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Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

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Ultra moist and flavorful Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing here just in time for fall and the holidays! Made with both pumpkin and carrots, lots of cinnamon and nutmeg, and generously topped with a rich, caramel-like brown sugar cream cheese icing, this is a recipe you’ll want to make for months and years to come!

CARROT CAKE FOR EVERY SEASON

Since I started my Parsley and Icing account on Instagram, I’ve noticed that carrot cake’s season in the food world is definitely spring. I get why people love it in the spring, but I love to eat it year round! Its fresh, sweet carrot taste makes it perfect for spring and summer and its warming cinnamon and spices make it special enough for fall and winter.

PUMPKIN CARROT CAKE: AN INSTANT FAVORITE

I first made this recipe a couple of weeks ago before heading to New York to visit my family. I was so excited about the pumpkin, apple, and brown sugar icing idea I had for this cake that I made sure to test it out before taking off. I left half the cake here in Ottawa and took the rest to New York with me.

My husband brought his half to a barbecue with friends and I shared mine with my family in New York. It was an instant INTERNATIONAL hit and got rave reviews and requests for the recipe from friends and family on both sides of the border! 🙂 No changes or retesting needed and I knew I had to get this recipe out to everyone ASAP!

ABOUT THIS PUMPKIN CARROT CAKE

This is an extra special carrot cake with a super simple batter. It starts with the usual shredded carrots, but departs from the norm with over a cup of pumpkin puree. To go along with the pumpkin and seasonal spices, a whole shredded apple takes the place of pineapple. Pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon warm up the cake and tie in all the fall flavor!

I asked my husband’s picky foodie cousin if he thought it needed a little more pumpkin pie spice but he and my husband’s friend told me (ordered me?) not to change a thing, so I didn’t! The result is a perfectly but not overly spiced pumpkin carrot cake. 🙂

FLAVORFUL

Pumpkin is one of the most popular fall flavors. This carrot cake has over a cup of pure pumpkin puree which adds tons of moisture and a subtle pumpkin flavor. People might not pick up on the pumpkin flavor unless you point it out, but it definitely adds to the deliciousness. I can’t talk about pumpkin without mentioning these yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and this classic Pumpkin Bread with Maple Walnut Streusel.

MOIST

Pineapples are more tropical to me, so instead of pineapple, I added an in- season grated apple. You can’t taste the apple, but it adds a ton of moisture. and I just love all the fall ingredients in this cake. For another super fall, apple sweet treat, you’ll love this Apple Cinnamon Bread!

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CARROT CAKE

In addition to being special and delicious, this cake is an easy, no fuss recipe. The easier it is to make it, I figured, the more often we’ll make it! The batter comes together without a mixer, it’s baked in a simple 9 x 13 inch pan and frosted with a five minute icing. Super simple and low key! 

STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS

  1. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Leave excess paper hanging from two sides of the pan. This will make it easier to remove the cake once baked. . 
  2. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt). Set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the sugars and eggs. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin puree followed by the oil. Add the buttermilk alternatively with the dry ingredients, mixing just til combined. Stir in the shredded carrots and apple.
  4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly in the pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes in the pan then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  5. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it with the icing. 

A FEW RECIPE NOTES

BUTTERMILK

This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of buttermilk. The buttermilk adds flavor and moisture and helps make the cake super tender. I highly recommend using it. That said, if you don’t have any and don’t have any plans to use it after making this cake, you can get away with a buttermilk substitute.

WHERE ARE THE NUTS AND RAISINS?

I omitted them! That’s right. I conducted a super scientific poll in my Instagram stories and found that the majority of people preferred carrot cake without nuts and raisins. I always thought it was just me, but turns out many felt the same way. So that’s why this beauty is nut and raisin free!

BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

Another thing that makes this cake special: brown sugar cream cheese icing! Why brown sugar? The molasses in the brown sugar gives it a slight caramel taste. It’s not an over the top caramel flavor but when combined with the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and a good amount of vanilla, it’s absolutely enough to make you want to lick your fork and plate clean.

HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

  1. USE ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS: It’s essential to use room temperature cream cheese and butter. I recommend taking these ingredients out for at least an hour before making the icing.
  2. SIFT THE POWDERED SUGAR: Even though it’s going to go into a mixer, I highly recommend sifting it first. It only takes a minute and makes sure you don’t have any little bumps of powdered sugar in your icing.
  3. USE FRESH BROWN SUGAR: Brown sugar can get hard lumps if it’s not fresh which will make the sugar harder to dissolve into the icing.
  4. SCRAPE DOWN THE SIDES OF THE BOWL: I do this with any icing I make, but it’s especially helpful with this recipe to make sure the flavors are combined and that the brown sugar has dissolved.
  5. ALLOW THE CAKE TO COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE ICING IT: I know it’s tempting to want to dig in ASAP, but wait til your cake has cooled completely before icing it. The icing could melt a bit and become a little runny if the cake is still warm and we don’t want that.

This Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing is my dream carrot cake recipe. Made with pumpkin, spices, carrots, an apple, it’s full of warm fall flavor and topped with an extra special cream cheese icing. This tender, moist cake is the perfect treat.

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Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 pieces 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Cakes
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Make this easy, from scratch Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing for a super fluffy, flavorful fall treat! Made with pumpkin puree, shredded carrots, a shredded apple and warm spices and generously topped with a delicious brown sugar cream cheese icing, this cake is a must bake treat perfect for the holidays!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE PUMPKIN CARROT CAKE

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup oil, vegetable or canola
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1 red apple, peeled and grated

FOR THE BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (leave it at room temperature for at least an hour before making)
  • 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted, plus more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

FOR THE PUMPKIN CARROT CAKE

  1. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F. 

  2. In large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the sugars and eggs. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin puree followed by the oil. Add the buttermilk alternatively with the dry ingredients, mixing just til combined. Stir in carrots and apple.

  4. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly in the pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes in the pan then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake has cooled, frost it with the icing. 

FOR THE BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

  1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter on medium speed for one minute until creamed and combined. Add the brown sugar and mix on medium for another minute. Mix in the vanilla then turn the mixer on low and gradually mix in the powdered sugar.

Keywords: pumpkin, carrot cake, pumpkin carrot cake, apple, cream cheese, brown sugar cream cheese icing, icing, fall

Baked Banana Donuts

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Baked Banana Donuts made with warm cinnamon and nutmeg and sweet, ripe bananas and dipped in a rich dark chocolate ganache! These banana donuts are baked, not fried making them easy to make any day of the week!

Chocolate ganache covered banana donut with a bite in it on top of another donut on a rack.

Tender, moist banana donuts made right in the oven and featuring hints of warm cinnamon and nutmeg and sweet banana flavor. These banana donuts are so flavorful they’ll make you glad some of your bananas have ripened on you! If you have even more bananas leftover, definitely make my all time favorite banana bread recipe!

I’m slowly but steadily adding to my baked donut recipe collection! If you love chocolate, these Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts are for you! For a brighter tasting treat, I love these Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts are the perfect treat anytime of the day or year! For a super fall flavored donut, I love Ina Garten’s Cinnamon Baked Donuts!

To make baked donuts, you’ll need a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape. My donut pans make six donuts, so I have two pans. Having two makes it easier to bake the whole batch at the same time!

WHY MAKE BAKED DONUTS AT HOME

  • They’re super easy to make! The batter is similar to but easier than a cake batter. No mixer is required and they bake up much faster. Also, unlike yeast doughnuts, no rising time is required.
  • There’s almost no mess to clean up. Since these are baked, not fried, there’s no messy oil to clean up or deal with.
  • They’re a little bit healthier. No oil not only makes them less messy, but also a little bit healthier.
Freshly baked banana bread donuts on a baking rack set on top of parchment paper.

HOW TO MAKE THIS BAKED BANANA DONUT RECIPE

  1. PREPARE THE DONUT PANS:  Grease the donut pans well and set aside.
  2. WHISK TO COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
  3. COMBINE THE WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, whisk together the egg and sugar til smooth and combined. Add the vanilla, milk or yogurt, mashed bananas and melted butter. Whisk this wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir til just combined. The batter will be pretty thick.
  4. FILL THE DONUT MOLDS: Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
  5. BAKE AND COOL: Bake donuts 8-10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
  6. MAKE THE GANACHE: Make the ganache while the donuts are baking or cooling.
  7. DECORATE THE DONUTS: Dunk the donuts in the ganache or spoon/drizzle it over the cooled donuts.
Baked banana donuts cooling on a rack next to a bowl of a rich chocolate glaze.

EASY DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

I can attest to the fact that these donuts are delicious plain! That said, everything is more delicious with a chocolate glaze. This glaze is super simple and very similar to the rich, sweet ganache is from my Boston cream pie cupcake recipe. The only difference was that I used dark chocolate chips instead of semi sweet and I added a little vanilla and a pinch of salt.

To make the ganache, or chocolate glaze, simply pour hot heavy cream over a bowl of chocolate chips. Let it sit for three minutes then stir til smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt.

A FEW SUBSTITUTION OPTIONS

One of my favorite things about this recipe is the simplicity of the ingredients and the steps! If you find you’re missing a few ingredients, check out these substitution options to see if there’s anything you can swap in before making an extra trip to the store!

  • Butter: I prefer melted butter for the flavor. Vegetable or canola oil is an easy swap for the butter.
  • Milk: Lots of substitution options here including buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream.
  • Nutmeg: I like the hint of nutmeg with the cinnamon. If you don’t have nutmeg, you can increase the amount of cinnamon to take its place.
  • Dark chocolate chips: Swap in chopped dark chocolate or chopped semi sweet chocolate. Semi sweet chocolate chips can also be used.
A plain banana donut on a rack surrounded by chocolate covered banana donuts.

Like most donuts, these donuts are at freshest and most flavorful if enjoyed the day they’re made. If you have any left after the first day, definitely store them in the fridge.

A batch of chocolate glaze dipped banana donuts on a cooling rack.

I hope you love the ease and deliciousness of these Baked Banana Donuts as much as I do! They’re tender, flavorful and so easy to make. I love them for dessert in the late summer or fall but have to admit they’re yummy any time of the day or year!

LOOKING FOR SOME MORE BANANA RECIPES, TRY MY:

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Baked Banana Donuts

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 donuts 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Baked Banana Donuts made warm with cinnamon, nutmeg, and  ripe bananas and dipped in rich chocolate ganache! These banana donuts are baked, not fried making them easy to make any day of the week!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, or vegetable oil
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2–3 medium bananas)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

  • 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt 

Instructions

FOR THE DONUTS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar til smooth and combined. Whisk in the  vanilla, milk, mashed bananas and melted butter.
  4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 
  5. Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
  6. Bake 8-10 minutes until toothpick comes out dry or edges are lightly browned. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

  1. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
  2. Allow to sit for 2 minutes then stir till smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Allow to cool slightly before using.

TO DECORATE THE DONUTS

  1. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Set the donuts glaze side up on a cooling rack set over a sheet of parchment or wax paper to catch any drips. Allow glaze to set or enjoy right away!

Keywords: donuts, baked donuts, doughnuts, cake donuts, bananas, ganache, chocolate, dark chocolate, icing, glaze, breakfast, dessert, fruit

Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Peanut Butter Buttercream

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Peanut butter Oatmeal buttercream filled cookie sandwiches on a baking sheet with a piping bag nearby.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Buttercream: soft, chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookies filled with an ultra luscious, creamy peanut butter buttercream making these the most delicious peanut butter sandwich cookies you’ll ever have! Peanutty, chocolatey, and melt in your mouth GOOD.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

One of the things I love about baking is there there are SO many opportunities to get creative. Last summer, I shared my recipe for Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies. It’s a classic peanut butter cookie….sweet, a little crumbly and full of peanut butter flavor.

I love those classic cookies, but have been wanting to make another, less classic peanut butter cookie for a while now. Enter these peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! They’re made with loads of peanut butter along with some delicious add ins to change up the flavor and texture!

ADD INS FOR FLAVOR AND TEXTURE

Cinnamon and vanilla add warmth and flavor while brown sugar and oatmeal add flavor and a bit of soft chewiness. My favorite add in though? You guessed it: chocolate chips! I couldn’t decide between dark and milk so decided they were better together. I think you’ll agree!

Peanut butter cookie dough with lots of milk and dark chocolate chips on top.

SANDWICH COOKIES

I love cookies on their own, but love a good cookie sandwich to up the decadence factor! Last month I took my favorite sour cream chocolate chip cookies and turned them into the easiest chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches! Speaking of ice cream sandwiches (and peanut butter), definitely check out my no churn peanut butter and jelly ice cream sandwiches!

NOT YOUR AVERAGE SANDWICH COOKIE

These cookies are soft and tender making them so eaaaasy to bite into. They cookies give way to the best sandwich filling ever: peanut butter buttercream! It’s sweet but not too sweet and is perfectly creamy and decadent. You’ll love every bite of these sandwiches!

A close up of peanut butter cookies topped with milk and dark chocolate chips and oats.

HOW TO MAKE THE COOKIES

These cookies are super simple to make!

  1. Start by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Next, beat the peanut butter and butter. Add the sugars followed by the egg and vanilla.
  3. Turn the mixer on low and add the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  4. Chill for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  5. Use a cookie scooper to form balls a tablespoon or a little more than a tablespoon in size. Place them 2 ” apart. Gently press down the tops of the balls with the palm of your hand. No need to flatten them out completely, just gently press down on the tops of them a little bit.
  6. Bake 8-10 minutes.

A FEW NOTES ABOUT THE RECIPE

The dough will be on the soft side and you’ll want to chill it for about 20 minutes before baking them. I use that 20 minutes to make the buttercream. You could also make the buttercream while the cookies are chilling.

As I mentioned, I couldn’t decide between milk and dark chocolate chips so I used a little of each! Feel free to use whichever chocolate you prefer. In addition to chocolate chips, you can use chocolate chunks or just chop up a milk or dark chocolate bar!

PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM FILLING

This peanut butter buttercream is the perfect filling for these cookie sandwiches. It’s rich and creamy, full of peanut butter flavor, but isn’t too sweet! It’s just perfect and will make everyone’s eyes go wide when they try them.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies on a baking sheet and coated with swirled peanut butter buttercream.

HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

In addition to being delicious, this peanut butter buttercream icing also happens to be very easy to make! By easy I mean one bowl, five ingredients, and less than five minutes to make!

To make the buttercream, simply:

  1. Beat the peanut butter and room temperature butter on medium. Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla and salt.
  2. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar and beat for another minute. Add the heavy cream and beat until buttercream is combined and spreadable. Use as soon as possible.

This buttercream recipe makes just under 2 cups of frosting and could definitely be used for cupcakes! If you want to mix things up here, and increase the chocolate factor, I dare you to try my nutella buttercream as your filling!

A close up of peanut butter cookie sandwiches filled with homemade peanut butter buttercream.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE THESE COOKIE SANDWICHES

Like making the cookies and the buttercream, this step is also super easy. Make sure your cookies are cooled completely first. Flip one of the cookies over and pipe, spoon or spread some filling over the middle of a cookie.

It doesn’t really matter what you use to spread the buttercream. Use whatever you have or what is easiest for you. I find a piping tip least messy, but you can also use a table knife, an offset spatula, or even the back of a spoon.

No need to spread it right to the edges since it will spread when you add the top cookie.

A stack of homemade chocolate chip cookie sandwiches filled with peanut butter buttercream.

ADD ON IDEAS

These are perfect as is but you can definitely have fun and add even more flavor if you like with ingredients like:

  • Jelly: Naturally because PB & J work! Spread about a half a tablespoon over the buttercream for some sweetness and color!
  • More Chocolate Chips: Once assembles, roll the middles of your sandwiches in mini or regular sized chocolate chips!
Delicious homemade cookie sandwiches with soft, chewy peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

Peanut butter lovers and all dessert lovers will love these Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Peanut Butter Buttercream! They’re interesting, soft, and melt in your mouth delicious! Make just the cookies, make just the buttercream, or make them both together for the perfect treat!

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Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Peanut Butter Buttercream

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 30 Cookies 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These peanut butter cookie sandwiches feature creamy homemade peanut butter buttercream sandwiched between soft, chewy peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! They’re easy to make and are irresistibly delicious! 

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES

  •  1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  •  1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (milk or dark or a combination of the two)

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

FOR THE COOKIES

  1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. 
  2. In the bowl of a hand held or stand mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the sugars and beat until until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla followed by the egg and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to stir in the chocolate chips until they are incorporated into the dough. 
  3. Use a cookie scoop to form balls a little larger than 1 tablespoon. Place balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Lightly push down on the tops of the cookies with the palm of your hand. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are very light brown.Let cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes then transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely. 

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

  1. Beat the peanut butter and room temperature butter on medium. Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla and salt.
  2. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar and beat for another minute. Add the heavy cream and beat until buttercream is combined and spreadable. Use as soon as possible.

Keywords: Cookies, peanut butter, buttercream, icing, peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate chips, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, oatmeal, brown sugar

Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts

by

Delicious baked blueberry donuts with lemon glaze on top on a cooling rack.

We’re just days away from the official first day of summer, but as far as these fresh, fruity blueberry donuts are concerned, summer is already here! These lemon blueberry cake donuts have all the must haves of summer baking, meaning they are: fresh, fruity, and easy. Just minutes to make the batter, ten minutes of baking and a two minute icing, what could be easier? They’re also full of bursts of fresh blueberries and pops of lemon flavor!

PERFECT SUMMER TREAT

My favorite way of eating fresh, in-season fruit? Fresh, of course. A close second, however, would be simple recipes like these Lemon Blueberry Donuts. Lemon and blueberry are perfect together and are so fresh tasting.

Whether you go blueberry picking or get some blueberries at the store, you’ll love how they taste in these donuts! I can’t mention blueberries without mentioning my Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake! It’s moist, rich, and has a homemade blueberry sauce swirled throughout!

MINIMAL BAKING TIME

No need to leave the oven on for an hour or even a half hour, these cake donuts bake up just about ten minutes. Meaning they leave you more time to enjoy the summer and that you don’t need to have your hot oven on for long.

Baked blueberry donuts topped with lemon glaze on a rack with lemon slices and blueberries nearby.

ABOUT BAKED DONUTS

I love classic yeast donuts, but I make cake donuts when I don’t have time to or feel like letting yeast rise and cleaning up a mess. The batter comes together like a cake batter and the donuts have more of a cake texture than a classic donut texture.

This is my second recipe for cake donuts, my first being these must-make Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts. If you love chocolate and donuts then you have to try them! They’re moist, tender, and, of course, super chocolatey!

THESE BAKED DONUTS ARE:

  • Slightly healthier: They’re not fried in oil, so are a bit healthier.
  • Simple: Just mix the batter and pour it into the pan.
  • Less Messy: No counter to clean off or oil to deal with.
  • Fun: Who doesn’t love the sight of donuts especially when they’re coming out of your oven!
  • Delicious: They have a cake-like, light, fluffy, moist texture and super chocolatey taste!

To make baked donuts, you’ll need a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape.My donut pans make six donuts, so I have two pans. Just makes it easier to bake them all at once using two pans!

Golden, delicious homemade blueberry cake donuts on a cooling rack.

HOW TO MAKE THIS BLUEBERRY CAKE DONUT RECIPE

This recipe require just two bowls (one for wet ingredients, one for dry), a few simple steps, ten minutes to bake and a three-ingredient glaze.

To make the batter, in a large bowl, whisk to combine the dry ingredients. Next, whisk together the egg, vanilla, milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. Stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and fold in the blueberries.

*A note about mixing the wet and dry ingredients: Be ready to add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients right away. If you mix the melted butter into the egg/yogurt mixture then let it sit, it can clump up pretty quickly.

I find the easiest way to neatly and evenly get the thick batter in the pan is by filling a piping bag or zip lock bag and snipping off a corner. Fill them about 3/4 or a little more than 3/4 full. Bake 8-10 minutes then let them cool on a rack before adding the glaze and decorations.

Lemon glaze with specks of lemon zest in a bowl with a spoon in it.

EASY LEMON ICING

I can attest to the fact that these donuts are delicious plain! That said, I loved the added sweetness of this easy lemon icing. It also brings out all the lemon flavor of the donuts!

To make the icing, you just stir together some powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until smooth. No need to sift the powdered sugar since it’ll pretty much dissolve/melt with the lemon juice.

This tart, sweet icing is the same icing I used for both my Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars and Sour Cream Lemon Cookies! They’re so delicious and so are these donuts!

Plain and glazed baked blueberry cake donuts on a rack.

Like most donuts, these donuts are at freshest and most flavorful if enjoyed the day they’re made. If you have any left after the first day, definitely store them in the fridge.

Cannot wait for you to make these Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts! I would make them even if they took more effort and time to make because they’re that GOOD! Bonus that these delicious baked donuts are quick and easy!

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Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 11 minutes
  • Total Time: 26 minutes
  • Yield: 10 donuts 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts are easy enough to make any day of the week! Moist, tender and delicious, they’re filled with fresh lemon and blueberries and topped with a tart-sweet lemon icing!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup blueberries

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1–3 tablespoons lemon juice, milk or heavy cream

Instructions

FOR THE DONUTS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, milk lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. Stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently stir in blueberries
  5. Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
  6. Bake 9-11 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

  1. In a medium sized bowl, stir the lemon juice, lemon zest and powdered sugar together .

TO DECORATE THE DONUTS

  1. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Allow glaze to set or enjoy right away!

Keywords: donuts, baked donuts, doughnuts, cake donuts, blueberry, blueberries, lemon, lemon glaze, lemon icing, breakfast, dessert, fruit

Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts

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Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts: double chocolate donuts, chocolate glaze, flaky sea salt, and rainbow sprinkles. Baked means there’s no big mess to clean up here. Delicious, fast and easy leaving you lots of time to get outside now the beautiful summertime weather!

A tower of chocolate donuts. Some are topped with sprinkles and some with sea salt!

MAKING DONUTS AT HOME

I love donuts, but tend to think of them as something that requires several steps and leaves a bit of a mess. There’s no replacing freshly fried donuts, but it’s nice to know that it’s also possible to bake donuts.

Judging by the number of baked donut recipes I am accumulating on my blog, you can tell I love them! They’re so easy and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or anytime of the day. For a tangy-sweet, bright tasting donut, I love these Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts!

A close up of chocolate cake donuts on a rack topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles

BAKED DONUTS ARE:

  • Slightly healthier: They’re not fried in oil so are a bit healthier
  • Simple: Just mix the batter and pour it into the pan.
  • Less Messy: No counter to clean off or oil to deal with
  • Fun: Who doesn’t love the sight of donuts especially when they’re coming out of your oven!
  • Delicious: They have a cake-like, light, fluffy, moist texture and super chocolatey taste!

To make baked donuts, you’ll need a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape.My donut pans make six donuts, so I have two pans. Just makes it easier to bake them all at once using two pans!

CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE, AND MORE CHOCOLATE

The batter for these chocolate donuts is made with both cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. To top off the chocolatey flavor, the simple two-ingredient glaze is made with warm heavy cream poured over semi-sweet chocolate chips.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE DONUTS

These donuts require just two bowls (one for wet ingredients, one for dry), a few simple steps, ten minutes or less to bake and a two-ingredient glaze. The batter comes together and looks a lot like cake batter.

Delicious looking chocolate cake donut batter in a blue bowl.

To make the batter, whisk to combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Next, whisk together the egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk and melted butter in a medium sized bowl. After that you simply stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients.

A note about mixing the wet and dry ingredients: Be ready to add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients right away. If you mix the melted butter into the egg/yogurt mixture then let it sit, it can clump up pretty quickly.

I find the easiest way to neatly and evenly get the thick batter in the pan is by filling a piping bag or zip lock bag and snipping off a corner. Fill them about 3/4 or a little more than 3/4 full. Bake 8-10 minutes then let them cool on a rack before adding the glaze and decorations.

Freshly baked fluffy chocolate donuts with mini chocolate chips on a rack
Chocolate frosted donuts topped with sprinkles and sea salt on a black rack.

THREE MINUTE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

I can attest to the fact that these donuts are delicious plain! That said, everything is more delicious with frosting. This frosting is actually just a simple two-ingredient, three minute ganache.

To make the ganache, or chocolate glaze, simply pour hot heavy cream over a bowl of chocolate chips. Let it sit for three minutes then stir til smooth.

This rich, sweet ganache is from my Boston cream pie cupcake recipe. It’s delicious and so are these cupcakes!

DECORATING THE DONUTS

Let the ganache cool slightly then dip each donut upside down into the ganache. This will give the donuts the most delicious chocolate glaze tops! Set the fresly glazed donuts on a cooling rack.

The glaze will also act like a glue for whatever you choose to sprinkle on top. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt or some colorful rainbow sprinkles. You could even keep the chocolate flavors going by sprinkling chocolate sprinkles!

a rich chocolate cake donut topped with shiny chocolate ganache and rainbow sprinkles

Like most donuts, these donuts are at freshest and most flavorful if enjoyed the day they’re made. If you keep them around for more than a day, definitely store them in the fridge.

Decadent frosting covered chocolate donuts coated in sprinkles next to a bowl filled with chocolate

These super easy Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts are the perfect way to satisfy both chocolate and donut cravings! You won’t believe how quick they are to make and how quickly they will disappear once baked!

For more delicious chocolate recipes, try my:

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake

Edible Brownie Batter

Chocolate Brownie Meringue Cake

Peanut Butter Stuffed Salted Brownie Cookies

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Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 25
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 10 donuts 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Baking
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE DONUTS

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened natural or Dutch processed
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted or vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup yogurt
  • 1/4 cup milk

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE GLAZE

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

FOR DECORATION

  • sea salt flakes
  • sprinkles

Instructions

FOR THE DONUTS

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease donut molds well with butter.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk and melted butter. 
  4. Stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 3/4 full and full.
  6. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  1. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
  2. Allow to sit for 3 minutes then stir till smooth. Allow to cool slightly before using.

TO DECORATE THE DONUTS

  1. Dip the donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Sprinkle with sprinkles or sea salt. Enjoy!

Keywords: donuts, doughnuts, chocolate, ganache, frosting, glazed, sprinkles, sea salt, icing, baked donuts, cocoa, chocolate chips

Giant Strawberry Pop Tart

by

Your eyes are not deceiving you- this really is a giant strawberry pop tart! Yep-a nine portion version of one of your favorite childhood treats! Just like the original, but instead of warming it in your toaster, you’ll bake it fresh in your oven. It has a tender, super delicious crust, is bursting with strawberry jam and topped with the easiest, most delicious icing and some fun, rainbow sprinkles!

WHY MAKE A GIANT POP TART?

Social distancing definitely has me craving comfort food. One comfort food I used to love to tear into as a kid are pop tarts. I love baking with strawberries (check out my incredibly yummy roasted strawberry crumb bars), and love strawberry pop tarts, so went with strawberry pop tarts!

Blueberry is also a favorite pie/pop tart filling of mine. If you love blueberry, you’ll love my blueberry cream cheese pound cake filled with homemade blueberry sauce!

A giant homemade strawberry pop tart with icing and sprinkles on top!

My first batch of pop tarts were really good, but they seemed a more like regular hand pies. I wanted my pop tarts to be a bit more special with lead me to……a giant pop tart!

THIS GIANT POP TART IS:

  • Fun! Fun to make, look at and eat!
  • Like Real Pop Tarts: They have a similar pastry and jam filling and really look like a giant pop tart.
  • Cleaner and Fresher: No need for preservatives and you’ll taste a huge difference in freshness.
  • A Perfect Dessert: It wouldn’t be too cool to serve real pop tarts for dessert, but a giant pop tart is basically like serving a pie! Also, unlike real pop tarts, this giant lets you choose between middle and edge pieces!
Slices of a homemade strawberry pop tart

HOW TO MAKE A GIANT POP TART

This giant pop tart can be homemade or semi homemade with the help of store bought jam and/or pie crust.

HOW TO MAKE THE SEMI HOMEMADE VERSION

For semi homemade, you can skip making the pie crust and jam and go straight to assembling your pop tart. It’s definitely a great option that’ll save you some time and spare you some dish washing.

I recommend you still make the icing because I’m not sure what you’d buy as a substitute and it is literally the easiest icing you can make.

A handwritten recipe for pie crust out of a family cookbook.

HOW TO MAKE THE HOMEMADE VERSION

To make homemade pop tarts, you’ll need to start by making a pie crust. I start with this step because it needs a couple of hours in the fridge before it’s ready to be used.

ABOUT THE PIE CRUST

I started with my great grandmother’s recipe (pictured above), but made a few tweaks to it. I added some sugar and replaced the lard with more butter.

PIE DOUGH TEMPERATURE

The most important thing to keep in mind when making the dough is to keep the ingredients and dough cold. Bon Appetit has a cool article on the why and the how of keeping pie dough cold.

When making the dough, I like to first cut my butter into cubes and then stick it back in the fridge while I measure out my dry ingredients.

A ball of handmade pastry dough on plastic wrap.

MAKING THE DOUGH

Start by pulsing together the dry ingredients in a food processor so that they’re mixed together. Next, pulse in the chopped butter followed by the ice water.

Swirling an ice cube around in your cold water is a good idea because sometimes cold water straight from the tap is more room temperature. Add the water in a tablespoon at a time while you pulse it into the dry ingredients. You’ll add about 4-5 tablespoons of water until you see that the dough is just coming together. You definitely don’t want it to be wet/sticky.

It’s even helpful to have two sheets of plastic wrap already on the counter and ready for some dough to land on it. Just divide the dough in half, gently push down on the dough to form two disks, wrap each disk up nicely with the plastic wrap and put them in the fridge.

MAKING THE JAM

I like to make the jam after the dough since it doesn’t need as much fridge time. Putting the jam in the fridge allows it to cool and also helps it thicken up a bit more.

A delicious slice of a homemade giant pop tart loaded with strawberry jam and topped with sprinkles.

ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH

Once your dough is chilled and ready to go, you’ll want to have the following tools:

  • a ruler
  • a well floured rolling pin
  • a sharp knife or pizza cutter: for trimming the edges
  • a parchment paper lined baking sheet
  • a pastry brush or two: one for brushing the egg wash and one for brushing off excess flour off your dough

Be gentle when rolling out your dough and transferring it to the baking sheet. At the same time, don’t worry if it’s not the perfect 9″ x 12″ rectangle. It’s homemade and some of the beauty of homemade is seeing the imperfections.

Once your dough is rolled out, spread the jam leaving about a 1 ” border. Brush the border with egg wash, but don’t discard the egg wash since you’ll use it on the top of the pop tart to help it get nice and golden when it bakes.

Pie crust rolled out in a rectangle covered with bright red strawberry jam.

Once your top layer is on, go ahead and trim any extra dough if needed. Use your fingertips to gently press the edges together and then use a fork to press indentations in the edges. This part is fun because you really start to see it look like a pop tart.

Next, you’ll put some holes in the top of your tart to allow steam to release as it bakes. You could do larger slits as you would with a pie, but I like the small holes to keep it looking more like a pop tart. Make the holes with a toothpick or the tines of a fork.

A big homemade pop tart brushed with egg on a baking sheet.

Almost done! Just pop it in the fridge for another half hour then brush it with egg wash and bake it!

The icing will take you all of two minutes to make. Just stir together powdered sugar, heavy cream, milk and vanilla. I like the richness that heavy cream adds but if you don’t have any, you can still make the icing with milk in place of heavy cream.

Feel free to drizzle the icing over top or spoon and spread it. Sprinkles are optional but highly recommended!

A simple powdered sugar icing in a white bowl with a spoon.
An overhead view of a strawberry pop tart sliced into rectangles.

HOW TO ENJOY YOUR POP TARTS

To serve, cut pop tarts into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Since it was baked as a giant loaded with filling, it tends to work better when served on a plate rather than hand held!

A close up of a homemade pop tart filled with homemade strawberry jam on a plate.

This giant strawberry pop tart really is the coolest, most fun seasonal dessert to make this spring or summer! It’s a retro treat that’ll take you back to your childhood while allowing you to enjoy some delicious, seasonal strawberry flavor!

FOR MORE FRUIT FILLED DESSERTS, CHECK OUT MY:

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Giant Strawberry Pop Tart

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 1 Giant pop tart, 9 individual pop tarts 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Baking
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This Giant Strawberry Pop Tart recipe is an easy, homemade version of a comfort food classic dessert! Includes recipes for delicious, from scratch pie dough and strawberry jam and options for easy store bought swap outs! All coated in a simple, super easy icing and topped with rainbow sprinkles!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE JAM FILLING (Use recipe below or about 1 cup store bought jam)

  • 3 cups strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
  • 1/4–1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 1/2– 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

FOR THE CRUST (Use recipe below or store bought pie crust)

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 4–5 tablespoons ice cold water

FOR THE EGG WASH

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon milk

FOR THE ICING

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

FOR THE DECORATION

  • Rainbow sprinkles 

Instructions

FOR THE STRAWBERRY JAM FILLING

  1. Add the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest, salt and cornstarch to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often for 5-7 minutes or until jam thickens. Stir in vanilla then pour jam into a bowl. Place bowl in the fridge to cool. Jam will continue to thicken as it cools. 

FOR THE DOUGH

  1. Chop butter into cubes and place in the fridge while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Fill a small bowl with some cold water and an ice cube. Stir the ice cube around a bit and set bowl aside.
  3. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the dough forms pea sized balls. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time while continuing to pulse mixture until it is just combined. 
  4. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Loosely wrap each ball in plastic wrap and gently press each dough ball into a disk shape. Place each disk in the fridge for at least two hours or up to two days. 
  5. When ready to assemble pop tart, remove the dough from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, generously flour your counter, and prepare your egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk. Set aside. 
  6. Roll the first disk out on your floured counter into a rectangle about 1/8″ thickness and 9″ x 12″ in size. If needed, use a pizza cutter or knife to trim the edges.
  7. Gently transfer dough to the baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the fridge. Roll out second disk the same size as the first one. 
  8. Spoon the jam onto the crust and spread it with the back of your spoon or an offset spatula, leaving about a one inch border. Brush the edges of the bottom layer with the egg wash. Carefully place the top crust over the bottom crust. Gently press the edges of the dough with your finger tips to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Use a fork to crimp all the edges. (Lightly dip fork in flour if needed to prevent sticking). Use a fork or a toothpick to poke holes throughout the dough and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  9. Remove dough from fridge and brush allover with the egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown, rotating pan halfway through cooking. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before icing. 

FOR THE ICING

  1. Stir together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, milk, and vanilla. Pour and spread over the pop tart. Top with sprinkles as desired!

 

Keywords: pop tart, pop tarts, giant pop tart, strawberry, strawberry jam, strawberries, pie crust, pie, pie dough

Lemon Sour Cream Cookies

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Soft, puffy lemon cookies dripping with icing and specks of lemon zest on a cooling rack.

For the softest cookies, make sour cream cookies! For the softest lemony cookies, make THESE Lemon Sour Cream Cookies! The sour cream makes the cookies soft and gives them a nice tangy flavor. These cakey cookies get their bright lemon flavor from the lemon zest and juice in the cookie batter and icing. Cannot wait for you to try these soft, lemony cookies with their thick, tart, sweet lemon icing!

This is my second variation of my great grandmother’s recipe for sour cream cookies. I made a chocolate chip version a couple months ago and the cookies are heavenly!

Now it’s time for one of my other favorite flavors: lemon. I omitted the vanilla from the original sour cream cookie recipe because the fresh lemon provides all the flavor! In addition to making the cookies soft, the sour cream adds a nice tangy flavor.

I now have two favorite lemon cookies: these lemon sour cream cookies and my lemon pistachio shortbread cookies!

A soft sour cream cookie coated with lemon icing on top lemon slices.

EASY AND QUICK

These from scratch cookies are just about as easy as a boxed mix. By easy, I mean no need to roll out the dough. You just scoop and bake. By quick, I mean no need to chill the dough. It can go straight from the mixing bowl to the tray to the oven.

The lemon icing is also super simple. Just mix together three ingredients: lemon juice, lemon zest, and powdered sugar.

Lemon cookie dough with a paddle in a mixing bowl.

HOW TO MAKE LEMON SOUR CREAM COOKIES

Before creaming the butter and sugar, start by getting the rest of your materials and ingredients ready:

  • Preheat the oven and line the baking trays with parchment paper.
  • Sift the dry ingredients together.
  • Zest and juice the lemons.
  • Measure out the sour cream.

Now, it’s time to combine the ingredients (make sure to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you add ingredients).

  • Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the egg and lemon zest and juice.
  • Alternatively add the dry ingredients with the sour cream.
Lemon sour cream cookie dough in balls on a baking sheet.

Time to bake the cookies:

  • Form into balls of about 2 tablespoons of batter each. I like to use a cookie scoop for this to make sure the balls are the same size. Bake 10-12 minutes.
  • Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and make sure to let them cool completely before icing them.
Fresh puffy, cakey cookies on cooling rack.

HOW TO MAKE LEMON ICING

In addition to being super yummy and addicting, the lemon-powdered sugar icing takes less than a minute to make. All you’ll do is stir together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice!

It can be drizzled over the cookies or spooned/spread over them. To spread the icing as I did, just take a teaspoon or two of icing and pour it over the centers of the cookies. Use the back of the spoon to help it slide down and coat the cookies evenly.

A lemony sour cream cookie dripping with icing on a rack.
soft, puffy sour cream cookies with lemon dripping with lemon icing.
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soft lemon cookies with icing on a rack

Lemon Sour Cream Cookies

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 27 minutes
  • Yield: 18–24 cookies 1x
  • Category: Desserts, Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This easy recipe for Lemon Sour Cream Cookies makes cakey, soft, tender cookies filled with bright lemon flavor! No chill and ready ready in about 30 minutes!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • juice f 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

FOR THE LEMON ICING

  • 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt Set aside.
  3. Cream the sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer on medium speed until just combined.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the egg, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until combined.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, alternatively add the dry ingredients with the sour cream.
  6. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet. Place them 2″ apart.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before then transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
  8. Once cooled, use the back of a spoon to drop and spread about 1-2 teaspoons of icing on top of each cookie or drizzle the icing on top.

FOR THE ICING

  1. In a medium sized bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the lemon zest and juice and use a whisk or spoon to combine.

Keywords: Cookies, lemon, lemon zest, lemon juice, sour cream, soft cookies, icing, glaze, frosting, dessert, citrus

Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars

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sliced fresh strawberry crumble bars drizzled with lemon icing.

These roasted strawberry crumb bars have a soft, buttery crust and crumbly topping and are filled with a layer of sweet roasted strawberries. Topped with strawberry slices and a drizzle of a simple, two ingredient tangy-sweet lemon glaze, they make the prettiest strawberry bars for anytime of the day or year!

It’s not strawberry season yet, but I definitely find myself craving something fresh and bright looking and tasting. With the zest and juice of a lemon along with sweet roasted strawberries, these bars are exactly what my eyes and taste buds needed!

I know they look a little like strawberry pizza! I made these bars in a round form to give them a pie look since the roasted strawberries make it taste a little like a pie.

They are soft, sweet bars that can be eaten with a for or with your hands. You can easily bake them in a square form if you want to be able to cut them into squares.

Sliced and quartered fresh strawberry slices on parchment paper.

HOW TO ROAST STRAWBERRIES

Since it isn’t strawberry season and I can’t get fresh, local berries, I roast the strawberries to bring out more of their flavor and sweetness. I first roasted strawberries when I came up with my roasted strawberry ice cream recipe!

Roasting them is easy and worth the 15-17 minutes! Just slice them, toss them with a little sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice then lay them on a tray and put them in the oven. Stir halfway through roasting then let them cool. It’s important not to discard whatever juice they’ve given off when roasting.

Once the strawberries are cool, mash or lightly chop them. They’ll be soft after roasting and will break apart on their own when you stir them. I like to mash them but leave some little chunks. You’ll then stir in some lemon zest and corn starch for flavor and to thicken them when they bake.

Freshly roasted dark red strawberries topped with grated lemon zest and corn starch in a bowl. .

STRAWBERRY HEART TOPPING

I hadn’t planned on making strawberry hearts, but I couldn’t resist. The heart shapes are optional but they give the bars an extra sweet, feel! I made them with both small and larger strawberries before and, while I love both, I am partial to using larger berries since they stand out a bit more.

Strawberries already have somewhat of a natural heart shape, so it’s easy to turn them into heart shapes. Start by chopping the tops off, coring them and slicing them into 1/4″ slices. With a sharp paring knife, cut a small v shape in the top of your slice. Gently round the inner and outer corners of the tops. If you like, you can trim the lower sides to make them more heart shaped.

HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE BARS

  1. Roast the strawberries: With your oven at 350 F, roast the strawberries. Assemble the rest of your ingredients while the strawberries are in the oven. Once roasted and cooled slightly, mash or chop the berries and add the lemon zest and corn starch.
  2. Line an 8” round pan: Line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it very easy to pop the bars out once cooled.
  3. Prepare the wet and dry ingredients: Whisk the flour and baking powder together. No need to add salt since we are using salted butter. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
  4. Cut the flour into the flour: Use a pastry cutter or food processor for this. Make sure you use very cold butter which means don’t take it out of the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Chop the butter into small cubes and add it to a food processor. Pulse for about 20 seconds until you have little clumps of butter/flour that are about the size of peas.
  5. Put it all together: Pour the flour/butter mixture into your wet ingredients. Pour 2/3 of this into the bottom of your baking pan. Use your hands to firmly press it into the pan. Spread the roasted strawberries on top of the crust. Top with the remaining 1/3 dough. Drop it in small balls scattered throughout the top. Top with strawberry slices and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown.
  6. Cool: Place the pan on a cooling rack to cool. Once cool, remove by first running a knife along the edges of the pan. Stick the knife inside and gently lift the bars up. They should slide right out. Top with the easy powdered sugar lemon juice icing.
Flour and cubed butter in the bowl of a food processor.
Butter and flour mixed together in pea sized balls in a bowl.
A pan of freshly baked strawberry Crumb bars on a cooling rack next to a bowl of strawberries.

TOP WITH LEMON POWDERED SUGAR ICING

The two ingredient powdered sugar-lemon icing is the perfect way to top these dreamy bars. It brings out the lemon flavors from the filling and adds an amazing tart-sweet flavor to the top. It will definitely have you licking your fingers if you eat the bars with your hands!

I first saw the recipe for this simple icing in one of my old cookbooks. When I also noticed that both Sally’s Baking Addiction and Katiebird Bakes both used it in their strawberry bars recipes, I knew this was the perfect glaze for these bars!

Freshly sliced strawberry bars with topped with strawberries with a knife next to them.
a close up picture of a strawberry crumb bar with white lemon glaze on top.
Strawberry crumb dessert with a bite taken out of it and topped with icing.

These bars are such a treat! Whether you make them for breakfast or dessert, during strawberry season or not, I’m sure you’ll love them!

FOR MORE DELICIOUS STRAWBERRY RECIPES, TRY MY:

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Fresh strawberry crumble bars drizzled with a lemon powdered sugar icing

Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8–16 slices or bars 1x
  • Category: Baking, Bars, Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This recipe for soft, easy Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars makes sweet, flavorful bars topped with a tart-sweet lemon icing! 

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Ingredients

FOR THE ROASTED STRAWBERRIES

  • 2 cups (about 1/2 lb) strawberries, hulled and halved if small or quartered if large
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon (add after roasting)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (add after roasting)

FOR THE BASE AND TOPPING 

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

FOR OPTIONAL STRAWBERRY DECORATIONS 

  • About 1/2 to 1 cup of washed, halved strawberries (left as halves or cut into heart shapes or some regular halves and some heart shaped halves)

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

FOR THE ROASTED STRAWBERRIES

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Toss the strawberries with the sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to coat. Place the strawberries and liquid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 15-17 minutes, stirring halfway. Pour roasted strawberries carefully into a bowl along with their liquid and stir in the vanilla and cornstarch. Lightly mash or chop the berries then set them aside to cool. 

FOR THE BASE AND TOPPING

  1. Line the bottom of an 8″ round pan with parchment paper. Set aside. 
  2. Combine the brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. 
  3. Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or place the flour mixture and chopped butter into a food processor. Pulse for about 20 seconds until pea sized crumbs form.
  4. Pour the sugar mixture into the flour/butter mixture. Spoon about 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Use your hands to firmly press the mixture down so that it is good and compact. Spread the roasted strawberries evenly over the base. Top with the reserved 1/3 of the crumb mixture. It might clump together. Break the dough into little balls and scatter them throughout the top. 
  5. Add sliced strawberries or heart shaped strawberry slices to the top. Add as many or as little as you like. 
  6. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden. 
  7. Remove from oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Cool it at room temperature or place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. 
  8. Once cooled, stir the lemon juice and sifted powdered sugar together and drizzle over the entire crumble or over individual slices. 

 

 

Keywords: Strawberries, dessert, icing, lemon, zest, powdered sugar, roasted strawberries, crumb, crumble, bars

Blood Orange Cookies

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Here are some blood orange cookies that taste as good as they look! These soft, cakey cookies are infused with blood orange zest and juice and topped with a naturally pink blood orange glaze. They are one of a kind looking cookies, incredibly delicious and super easy to make!

BAKING WITH BLOOD ORANGES

This is my second blood orange recipe this month. I think the fact that they are not available year round makes me eager to bake with them while I can.

If it’s not blood orange season or if you can’t find blood oranges, you can substitute lemon and/or navel oranges. You won’t get that bright pink color, but you’ll get all the citrus flavor.

THESE BLOOD ORANGE COOKIES ARE:

  • Refreshing: Their vibrant colors and fresh taste are refreshing to see and taste!
  • Pretty: They have a 100% natural pink color making them perfect for Valentine’s Day.
  • Soft: The dough has both sour cream and brown sugar which makes the cookies slightly chewy and super soft.
  • Easy: The cookies have a no chill dough and simple two-ingredient icing.

ABOUT THE COOKIES

This recipe uses my great grandmother’s sour cream cookie recipe with the addition of the zest from 2 blood oranges along with a tablespoon of juice for that citrusy flavor.

You can make the cookies flat or puffy. The only difference in making them is whether you keep the dough in ball form or flatten the balls before baking. The picture below shows how they looked if baked as balls.

They look good either way and taste the same, so it’s a personal preference. It’s definitely easier to bake them in ball form. If you’re short on time, I’d suggest you skip the flattening step. If you want to top each cookie with a slice of blood orange, you might want to flatten them before baking.

HOW TO MAKE BLOOD ORANGE COOKIES:

  1. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
  2. Add the sugars and butter in a bowl and mix to combine. (This can be done with a hand mixer, but is so much easier with a stand mixer).
  3. Add the beaten egg followed by the orange zest and juice. Make sure to scrape down the sides of your bowl as you add additional ingredients.
  4. Turn the mixer to low speed so you don’t end up with flour flying all over before this next step. Alternatively add the sour cream and dry ingredients.

5. Once the dough is all mixed, form into balls of about 2 tablespoons of batter each. I use a cookie scoop for this to make sure the balls are the same size. Set them at least 2″ apart since they will spread a bit.

6.For round, puffy cookies, bake as balls. For flatter cookies, lightly flour the bottom of a glass and press each ball down before baking.

7. Bake until they just start to become golden brown on the tops, 9-11 minutes.

MAKING THE ICING

Once baked, you’ll notice the cookies have a pretty light yellow color with specks of zest in them. They are beautiful and sweet as is, but adding the blood orange icing makes them even prettier and sweeter.

I highly recommend sifting the powdered sugar before mixing it with the juice. Sifting will break up any lumps. The cookies are not as pretty if they have little lumps of powdered sugar in the icing.

Next, just whisk the juice from one blood orange with the cup and a half of powdered sugar.

DECORATING THE COOKIES

There are several ways to ice the cookies. You can:

  • Spoon half a teaspoon of icing on each cookie and spread it around the top with the spoon.
  • Dip the top of the cookie into the icing.
  • Use a spoon to drizzle icing over the top in a zig zag pattern.

Feel free to zest a bit more zest over the freshly iced cookies if you like! The zest will give them additional flavor, make them even prettier and will let people know they are citrus flavored.

It can also be pretty to add a peeled blood orange slice on top of the cookies. You can an entire thinly sliced round or cut it into quarters for easier-to-eat bites. The orange slices will make the icing run, so it won’t be as vibrant the next day. I’d recommend adding slices only if you’re planning to eat them the same day.

You end up with such delicious, pretty cookies when you make this fun, easy recipe. I hope they brighten up your day as much as they did mine!

FOR MORE FRUIT-FILLED BAKING RECIPES, TRY MY:

BLACKBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE COFFEE CAKE

PEACH AND PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

LEMON PISTACHIO POMEGRANATE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

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Blood Orange Cookies

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 3 dozen 1x
  • Category: Cookies, Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These easy blood orange cookies are soft and tender with a fragrant citrus flavor and are drizzled with sweet blood orange icing. Make them with lemon or oranges!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE BLOOD ORANGE ICING   

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Juice of 1 blood orange 

FOR THE COOKIES

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons blood orange zest (from about 2 blood oranges)
  • 1 tablespoon blood orange juice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt Set aside.
  3. Cream the sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer on medium speed until just combined.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the egg and blend well then add the zest and juice.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, alternatively add the dry ingredients with the sour cream.
  6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  7. Use a 1.5 to 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet. Place them 2″ apart. Use the bottom of a lightly floured round glass to flatten them.
  8. Bake 9-11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before then transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Keywords: cookies, blood oranges, blood orange icing, citrus, lemon, fruit

Molasses Marble Cake

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molasses marble cake slices with cream cheese frosting on parchment paper

In addition to cookies and gingerbread, ever wonder what molasses tastes good in?! Cake! Specifically, this Molasses Marble Cake. Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and topped with a thin cream cheese frosting, this cake is delicious and as homemade tasting as they come!

As a food nerd (you might be one too if you’re reading this), I get excited thinking and talking about molasses! This syrupy byproduct of the sugar making process is one of those special ingredients because of it’s strikingly dark color and standout smell and taste.

a bowl with cake batter, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and a spoon in it

Molasses has a sweet, warming flavor which explains why it starts to show up more in recipes in fall and winter. It goes so well the equally warming, spicy flavors of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg that are also in this recipe! You’ll love how the cake tastes with creamy, sweet cream cheese frosting!

In addition to an amazing taste, this cake is also stunning and fun to make. If you’ve never marbled a cake before, you’ll love how easy it is. It makes a fancy looking cake without the need for a difficult technique or special equipment.

You’ll start preparing the cake as you would with most cakes by creaming the butter and sugars and adding the eggs and dry ingredients. The most important thing to remember when making this cake (this goes for me as well since I forgot once) is to make sure to hold off adding the molasses and spices until after you’ve divided your batter!

Once you have your two batters, you just drop the batter into a checkerboard patter. Take a knife to swirl from one end to the other. Rotate the pan a quarter turn and, with a clean knife, swirl again and that’s it.

The cream cheese frosting is simple and only takes a few minutes to whip together. I made it with an in between consistency here because I wanted a creamier topping. This cake is also so pretty with just a thin drizzle of icing which allows the marbled top to show.

Molasses IS sold year round, so I think this Molasses Marble Cake might make me crave molasses in the spring and summer as well!

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molasses marble cake slices with cream cheese frosting on browna parchment paper lined baking sheet with a spoon on it and two glasses of milk behind it

Molasses Marble Cake

  • Author: Natalie
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cake 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Sweetened with molasses and brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, you’ll love this easy, delicious, from scratch Molasses Marble Cake recipe!

Scale

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

FOR THE ICING

  • 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 teaspoons milk

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 5′ loaf pan. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy (about two minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  4. Alternatively add the dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Once mixed together, divide the batter into two bowls. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and molasses to one half of the batter.
  5. Alternatively drop a tablespoon of each of the batters in a checkerboard pattern. Once you finish the first layer, drop tablespoons of the other batter on top of each of the first squares. You should have two layers of about 5 rows of three.
  6. To marble the cake, gently run a knife through the batter using a swirling motion. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the cake on a rack to cool in the pan for ten minutes and then remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool on the rack.

FOR THE ICING

1. Blend the butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat in the vanilla and add the powdered sugar a bit at a time. Add the milk and blend until smooth.

Notes

Add more milk to the icing for a thinner consistency or more powdered sugar for a thicker consistency, if desired.

Keywords: molasses, cake, cream cheese, powdered sugar, icing, cinnamon, dessert