spray 2 donut pans with cooking spray.

• STEP 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• STEP 2: In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: egg, milk, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix briefly until no large lumps remain. But don’t over-mix or the pastries will be dense.
• STEP 3: Divide batter between the 12 wells of 2 donut pans. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until they spring back when you touch them. Insert a cake tester into the center of a donut. It should come out clean.
• STEP 4: Gently tap donut pan on a work surface to loosen the pastries. Flip over pan on a clean surface. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

vanilla glaze for donuts

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. For thicker icing, add more sugar. For thinner icing add more milk.

Drizzle icing over donuts with the back of a spoon. Or spread the glaze over the surface of the pastry. Let icing set before stacking or serving.

🤔 RECIPE FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions for baked cinnamon donuts, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

🍁 MORE FALL DESSERTS

If you love baked cinnamon donuts, you’ll also enjoy these seasonal favorites. Each fall dessert is a time-tested recipe. Keep them handy. Add them to your recipe arsenal. Pin them to Pinterest or print them out.

• Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Apple Pop Tarts
• Maple Donuts
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
• Sweet Potato Fluff
• Apple Galette

RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Friends and family who’ve enjoyed these baked cinnamon donuts say the taste and texture rivals the best glazed cake donuts from a bakery.

If you agree these are the best oven-baked donuts, give this recipe a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero! Share it with a friend.

Print

BAKED CINNAMON DONUTS > JOIN THE CONVERSATION

When was the last time you enjoyed warm, baked cinnamon donuts? Was it at your favorite bakery or coffee house? What do you think of this easy baked donuts recipe? Share your thoughts below!