I’d never go so far as to say that baked doughnuts are better than fried doughnuts. That’s downright madness. Perhaps we can we all just agree that they’re good… like, really really good. Right?
Baked doughnuts are the real life version of Homer Simpson doughnuts that we get to eat without being cartoons ourselves. They’re emoji doughnuts, in our hands, for our bellies. Just a little bit of magic. That’s all I’m saying.
I do have a history with baked doughnuts. Call me biased. See: Brown Butter with Chocolate Glaze or Double Chocolate Cake or Sweet Apple Cinnamon.
Today I’ve combined my love for cartoon-esque baked doughnuts with my love for Black and White Cookies and a bonus rainbow cloth because we’re worth it.
Let’s doughnut like we always do!
I feel really good about how these brown butter doughnuts come together… mostly because it’s really simple!
Flour + sugar + spice + everything nice (i.e.: nutmeg and buttermilk).
Browned butter is an essential ingredient in these doughnuts. It adds a lovely depth and nuttiness to the cake-y doughnuts.
Browned butter is mixed (browned bits and all) with buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Dry ingredients are fluffed together and whisked.
Wet ingredients are whisked up just right and mixed with the dry ingredients. Wet + Dry. Simple cooking math.
… Except please don’t be like me and forget to add the granulated sugar to the dry ingredients…
That’s just real life baking for ya.
I think this baked doughnut pan is one of the better trendy kitchen thing-y things I’ve bought in a long time.
Next up: an individual banana holder. Not really. Not really at all.
Baked up golden brown, these doughnuts are soft and tender and sweet.
Chocolate and vanilla glazes are thick enough to be juuust spreadable. Color sprinkles at the ready!
It takes a bit of willpower to graciously glaze each half of each doughnut without taking a bite out of each one. I wish you luck.
I like sprinkles on one side of the doughnut because that’s just the kind of girl I am.
It’s like the choose-you-own-adventure baked doughnut! Start with the more serious dark chocolate half or dive right not the vanilla sprinkle party half. I always try to eat straight through the center, but that doesn’t usually end gracefully. You may have to eat your way through two or three doughnuts before you get the hang of it. I speak from experience.
That’s all for now! Happy Baking!
Black and White Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts
makes 6 doughnuts
For the Doughnuts:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (but we’ll only use 2 tablespoons of browned butter for the recipe)
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Vanilla Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a doughnut pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and sugar. Set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Butter will begin to crackle and pop as it melts. That’s the water melting out of the butter. Once the water has evaporated the butter will quiet down and begin to brown. Keep an eye on it, it browns quickly. The butter will begin to smell nutty. Remove from heat and immediately transfer browned butter (brown bits and all) to a small bowl.
In a small bowl whisk together egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Measure out 2 tablespoons of browned butter and whisk into the wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir together until no flour bits remain and all of the ingredients are well combined. Try not to overmix the batter. That might create rubbery doughnuts.
Use a small spoon to dollop batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out and fill each doughnut in the pan three-quarters full with batter.
Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them and try not to over-bake them. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the doughnuts cool, make the glazes.
To make the chocolate glaze, in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
Add 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Add more milk as necessary to create a thick but still just pourable glaze.
To make the vanilla glaze, in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract to create a thick put still pourable glaze.
Once the doughnuts are completely cool, spread half of the doughnuts with chocolate glaze, and the remaining half with vanilla class. Return to the wire rack and sprinkle the vanilla side with color sprinkles. Allow to set for about 30 minutes before stacking or serving. Doughnuts are best within 2 days.
Rosanne
Delicious donuts! I made the recipe with Kerrygold butter. I baked them in my baby cakes mini donut maker and this gave me 17 minis. I had cinnamon sugar in a container left over from another baking adventure, so I just did a little dip in melted butter (not browned) and then dipped in the sugar. Browned butter really does make everything better!
junimom
Have you ever made any gluten free donuts? I enjoy your donut variations SO MUCH, but am 100% gluten free. Will maybe try these with a good cup-for-cup flour blend.
My husband’s youth group thank you in advance for the deliciousness they are about to experience :)
Madison
I made these with my own homemade sprinkles for my JROTC (I’m only in high school) commander’s birthday and everyone thought they were amazing!
joythebaker
Great!
stephanie
has anyone made these WITHOUT the “donut pan” ?
using a muffin pan and cutting holes afterwards?
want to try but not so sure of just using a muffin pan -and i do not cook with anything non stick ,use ceramic or cast iron muffin pan well greased of course
thank you
Xenia
after trying for the third time your recipe for the baked donuts, i have to admit they are better than the fried version, i don’t know if it is the browned butter or the butter I dip them after the oven but whatever the reason the result is that they stay juicy after 3 days, something that is not happening with fresh fried donuts! thnx for this recipe…
Claudia
In the instructions it says to combine the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract, however in the ingredients there is no vanilla extract listed. Is there supposed to be vanilla extract in the actual batter, or in the glaze only? If so, how much vanilla extract do you suggest using?
joythebaker
so sorry! i fixed that up for you!
Claudia
Thank you so much! I knew there was a reason why I started off with just a test batch first. Now I am off to make the real deal!
Kyla @ Two Cups Cacao
I made this today and they are incredible. I made a few modifications because I can’t eat eggs or milk, but they still tasted amazing. I almost ate all the glaze before it even got to the donuts. I don’t know if I’ll make them again, because if I do I’ll have to go through the torture of not being able to eat the whole pan, once again! These were the first donuts I made with my Donut pan, and I can definitely say that I chose the right recipe for my first time! Thanks for posting! (:
emmajeanne16
black and white is my thang! these look great. I would be eating with my elbows out ready to defend the goods.
Kylie
Hi! So I made these! They are yummy. Doubled the recipe and made 16. They popped out perfectly from my donut pan. The frosting was too runny but I’ll work on that for next time because there will be a next time.
Renee @ Awesome on $20
I’ve been saying i’m going to buy a doughnut pan for ages, but I’ve never been able to come up with a good enough excuse. Suggestions welcome.
Tracy
These are perfect! A baked doughnut is like a little cake and black and white cookies are little cake-cookies; why not put them together!
sara
I love this idea! So cute!
Polly
These Look amazing, need to try! Beautiful picture too.
Katherine Duvigneau
I ‘m on holiday on the island of Wangerooge. I did not bring a donut pan so I made this instead in a loaf pan. It was outstanding. The glazes are freaking amazing. What a simple recipe. Another winner! Thank you, Joy
joythebaker
a loaf pan! i love it!