Coffee Cake Baked Donuts

In honor of my father in law, I bring you a special new year's morning edition of Stracciatella. He is a donut lover (just don't give him a maple or blueberry donut!) and always has a supply on hand. I always look forward to the donut part of the morning when we go to visit him because who doesn't love a good donut in the morning.  Especially with a good cup of coffee. Mmm. He always has a variety and boy are they good. It's really hard to choose which one you want! Maple are my favorite and there always seems to be one in the box for me! I love how he always remembers I loves maple. You're the best, Dean!

When we got back from our most recent trip to Oregon, it got me thinking about baked donuts. I loved our donut mornings, but wanted to see if I could make them a bit healthier (but taste just as good!). Plus, I had purchased a donut pan a year or two ago and it was pretty much time to pull it out and experiment. It wasn't doing any good collecting dust in the pantry. As soon as we got home, we unloaded the truck and while the hubby was unpacking, I started looking online for a baked donut recipe. There are so many recipes out there, but nothing was really saying "make me". Maybe that's because I was tired after an eight hour drive. Nevertheless, I kept going and finally found the one. A coffee cake donut with crumbs. Lots of crumbs. And you know how I like crumbs! There were lots of chocolate donuts, but for some reason. I wanted something a bit more breakfast-y. If that makes any sense at all. I thought I would go for the chocolate one at first, but nope. Maybe next weekend. Chocolate glaze is also my thing. Don't tell anyone.

As long as you have a donut pan, these are a piece of cake. Or piece of donut. Okay, that wasn't as funny as I hoped it would be. Oh well.  Here is the pan I use - it's perfect and a great price. You can order one online, but if you can't wait for it to be shipped, you can find them at almost any store these days. The donuts are made of a simple batter of flour, butter, milk, sugar, and egg and baking powder. I added a dash of cinnamon for extra oomph, but that is up to you. I like cinnamon. The crumb topping is super easy too and is just melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Mix it all up until it's nice and crumbly. You'll know when it's ready, trust me. You'll want to make sure to spray your donut pan with non-stick spray and then pour the batter in to a plastic ziploc style bag. Snip off the end and then fill each donut indent in the pan with the batter. You should have just enough for six donuts. Then top all of the batter with the crumbs. You may have more crumbs than you need, but try to pack it all in if you can. If there is some leftover, that's okay. No need to panic. I could not get all mine to fit!

The wonderful baked donuts then go in to the oven for about 15 minutes to get nice and puffed to perfection. Once they come out, let them sit in the pan for about five minutes before removing. They will be hot and some of the crumbs may fall off. Just a warning. Let the donuts cool for about another 10 minutes and then comes the best part - the glaze! Crumbs + glaze = love. Just saying. The glaze is just powdered sugar and milk. I added a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a bit more coffee cake like flavor. I also put this in a small ziploc style bag to make it easier to drizzle over the tops. Plus it makes it look all pretty and fancy. These coffee cake donuts are soft, crumby and a little bit sweet from the glaze. They are the perfect little morning treat are too good not to make. Plus, they will make your morning just a little bit extra special (and delicious).

look at those crumbs!

Coffee Cake Baked Donuts  (Slightly adapted from Chef in Training)

For Donuts:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup milk


For Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream (add more for desired consistency)
Pinch cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray donut pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a stand mixer (or bowl and spoon!), mix together all the ingredients for the donuts except the last four ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, vanilla, melted butter and milk. Then, gently fold in the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix just until combined. Place the batter in a ziploc like bag and snip the corner. Fill each of the donut holes in the pan evenly until all batter is used. Set aside.

After the donut batter is made, you'll need to prepare the crumb topping. In a microwave proof bowl, melt the butter. Then add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Then add the flour and mix until it resembles crumbs. Top each one of the donuts with the crumbs. Add as much as you can, but there may be some crumbs left over. Make sure to push some into the donut batter. Place prepared donuts in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until cooked and slightly browned. 

Let cooked donuts cool in the pan for five minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. While the donuts are cooling, prepare the glaze. Place both the powdered sugar, pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg and milk in a small bowl and mix until the glaze is pourable. Not to thin and not too thick. Add more powdered sugar and/or milk as needed. Once glaze is ready, pour in to a small ziploc like bag, snip end and drizzle over each one of the donuts. Enjoy!

These coffee cake baked donuts will change your life.