Delicious Christmas Donuts filled Christmas sprinkles inside and topped with a simple chocolate ganache! These baked donuts are the perfect treat for holiday breakfasts or desserts!
Christmas donuts are the perfect festive treat! With Christmas sprinkles inside and out, these baked donuts are incredibly good.
This recipe is adapted from my super fun and yummy Birthday cake donuts. Another festive, Christmassy donut you should try are my baked Red Velvet Donuts. For another sprinkle filled holiday cookie, you will love these thick Christmas Sprinkle Cookies.
Why you’ll love these donuts
- Made with pantry friendly ingredients!
- Baked not fried.
- Sprinkles inside and out!
- Quick and easy!
- Topped with two ingredient chocolate ganache!
Ingredient notes:
Below is some useful information about some of the ingredients. See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.
- All purpose flour: Spoon flour into measuring cup rather than dredging your measuring cup through the flour. Dredging a measuring cup packs too much flour and can result in donuts that are dry.
- Brown sugar: Use light or dark, packed brown sugar.
- 1 egg: Use a large egg. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking so that it’s at room temperature.
- Unsalted butter: Melt the butter in the microwave.
- Buttermilk: Use room temperature buttermilk. Buttermilk adds a delicious flavor and helps give the donuts a soft, tender texture. If you don’t have any on hand you can make your own! It’s not quite the same, but it works as a substitute! This Buttermilk Substitute post from My Baking Addiction will explain how.
- Christmas sprinkles: Make sure to use jimmies sprinkles inside the donuts and not nonpareils.
How to make Christmas donuts
Christmas donuts are made with the following ingredients: flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, 1 egg, unsalted butter, buttermilk, Christmas sprinkles.
- Make the donut batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk until combined then fold in the sprinkles.
- Fill the donut pans.
- Bake. 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden or a toothpick comes out clean.
- Make the chocolate ganache.
- Decorate. Dunk cooled donuts in the chocolate ganache. Top with sprinkles. Allow ganache to set.
Frequently asked questions
Fried donuts are fried in a pan filled with hot oil. The oil fries the donuts. Baked donuts are baked in a donut tin in the oven.
I have heard you can bake donuts in muffin tins, but I haven’t tried it. If you try it, I would recommend adjust the baking time as needed.
I wouldn’t call these donuts healthy since they are a dessert. They are baked not fried, so they are healthier than fried donuts.
Tips for making
- Use room temperature ingredients. This is especially important for this recipe because Using room temperature ingredients helps prevent the melted butter from hardening when you combine it with the wet ingredients.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can cause the sprinkles to bleed.
- You’ll need a donut pan to make these. I use these donut pans and I love them. My donut pans make six donuts each. I have two pans and bake them at the same time.
- Use a large zip lock bag to pipe the batter. Spoon the batter into the bag then snip a bottom corner off. Pipe the batter evenly into the pans.
Timeline for making these donuts
- 15 minutes to prepare.
- 8-10 minutes to bake.
- 15 minutes to cool.
- 15 minutes to decorate.
How to store leftovers
These baked donuts are best when they are freshly baked. Store leftovers in an air tight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Baked in a donut tin and filled with warm spices, vanilla and sprinkles, these donuts are easy and delicious! Bake them up fresh for an easy, festive holiday treat!
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Christmas Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9-10 donuts
- Category: Donuts, Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Christmas Donuts are filled with Christmas sprinkles and topped with chocolate ganache! They’re the perfect easy, festive treat for holiday breakfasts or desserts!
Ingredients
FOR THE CHRISTMAS DONUTS
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed, light or dark
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature*
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup buttermilk,* room temperature
- 1/3– 1/2 cup Christmas sprinkles, plus more for decoration, optional
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
Instructions
FOR THE CHRISTMAS DONUTS
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray. Lightly dust pans with flour. Tap out excess flour.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugars and salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the sprinkles. Be careful not to overmix. Overmixing may cause the sprinkles to bleed.
- Use a piping bag or zip lock bag with a corner snipped off or spoon to fill the dough into the molds evenly. For average sized baked donuts, fill molds half full. For larger donuts, fill them between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until toothpick comes out dry or edges are lightly browned. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Let cool in the pans for 2-3 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- Chop chocolate using a serrated knife. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, heat the heavy cream til just before it starts to boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Do not stir.
- Allow to sit for 3 minutes then stir till smooth.
DECORATING THE DONUTS
- Dunk cooled donuts into the ganache. Set donuts on a baking rack. Sprinkle with additional Christmas sprinkles, if desired. Allow ganache to set. Enjoy!
Keywords: donuts, Christmas, sprinkles, ganache, chocolate, baked donuts, doughnuts
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