These baked gingerbread donuts are a quick Christmas treat. Soft and cakey donuts flavored with ground ginger, nutmeg and clove, then rolled in granulated sugar and more spices. They are low fuss and much faster than fried donuts, so enjoy these for the holidays!
Equipment needed for baked gingerbread donuts
- A non stick donut pan with 6 wells – I got mine from Williams Sonoma.
- A large mixing bowl – to mix our donut ingredients.
- A Whisk
- A rubber spatula
- A rubber brush – or a pastry brush. This will be used to brush the donuts with butter so the sugar coating sticks well. You can use your fingers if you’re desperate.
- A piping bag – this is optional, but it’s a lot easier to pipe the donut bater into the wells instead of spooning them in.
- A wire cooling rack – to let the donuts cool before coating them with sugar.
Ingredients for baked gingerbread donuts
Add these items to your grocery list!
- unsalted butter – you will need around 1 stick.
- brown sugar and granulated sugar
- molasses – I used Blackstrap molasses, which you can find at larger grocery store chains.
- vanilla extract
- an egg
- a lot of spices: ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground clove, ground nutmeg.
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- milk – almond milk or regular dairy milk works.
How to make baked gingerbread donuts
Let’s make them together!
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350℉. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the molasses. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.
Step 2
Whisk in the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
Step 3
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients – add the the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two – combining the batter gently with a rubber spatula with each addition.
Step 4
Bake! Grease a standard donut pan with oil or butter. Pipe the donut batter into each well (or use a spoon and carefully fill them that way). Then pop the pan into the oven and bake the donuts for 10 minutes or until they appear set. Remove them from the oven and let the pan sit for 5 minutes before removing the donuts and placing them on a wire rack.
Step 5
Roll them in sugar. Once completely cooled, melt the remaining butter in a bowl in the microwave. In another bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. With the pastry brush, paint a light coating of butter on the donuts one at a time. Dip the donut in a bowl and gently twist it so the sugar coats it well. Then leave it to dry on the wire rack and repeat the process with the rest.
Baking Tips
Don’t overwork the batter. Gently mix with your spatula as you make your dry ingredient additions. If you over mix the batter, the gluten will make it tough and chewy.
Cool your donuts COMPLETELY before rolling them. The sugar will melt all over them and they will turn into a runny mess if you do it too early.
Mix up the sugar – as an alternative, you can consider going the powdered sugar route if that sounds more appealing to you! Just swap it for granulated.
Storage
Leave the gingerbread donuts in an airtight container at room temperature. Eat within one week.
Other recipes to try
Did you like these baked gingerbread donuts? Check out these other recipes:
Baked Apple Cider Donuts with Caramel Drizzle
Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping
Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch Sauce
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Baked Gingerbread Donuts
Equipment
- 1 non stick donut pan with 6 wells
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 rubber spatula
- 1 rubber brush
- 1 piping bag optional
- 1 wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp clove
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk almond or dairy
For the sugar coating
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground clove
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the molasses. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.5 tbsp unsalted butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup molasses, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Whisk in the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, ½ tsp clove, ½ tsp nutmeg, 1½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients – add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two – combining the batter gently with a rubber spatula with each addition.½ cup milk
- Grease a standard donut pan with oil or butter. Pipe the donut batter into each well (or use a spoon and carefully fill them that way). Then pop the pan into the oven and bake the donuts for 10 minutes or until they appear set. Remove them from the oven and let the pan sit for 5 minutes before removing the donuts and placing them on a wire rack.
- Once completely cooled, melt the remaining butter in a bowl in the microwave. In another bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. With the pastry brush, paint a light coating of butter on the donuts one at a time. Dip the donut in a bowl and gently twist it so the sugar coats it well. Then leave it to dry on the wire rack and repeat the process with the rest. Enjoy!6 tbsp unsalted butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp ground clove
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