I bought a donut pan three years ago because I convinced myself that I would become the kind of morning person who casually makes a baked donuts recipe before sunrise. I still hit snooze four times and consider matching socks a major victory. A massive craving for maple glazed donuts finally brought that dusty pan out at 8 PM on a Tuesday.
I discovered that baked maple glazed donuts no fryer needed take less time than driving to the drive-through in pajamas. Warm spices, yogurt, and brown sugar create soft cake donuts, while maple icing adds a glossy finish. Here is exactly how I do it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No deep frying required: These baked not fried donuts keep your kitchen free from the smell of hot oil.
- Zero fancy equipment: You do not need a stand mixer, hand mixer, or extra upper-body strength.
- Fast gratification: This easy baked donut recipe from scratch moves from bowls to oven in about 15 minutes.
- Legitimately tastes like fall: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and maple create a cozy flavor.
- Soft cake texture: Yogurt and brown sugar keep the donuts tender.
Tools You’ll Need
Nothing fancy, I promise.
- Donut pan: You need one for the classic ring shape, although a muffin tin creates donut muffins.
- Large zip-top bag: Use the bag as a quick piping tool.
- Wire cooling rack: The rack lets extra glaze drip away instead of forming a maple puddle.
Ingredients
For the Spice Donuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour – Spoon and level it, do not scoop it directly from the bag unless you want dense hockey pucks.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder – Check the expiration date, I speak from sad, flat donut experience.
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda – Helps give these that perfect cakey lift.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – The backbone of the spice flavor.
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg – Adds that classic bakery warmth.
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves – A little goes a long way, do not heavy-hand this one.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt – Just standard table salt to balance the sweet.
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter – Melted and slightly cooled so it doesn’t scramble your egg.
- 1 large egg – Room temperature is best, but if you forgot, run it under warm water for a minute.
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar – Gives these more moisture than white sugar ever could.
- 1/4 cup milk – Whole milk is best, but use whatever you have in the fridge that isn’t expired.
- 1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream – I usually use Greek yogurt; it makes the crumb incredibly soft.
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – The good stuff if you have it.
For the Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter – The rich base of our icing.
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup – Use the real stuff here, not the fake pancake syrup, or the glaze won’t set right.
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar – Sift it if you have the patience, or just whisk aggressively if you don’t.
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract – Optional, but it really punches up the flavor. (Fun fact: baking extracts are basically flavor magic).
- Pinch of salt – To cut the extreme sweetness of the icing.
How To Make Baked Donuts
Mix wet, mix dry, combine, and pretend you did not just outsource a bakery run to your own oven.
- Prep your station: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray your donut pan with non-stick spray. Do not skip the spray, or you will be eating donut crumbles scraped out with a butter knife.
- Whisk the dry: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Mix the wet: Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined.
- Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix—if a few lumps survive, that is between you and the bowl, nobody else needs to know.
- Fill the pan: Spoon the batter into a large zipped-top bag, cut a corner off, and pipe into the donut cups until half full. If you overfill them, you get donut-muffins with no holes, which still taste great but look slightly confused.
- Bake: Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. They bounce back when you poke them gently.
- Cool: Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.
- Make the icing: Melt butter and maple syrup in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, then whisk in powdered sugar, maple extract, and salt.
- Dip: Dip the warm donuts into the icing and set on the rack to drip. I highly encourage a double-dip once the first layer sets a bit.
♥ The Misfit Tips!
- Do not overmix the batter: I once whisked the batter until it looked perfectly smooth and created something like a rubber tire. Stop when the flour streaks disappear.
- Use the zip-top bag: Thick batter becomes much easier to pipe into the small donut grooves.
- Cool the butter: Hot butter creates chunky bits when it hits cold milk and eggs.
- Spray the pan well: Every groove needs a thin coat of nonstick spray.
- Fill halfway: Half-full cups create visible holes and even baking.
- Use real maple syrup: Fake pancake syrup may create a thin or overly sweet glaze.
Perfect Pairings
These go perfectly with any excuse you invent to eat them.
- A giant mug of dark roast coffee, obviously.
- Lazy Sunday morning when you want to impress your family in sweatpants.
- A mid-afternoon slump when cinnamon sugar baked donuts with maple glaze sound better than an apple.
- A cold glass of milk for dunking.
Make It Yours
You can add cinnamon sugar before the maple icing for extra spice. You can sprinkle chopped pecans over the wet glaze for crunch. You can replace the maple icing with a simple vanilla glaze if you want a lighter finish.
These cinnamon sugar baked donuts with maple glaze create the best combination of crisp sweetness, warm spice, and soft cake texture.
How to Store
❤
- Fridge: Store the donuts in an airtight container for up to three days. The glaze becomes sticky, and the donuts firm up slightly.
- Freezer: Freeze plain donuts for up to three months.
- Thaw: Thaw the donuts overnight in the refrigerator.
- Glaze: Add fresh maple icing after thawing.
- Reheat: Microwave one donut for 10 seconds.
- Note: Place parchment between stacked donuts because the glaze becomes sticky.
Maple Glazed Donuts
This baked donuts recipe creates soft, spiced cake donuts with brown sugar, yogurt, cinnamon, and pure maple syrup. These baked not fried donuts need no fryer and come together quickly with a zip-top bag and one donut pan. You can follow the easy baked donut recipe from scratch for a simple breakfast or finish the rings as cinnamon sugar baked donuts with maple glaze for a richer fall treat. The result gives you maple glazed donuts without leaving the house.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag for ease. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway. (If you only have 1 donut pan that bakes less than 8 donuts, keep the remaining batter in the bowl at room temperature until you can bake the next batch.)
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Gently poke a donut with your finger. If it bounces back, the donuts are done. Allow donuts to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack set on a large piece of parchment paper. Bake the remaining donut batter and once baked, transfer to the wire rack.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and maple extract. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired.
- Cool for 2-3 minutes, then dip each donut into the icing. The icing quickly thickens, so feel free to place it back over heat as you dip. Place dipped donuts back onto cooling rack as excess icing drips down. Feel free to double dip them (I usually do!).
- Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 days.