Baked Vanilla Glazed Donuts — Slightly dense and cake-like, these vanilla glazed donuts are baked rather than fried. Perfect for weekend brunches and special occasion breakfasts!
Easy Baked Glazed Donut Recipe
When I bought my donut pan, I didn’t know I was going to enjoy making homemade donuts as much as I have been. But boy, I’m glad I finally got around to picking up that donut pan.
These donuts remind me of the Original Krispy Kreme Glazed Donuts. These vanilla donuts are baked, not fried, so they are not exactly the same as KK’s, but they’re remarkably similar.
Let’s face it, baked and fried, apples and oranges, but you’d be surprised how similar these are.
If you’ve never had a KK doughnut, you’re missing out!
No Krispy Kreme? No drive-thru? No problem.
It’s probably better that way, anyway. And you can make these baked vanilla donuts.
They are dense and yes, they are a ‘cake-style’ donut, but they are very moist. They are not cakey or dry like many cake-style donuts tend to be. You know those donuts that taste like you’re eating dry cardboard or ground up chalk?
These are not like that at all. The texture of them is what you’d have if there was a marriage between a donut and a muffin top. Moist and dense.
This recipe is so easy and yielded great tasting donuts. Like, you need these in your life, right now!
I loved that they were not fried because I just don’t make fried food. Not because of health or dietary objections. Oh no, that’s not the reason I don’t do fried food.
It’s because the thought of standing in front of a pot of grease and having it splatter all over me, my stove top, and stink up my house with that grease smell that lingers for days is a triple whammy.
No thanks. I’ll bake, sans grease. In 10 minutes of baking time I can have these bad boys.
What’s in the Baked Vanilla Glazed Donuts?
To make the baked vanilla donuts, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Butter
And to make the vanilla glaze recipe, all you’ll need is:
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk or heavy cream
How to Make Baked Vanilla Glazed Donuts
From start to finish — making the batter, baking the donuts, letting them cool for 5 minutes, and then glazing them, and even doing the dishes — this recipe was a 30-minute project.
Simply whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add in the wet ingredients.
Using a piping bag or a Ziplock bag with a tip snipped off, pipe the batter into a 6-count donut pan.
Bake the vanilla donuts until they spring back quickly when gently poked.
Let the donuts cool for about 5 minutes before dipping into the vanilla glaze.
Can I Make This Recipe Without a Donut Pan?
Yes! If you don’t have a donut and really don’t foresee yourself buying one, you can make these donuts as muffins instead. I tried that with the leftover batter because I could have made 7 donuts but instead I made 6 donuts + 2 small muffins.
But maybe looking at these will convince you to just buy the stinkin’ donut pan. I have no idea what took me so long, either.
Can I Bake These in a Mini Donut Pan?
I’m sure you could, but I don’t have the patience for baking mini foods so I can’t advise you on the bake time. I’d fill the mini donut pan about 2/3 full and watch them like a hawk in the oven!
Can I Add Sprinkles?
Of course! Add the sprinkles a minute or two after you’ve glazed the vanilla donuts.
Can Glazed Donuts Be Frozen?
Yes! Let the vanilla glazed donuts cool completely on your counter, then seal inside a freezer bag for up to three months. When ready to eat, thaw on your counter.
Tips for Making Baked Vanilla Donuts
I think making the glaze with some sort of cream, rather than water or milk, is best. That’s what I did because I love a good, rich glaze. I want to try making the glaze with coconut milk next.
Interestingly enough, the baked glazed donuts got better the second day. There were two donuts left over and 24 hours later, the glaze had really soaked into the donuts leaving them heavier, denser, and even more moist and rich.
If you like “light and airy” donuts that are really cakey and dry, don’t make this recipe. And definitely don’t let them sit with a glaze on them for 24 hours. But I actually love that really dense and heavy texture. I’ve always said I love leftovers.
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Baked Vanilla Glazed Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt, I omitted
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
For the Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, use more if you like a stronger vanilla flavor
- 1-2 teaspoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
For the Donuts:
- Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease or cooking-spray a donut pan (or muffin tin).
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon (and salt).
- Add buttermilk, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk or stir to combine.
- Use a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (or a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off) to pipe the batter into a 6-donut pan. Or just be extra neat and do this with a spoon, which is what I did.
- Bake 8 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven, until donuts spring back when touched or until dough is set. Donuts will not be golden brown, but should be springy. (I always underbake my baked goods but in my oven these took 10-11 minutes to set up)
- Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan, about 5 minutes.
For the Glaze:
- While donuts are baking or cooling, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and liquid of your choice. Add the water or milk, one teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.
- Dip the donuts into the glaze while warm (or cool).
- Add sprinkles or other extras at end, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Baked Donut Recipes:
Baked Chocolate Sprinkle Donuts — Making donuts at home is as easy as making muffins! These chocolate sprinkle donuts are baked rather than fried so you can have seconds, of course!
Baked Lemon Donuts with Lemon Glaze — These taste like the Starbucks lemon loaf, but in donut (or mini muffin) form!! Easy, no mixer recipe with a tart-yet-sweet lemon glaze that’s PERFECT!
Banana Donuts with Browned Butter Caramel Glaze — Banana bread in the form of soft, fluffy baked donuts and donut holes!!
Baked Cinnamon Donuts — If you’re a cinnamon roll fan, you’re going to love these donuts.
Cinnamon Sugar Mini Donut Muffins – Part cinnamon-sugar donut hole, part mini-muffin, no matter what you call them, they’re fast and easy to make, and so tasty and pop-able.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the best doughnuts ever. In my opinion, at least. =)
I found out a few weeks ago that my fiance had never had a hot doughnut right off the conveyor belt – what?! So we quickly took care of that missing life experience! Like you, I have many good memories of late-night stops at Krispy Kreme…that ooey-gooey-chewy treat was delightful at two and three in the morning. =)
These look just like Krispy Kremes, which are SO hard to come by on the east coast. Gorgeous photos! I really need to get a doughnut pan now….
It’s funny because I was going to say I actually prefer my doughnuts with sprinkles, but I have no idea why! I just think they taste better. But I haven’t had a doughnut since before I went gluten-free. So sad because I miss them! Krispy Kremes were THE best in my opinion. Although my local grocery story had ones that rocked too. Another store had doughnuts, but they were AWFUL. Always dried out, hard, crunchy <- all things a doughnut should not be.
I’ve never made donuts at home before AND haven’t really eaten them in a long, long time just based on how bad the ones are for you in the cafes and all that jazz. But, this would give me reason to go and get a donut pan. Being able to bake at home AND attempt something I have never tried before…DING! These do seriously look like crispy kremes. I better go eat something before I try to eat these through the computer screen!
These look and sound delish! I bet they’d be great little donut “holes” made in a mini muffin tin….:)
I actually haven’t ever had KK… but I think that is okay because I am Canadian. :P Instead we have Tim Horton’s and I always like to get the honey dip doughnut. It is a yeast doughnut (so light and airy!) with a layer of a honey glaze.
I’m going to keep my eyes out for a doughnut pan… seems like a lot of fun!
I love Tim Horton’s coffee!
I LOVE a good doughnut, and we have a few great shops here.
great photos, Averie!
I really, really, really need to invest in a donut pan. The BB&B in my town closed, so I have been putting it off. I just need to suck it up and either order it online or drive a little ways to buy one. All of these donut recipes are driving me nuts! I MUST MAKE DONUTS! :)
I used to love krispy creme donuts. They were here for awhile, but I don’t think they caught on too well. These look awesome, Averie!
Oh my goodness, these actually look crazy. You are crazy! I totally believe that these are even better than the fried kind.
I used to love chocolate donuts. I liked them chocolate base AND chocolate filling! Here in Canada, the place to get donuts is Tim Hortons! We only just recently got Krispy Kream up here! I have to admit, I have never had one, and most likely never will.
I love Tim Horton’s coffee :)
hahaha, oh no! That stuff is addicting!
I LOVE donuts. There is a place in Brooklyn named “Dough” and they have a hibiscus donut which is superb. They also have a NUTELLA AND BISCOFF filled donut that makes me wish I had a hollow leg and was nursing triplets so I could eat one every day.
Wow, nutella and biscoff-filled…may be worth a trip just for those :)
very interesting that the donuts get better the second day… one reason i don’t tend to make donut recipes is because i feel like they’re stale by the day after, thus justifying me eating all 6 (or 12) the day i make them!
my all time favorite donuts are from a a little shop in green bay wisconsin we stumbled on during a road trip years ago. i debate making the 3 hour drive every once in a while just for the glazed old fashioned donut. makes my mouth water thinking about it!
Well this recipe first off only make a half dozen so after you have a couple and hubs or others have a couple, you aren’t left with many leftovers but if you are, the second-day-old was just fine :)
Bought the donut pans, thanks for the push. After my run it is baking time and I’m going to impress hubby and daughters with these delightful looking treats. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Enjoy them!
What a great reason to use your pan again! They look amazing Averie! I’ve never made donuts at home.
These taste like Krispy Kremes?!? Say no more!!! :-)
Awesome photos – I feel like I could reach through my screen and grab on straight off the plate. YUM!!
thanks, Kristin!