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Delicious, easy, simple donut holes made in just 10 minutes with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand – either in a cake pop machine, donut hole pan, aebleskiver pan, or even a mini-muffin pan!
These donut holes are light and fluffy, full of warm, vanilla and butter flavor, and rolled in cinnamon and sugar for a perfect, light treat that are totally addictive!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
How to make Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
These donut holes are a reader favorite on my site – this recipe first appeared here on Sweet C’s in 2013. I first made them when I was pregnant, on rest with my second born, using a cake pop machine instead of in an aebleskiver pan (the way I’d normally make them) – so I didn’t have to bend over or hassle with the oven.
They taste just like concession cart donut holes – I hope you love them as much as we do!
You can make these in a cake pop machine, an aebelskiver pan, a mini muffin pan – whatever you have on hand.
How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
To make these donut holes, we will need:
- Flour – this recipe works with all-purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour. If you have self-rising flour, omit baking soda.
- Baking soda – baking soda helps to give lift and rise to donut holes as they bake, so they are light, fluffy, and aren’t dense and thick.
- Butter – butter helps to give a rich flavor and velvety texture to batters. Using softened (or slightly melted) butter helps to incorporate it into a batter easily, without overworking.
- Eggs – eggs help to bind our recipe together, add needed fat to keep our donut holes perfectly moist and delicious, and give lift so they are light, airy, and not at all dense.
- Sugar – sugar has two uses in this recipe – both to sweeten our batter, and to combine with cinnamon to roll donut holes in for cinnamon sugar. If using pre-mixed cinnamon sugar, you can just use the amount for batter and skip the additional tablespoons called for garnishing in the recipe below.
- Vanilla – vanilla has a warm, earthy, sweet flavor that is classic in baked goods – it has a “home-baked” smell and flavor that everyone loves, and can’t be beat!
- Lemon extract – I love to add a bit of lemon to batter, as the bittersweet extract highlights the rich butter fat and complex vanilla notes and helps to make breads taste a bit less dense.
- Milk – milk acts as a binder and helps to thin the batter, as well as giving a rich, creamy flavor that is lightly sweet to our batter.
- Cinnamon sugar – yes, cinnamon sugar is a thing! Cinnamon sugar is just a blend of granulated sugar and cinnamon, but we use it so often for french toast, buttered toast, cupcakes, muffins, crumbles, crisps, and cakes – I just buy it pre-blended to always have on hand. My kids love to sprinkle a little bit on all kinds of foods – even fruit salad! You can buy pre-mixed cinnamon sugar here.
- Water – if your batter is thick, you’ll want to thin it with a tablespoon of water at a time until it is about the consistency of pancake batter. I keep a cup of warm water next to my batter as I make it, then add, slowly, as needed.
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:
- Mix. Mix donut holes in a stand mixer or by hand – be careful to not over mix.
- Bake. Bake in a cake pop machine, an aebelvskiever pan or ebelskiever machine
- Roll in cinnamon sugar.
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
Bake in a silicone pan. Add to silicone pan and bake 6-8 minutes at 400F, until lightly browned and puffy. Using a wooden skewer or silicone spatula, carefully flip and continue cooking additional 2-4 minutes until browned on all sides and perfectly puffy and round!
Bake in an aebleskiver pan. Bake just like you would an aebleskiver, at 400 degrees, until lightly browned on one side, about 6 minutes, then flip in cast iron and let cook until browned.
Bake in a mini muffin pan. These won’t be round, but they will be just as delicious! Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 12 minutes.
Use a piping tool. We love using piping bags or handheld piping bulbs – it helps to really quickly fill your cake pop machine or cake pop pan.
Use a nonstick spray with flour. Using a nonstick spray with flour formulated in it really helps to release the baked good, and makes for a perfect release!
FAQs
Your donut holes are done when they are browned on the outside and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. If donut holes are a little soft in the middle that is ok – you just don’t want them gooey. Keep baking until middle is more done if they are gooey.
Add up to a teaspoon of extracts or food-grade oils to flavor your donut holes – almond, lemon, peppermint, and raspberry are all delicious extract additions!
Donut holes can be stored in a paper bag for up to two days. If storing in a plastic bag or plastic container, leave a tiny hole open for the best texture.
Other Easy Desserts You’ll Love
If you love these easy donut holes, be sure to check out some of our other favorite easy desserts like our Easy Pumpkin Crisp, Easy Peach Cobbler, or some chewy, delicious Cowboy Cookies.
Don’t forget to try dunking these donut holes in some Israeli Cardamom Coffee or Stroopwafels Vodka Coffee!
Check out some of our recent favorite dessert recipes here:
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10 Minute Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar, + 1/2 cup for dusting
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon pure lemon extract
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup cinnamon, for dusting
- up to 1/4 cup water, added 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to thin
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. Batter should be pancake-like, a bit runny. Add a teaspoon of water at a time to thin if thick.
- 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!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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 🙂
I laughed out loud when I saw your serving size as 3. hahahahaha ya like anyone could stick to 3 of these puppies!
OMG I know! But this is why I wear the size I do… haha!
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?
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.
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
Holy crap. I am going to have to make these at least twice a week now. AHHHH! They look so darn good.
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!
Could you use a cake mix instead
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!!!