Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts

With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season why not whip up a delicious festive breakfast in under 20 min!  These Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts are super easy to make, festive and will definitely be a hit with the family!

Gingerbread has to be my absolute favorite holiday cookie!  The softer and chewier the cookies like my White Chocolate Dipped Gingerbread Cookies the better.  The combination of Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves and Molasses reminds me of Christmases in Chicago when my grandmother would bake literally 10 different kinds of cookies and goodies each holiday.

So when my kids asked for doughnuts yet again on a weekend morning I thought there has to be a healthier way to get them their doughnut fix.  Hence these Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts.  These doughnuts are not fried so you save fat and calories and with the addition of whole wheat flour whole grains are incorporated.  I love the fact that baking doughnuts is so simple and takes literally no time at all.  I mean 8 minutes for baking then you have warm delicious fluffy doughnuts to enjoy, that is a plus.

You can enjoy these Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts with or without a glaze but if you ask me the subtly flavored glaze just adds extra flavor to the doughnuts and the sprinkles are super cute and festive.

Pro Tip- 

When making your glaze you might need to add a bit more milk or hot water to the glaze to reach the right consistency optimal for glazing.  What is the right consistency for a glaze you ask well that is a matter of preference but I like mine to be a bit on the thinner side.  This ensures that the doughnuts do not break apart in the glaze and it covers nicely.  If the glaze is too thick I have found that the top half of your doughnut will stick and rip off creating a crumbly mess in the glaze, or it does not cover the doughnut evenly.  Believe me there is nothing worse than having a beautiful doughnut crumble in your hands because it was stuck in the glaze, I know it happened to me!  But hey now with this tip it will not happen to you!

This holiday season make it easy on yourself and make a simple delicious breakfast.  These Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts will quickly become a family favorite!

Enjoy!

Ingredients for Doughnuts:

• 2 C white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 6 Tbsp molasses
• 2/3 C milk
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted

Doughnut Glaze:

• 2 C confectioner’s sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp hot water
• 1-2 Tbsp  milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cloves
• Red and Green food coloring
• sprinkles

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray even if using a nonstick pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients; egg, molasses, vanilla, milk, and melted butter.   Be sure to let the butter cool a bit so that it does not cook the eggs when mixing.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined into a think batter.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag. Pipe batter into doughnut pan filling each cavity about 2/3 full.  Be sure not to overfill each doughnut cavity or your doughnuts will come out a bit misshapen.

Bake for 8 minutes.  Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire baking rack to cool completely before glazing.

While doughnuts are cooling, stir together all ingredients for the glaze.  If the glaze appears to be too thick you may need to add up to another 1/2 teaspoon of milk to reach desired consistency.  If the glaze is too thick when you dip your doughnuts they will crumble or fall apart.

Separate glaze into 3 bowls.  Tint a bowl with red food coloring and one with green.  Keep one of the glaze bowls white.

Pour white glaze into bottom of a pie dish then drizzle with red, then green glaze.

Dip tops of doughnuts into glaze and return to wire baking rack.  The glaze will drip through rack so be sure to put down foil or a baking sheet for easy clean up!

Top with sprinkles and allow glaze to harden before serving.

These doughnuts are best served same day but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Enjoy!

Pin this Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts Recipe to your favorite Doughnut, Breakfast or Holiday food Pinterest Board for later!