Baked Donuts Recipe: Maple Glazed & Spiced

Baked Donuts Recipe: Maple Glazed & Spiced

I bought a donut pan three years ago because I convinced myself I was going to become the kind of morning person who casually whips up a baked donuts recipe before the sun comes up. Spoiler alert: I am still the person who hits snooze four times and considers finding matching socks a major victory. But when a massive craving for maple glazed donuts hit me at 8 PM on a random Tuesday, that dusty pan finally saw the light of day. I realized making baked maple glazed donuts no fryer needed is actually faster than driving to the drive-thru in my pajamas, and significantly less embarrassing. If I can manage these without burning my kitchen down while half-asleep, you absolutely can too. Here is exactly how I do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No deep frying required – These are baked not fried donuts, which means your house won’t smell like a state fair for the next three days.
• Zero fancy equipment – You do not need a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or any upper body strength to get this batter together.
• Fast gratification – This easy baked donut recipe from scratch goes from bowls to baked in about 15 minutes flat.
• Legitimately tastes like fall – The cinnamon maple donuts vibe is strong here, making them the ultimate cozy comfort food.

Perfect Pairings

These go perfectly with basically any excuse you can invent to eat them.

• A giant mug of dark roast coffee – obviously.
• A lazy Sunday morning when you want to impress your family but also want to stay in sweatpants.
• That mid-afternoon slump when you really just want cinnamon sugar baked donuts with maple glaze instead of an apple.
• A cold glass of milk for dunking, if you are feeling nostalgic.

Tools You’ll Need

Nothing fancy, I promise.

• donut pan – You kind of need this for the whole donut shape, but if you don’t have one, a muffin tin works (you’ll just have donut muffins).
• Large Ziploc Bag – This is my highly technical piping bag for getting the batter into the pan without getting it all over the counter.
• Wire Cooling Rack – Crucial for letting the excess glaze drip off, unless you want a puddle of maple cement on your plates.

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.

Instructions

Mix wet, mix dry, combine, and pretend you did not just outsource a bakery run to your own oven.

1. 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.
2. Whisk the dry: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Mix the wet: Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Bake: Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. They bounce back when you poke them gently.
7. Cool: Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.
8. 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.
9. 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

Here is what I learned the hard way so you do not have to.

• Do not overmix the batter – I once whisked a donut batter until it was perfectly smooth and ended up with something resembling a rubber tire. Just mix until the flour streaks disappear.
• The ziploc bag trick is mandatory – I tried spooning this thick batter directly into the tiny donut pan grooves once. Half of it ended up on the pan edges and burned. Just use the bag, it saves your sanity.
• Make sure your butter is cooled – If you pour hot melted butter directly into cold milk and a cold egg, you will get weird, chunky butter pieces. Let it sit for five minutes after melting.

Troubleshooting Guide

Something went sideways? Been there. Here is how to fix it.

• Problem: My donuts do not have holes in the middle.
  Why it happened: You filled the donut pan too high. The batter expands a lot more than you think.
  Fix it: It is fixable, I promise. Just use the back of a small piping tip or an apple corer to punch the hole out, or just eat them as delicious muffin tops.
• Problem: The glaze is too thin and running right off.
  Why it happened: The butter and syrup mixture was likely too hot when you added the powdered sugar, or you didn’t measure the sugar accurately.
  Fix it: Just whisk in another tablespoon or two of powdered sugar until it thickens up.
• Problem: The donuts are stuck in the pan.
  Why it happened: Either you forgot the non-stick spray, or you let them cool completely in the pan.
  Fix it: Run a thin plastic knife gently around the edges. Next time, turn them out after exactly 5 minutes of cooling.

How to Store

• Fridge: Up to 3 days in an airtight container. The glaze will get a little sticky and the donuts will firm up, but they still taste great.
• Freezer: Yes! Up to 3 months. Freeze them plain if possible. Thaw overnight in the fridge and glaze them fresh for the best texture.
• Reheat: 10 seconds in the microwave. Do not use the toaster oven unless you want a massive melted glaze fire hazard.
• Note: The glaze sets hard, but if stacked in a container, they will stick together. Put parchment paper between layers if you have to stack them.

FAQ