Have you ever had those delicious donut hole treats at a stadium or event center? The warm, crunchy, delicious and sweet, cinnamon tossed pillows of perfection? Well if you haven't... you either don't go to games often, or you have the willpower of a God. Because those things are my downfall anytime I see (or smell!!!!) them. These 10 Minute Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Holes are just as good... and are so easy, my willpower is getting a workout!
Here's the thing. You're probably gonna go all "hold up, these aren't really baked". And you're kind of right. They aren't baked in an oven. I'm a big ole false advertiser.
BUT- before you go all pitchfork wielding crazed mob on me, the recipe will work in a doughnut hole/cakepop pan in the oven. Why do I use a machine then?
1) I really like perfect little doughnut holes with minimal effort. I don't know if you know this or not, but cake pop machines have tiny little magical fairies inside them. When you close the lid, they sprinkle all sorts of magic dust on your batter and turn it into perfectly formed, crispy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside little balls of amazing. It's science. Look it up.
2) I am kind of anti-oven, whenever I can be. First off, it heats up the whole darn kitchen and I get hot easily. Also, there was this time my oven exploded and kind of put me off of using it nonstop like I used to. Yes, I said EXPLODED. You've never seen an oven explode before? Well friends, things like that happen to me all the time. In case you think most bloggers live some pretty, perfect life right out of Martha Stewart's pages, you should know that I'm more likely to be profiled in the Onion.
When I was pregnant and on bedrest with my son, my mom and I were baking something. I don't remember what, but it's not really important given what was about to happen. Anyways, we are sitting around, waiting for whatever we were cooking, and all of a sudden this huge, enormous BANG! goes off with a bright flash of a fireball. In my oven.
We get all panicked and freaked out- afterall, it seemed like the baked chicken version of an atomic bomb had just exploded two feet from where we were sitting. I'm pretty sure at one point she wanted me to go outside because she was afraid it was dangerous for me as a pregnant woman, to which I pointed out that the oven was pretty good at containing such explosions like a mini bomb absorber (yea, I know, my scientific prowess isn't probably something we should hold up as exceptional). So I open the oven and out gushes tons of thick, black smoke that smells like an electrical fire mixed with the horrific odor corn mills in Iowa emit in the fall. After letting it sit and giving the smoke time to settle (and re-installing the smoke detectors that were having a heyday), we opened it up to see a large piece of the oven's coil missing. It literally blew itself up and was now missing half the coil. Whatever we were cooking now smelled like a tire fire, so it went in the trash.
And now I like to buy fancy equipment that outsources the actual need to turn on my new oven- lest it explode- whenever I can. The day I figure out how to bake cookies in a cake pop machine or waffle/panini press I will be set, y'all. (PS- my old oven came with my short sale house, and looked like the previous owner had swapped it out of one of her rental properties and may have actually been older than me- so it probably had it coming, and my oven is probably totally safe from random explosions).
Since none of that actually has to do with cinnamony-delicious little morsels sent directly from heaven, I'll leave you with the recipe already.
They taste JUST like those amazing mini doughnuts you can get at carnivals and hockey games - only better because you made them and you can totally sneak way more than the 4 or 5 little doughnut holes they give you for $6. I'm not bitter or anything..
PSSSSt! Need a paleo/diabetic/celiac version? Look no further than my Almond Flour Donut Holes here!!!
10 Minute Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
Ingredients
- For these little bites of heaven, you'll need:
- -1 ½ cups flour
- -1 teaspoon baking soda
- -½ cup butter, softened
- -2 eggs
- -1 cup sugar, + ½ cup for dusting
- -1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- -½ tablespoon pure lemon extract
- -½ cup milk
- -¼ cup cinnamon, for dusting
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl or paper bag with cinnamon and sugar to top and set aside.
- Cream together sugar and butter in a stand mixer.
- Add in eggs, mix thoroughly.
- Add in vanilla, milk and extracts.
- Slowly fold in flour and baking soda- be careful not to overmix.
- Pour batter into a squeeze bottle or a ziploc bag with the tip cut off.
- Squeeze batter to fill bottom of a well heated and greased cake pop machine.
- Cook according to manufacturers directions (about 5 minutes).
- While piping hot out of the machine, dump into sugar and cinnamon bag/bowl and toss to evenly coat.
- Eat immediately and enjoy!
Who needs those fancy concession carts now??
Vickey
Could you bake these in a mini doughnut mould?
They look amazing!
shelly
Omg your so funny I have a condition called fibromyalgia and live with a lot of pain daily If I can laugh it's great for my soul so thank you . I have my own cake business but alway love new recipes need to ask can these be cooked in oil as I have no clue what a cake pop machine is .And nor would I buy one is it like an easy bake oven maybe you should try one of those lol sorry had to get that one in
Samantha
Can't wait to try these!!
Can these be frozen or made ahead of time? You mention to eat them immediately, but I'm not sure if that just means because they are so good.
Thanks!
Courtney ODell
Samantha - you definitely can, but they are so so so good when still hot. They will be tasty later, but fresh, they are fantastic!
Shauna
I just have read over it, but I can't find your diabetic version of this recipe, even is type 1s can enjoy a little of this I'm all over it! Can't wait!
Rakshasa Queen Shyanne
Do you have to use lemon extract?
Courtney ODell
Nope, I just like the flavor. If you don't have any or don't like lemon, you can use vanilla!
Pj McIlvaine
These are good, but not orgasmic. I used buttermilk instead of milk. Next time I would omit the lemon extract. Also as written, the ratio of cinnamon to sugar for the dusting is waaay off. The cinnamon was overpowering. I had to dump more sugar in and even then the cinnamon was still pretty strong and I am a huge cinnamon fan. These are not on the same level as Munchkins.
Leah
Lifesaver! My kids wanted doughnuts and this was the perfect way to surprise them in just minutes! They went on and on about how "yummylicious" they were! I made a few flavors- rolled some in powdered sugar and the rest in a cinnamon clove sugar mixture. Thank you so much!!!!!! 🙂 (wish I could post pix- I was so impressed since I'm the person who always burns everything lol)
Courtney ODell
Thats awesome Leah! The cinnamon clove sounds amazing!
Christina
I made these to go along with Mother's Day brunch this past weekend and they were a big hit. I ended up making the donut holes ahead of time, so in order to get the toppings to stick, I rolled the holes around in some melted butter (no party foul there), then I added the holes to the brown bag and shook to coat. I left them in the same bag to serve since it brought back memories of childhood when we used to make similar donuts with fried biscuit dough! In addition to the cinnamon sugar, I also did a bag of powdered sugar with a little lemon zest in it. Thanks for this recipe...the reviews it got from my family, I can tell I will be making them again!
Mariana
In Brazil we call them Rain Cakes, they're the perfect materialization of a cold rainy afternoon at grandma's house! But, of course, grandma's are always fried, so this is a welcome adaptation 🙂
Darcie
I laughed out loud when I saw your serving size as 3. hahahahaha ya like anyone could stick to 3 of these puppies!
Courtney ODell
OMG I know! But this is why I wear the size I do... haha!
Leila
Thank you! I tried these last night and I couldnt believe how easy and quick everything was! I am wondering if theres a vegan friendly recipe?
Trina O'Neil
I used to make these all the time only I used grease and biscuits.....I don't own a cake pop machine even though I want one this would probably be the only thing I would make it in. However, they do look awesome and has my mouth watering. Thanks for sharing.
denise
All you have to do is check your local goodwill store. I always see them there and they look brand new for a couple of dollars
molly
Holy crap. I am going to have to make these at least twice a week now. AHHHH! They look so darn good.
Scout
Oh. My. Lord. I'm A D D I C T E D to cinnamon. AND donuts. AND you have just made my breakfast. I will definitely check back here for more recipes!
Lanna case
Could you use a cake mix instead
Courtney ODell
Hey Lanna- you could, but I LOVE this recipe. And it's super easy to make! If you try it out with the cake pops, let me know how it goes!!!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
This looks amazing! I could definitely use a batch of this - and no sharing of course! Pinned!
Sarah @ How My World Runs
Those look yummy! Definitely going to have to try these.