Joy the Baker

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

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Brown Butter Baked Pistachio Doughnuts

That first bite of doughnut… that very first taste is success, surrender, satisfaction, joy, and celebration all wrapped up into one bite.  It’s the anticipation that makes it so great!  And the brown butter, obviously.

These doughnuts feel like an extra special treat because they’re topped (as all things should be, really…) with browned butter glaze and chopped salted pistachios.

Where brown butter and pistachios combine, the gates of Heaven open wide and welcome you in with open arms.  Not literally… but that sure is what it feels like!

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

It’s time to make an extra pot of coffee.  Call a friend.  Pull up a few chairs and relish in it all.  What a lovely life when doughnuts are fresh and pretty.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

The beginning works thusly:  flour, sugar, salt and baking powder, browned butter, and eggs.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

I always add a dashing dose of freshly grated nutmeg to my baked doughnuts.  Just enough to keep things interesting.   Nutmegs adds a lovely depth of flavor.

I also needed mucho many pistachios for this recipe.  I ate most of them during shelling.  Guilty.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Dry ingredients are stirred together in the foreground.  Eggs, browned butter, vanilla extract, and eventually buttermilk are whisked together in the background.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

I’m a fool for brown butter.  These perfect chocolate chip cookies are proof.

Brown Butter is simply (and gloriously) butter that has been melted long enough to brown the milk solids within the butter. The result is a wonderfully fragrant, nutty, deep golden brown butter that tastes toasty and delicious.  It adds the perfect depth to these simple cake doughnuts.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Wet meets dry with specks of pistachios and the smell of browned butter.  It’s very nice.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

The baked doughnut pan is the key to these tender little cakes.  Otherwise, they’re cupcakes and we’re sooooo over cupcakes, right?  The doughnuts bake up quickly and only need about 10 minutes in the oven.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Just enough time whisk together our brown butter glaze.  Brown butter, salt, powdered sugar, vanilla and a touch of milk!  Butter in glaze!  It’s perfect.

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Some doughnut glazes are for dipping doughnuts, others are for spreading.  This brown butter glaze situation is thick and spreadable!  Sprinkle pistachios on the doughnuts immediately after you frost them so the pistachios stick!

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

I’m pretty enthusiastic about my baked doughnuts.  They’re simple little cakes ready for virtually any flavor and topping you want to throw their way.  When frosted and topped, they’re little show-stoppers that I want to eat forever and ever.

The brown butter and pistachio flavors are sweet and nutty, with just a hint of salty intrigue.  I love the crunch that pistachios add to the top of the tender little cakes.  Little dreams!  I think you’ll love these!

In other baked doughnut news, these Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts kicked off my whole obsession.

These Apple Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts will be perfect once Fall rolls around (noooooo!).

Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts.  Extra fudge-y for when chocolate is necessary!

Black and White Baked Doughnuts   for indecision.  It’s cool!

Print
Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

12 doughnuts

Baked Brown Butter and Pistachio Doughnuts

Ingredients

    For the Doughnuts:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped and divided
  • 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup / 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and browned (we’ll only use 4 tablespoons of browned butter for the doughnuts and 2 tablespoons for the glaze)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • For the Brown Butter Glaze:
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons brown butter
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, sugar, and 1/2 cup choppedpistachios. Set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. In a medium bowl whisk together egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Measure out 4 tablespoons of browned butter and whisk into the wet ingredients.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. While the doughnuts cool, make the glaze.
  9. To make the glaze, in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar and salt. I didn’t sift my powdered sugar. I was able to whisk the lumps out. If you have stubborn powdered sugar, sifting before is best.
  10. Add 2 tablespoons brown butter, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Add more milk as necessary to create a thick but still spreadable glaze.
  11. Once the doughnuts are completely cool, use a butter knife to spread glaze onto each doughnut. Return to the wire rack and sprinkle with remaining pistachios. Allow to set for about 30 minutes before stacking or serving. Doughnuts are best within 2 days.
https://joythebaker.com/2014/08/baked-brown-butter-pistachio-donuts/

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. pulla

    sorry i didnt like the texture or the flavour , so i just baked the same dough that i use for fry and the result was just perfec.

    Reply

  4. J-Mom

    I made it into muffins since I didn’t have the donut pans but they were delicious! I’m not a fan of glazes so I was just going to sprinkle the other half cup of pistachios on top before baking and I forgot (as I do, a lot of times ;) I’ll be definitely making this recipe again and again and hope that I don’t forget the topping next time.

    Reply

  5. Mommy Charlotte

    You are making me drool. These sound and look divine and the good news is … I have all of the ingredients and can make them today!

    Reply

  7. Rebecca Blackwell

    You can tell just by looking at these that they are light, airy and delicious. I recently went through a fried doughnut kick – trying and testing all sorts of recipes. Looking at these, I think it’s time I did the same for baked doughnuts. And, brown butter! Is there anything not made better with brown butter?! Delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  12. Susie

    Hi Joy I love love love your post they are so clever and the pictures are beautiful, one question the metal gadget in the picture is that a grater and where can I get one looks like a very useful item.

    Reply

  13. Alexis

    Made these the other day (as well as the chocolate with chocolate ones). Everyone LOVED them. Thank you for making such tantalizing treats for me to try! Holy amazingness!!!!

    Reply

  14. Ella

    I was tasked with making a smallish, easy to pass around dessert for a big dinner for my mum and her workmates and these were perfect! They turned out amazingly. Thankyou for continually supplying me with the perfect recipes for different occasions. x

    Reply

  16. Rachel

    I tried this recipe last night for my mother’s birthday and it was a huge success! Being without a donut pan, I made it into a bundt cake instead. It required about double the cooking time, but it was absolutely delicious – thank you for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      Hello Lola! There was an issue with the plugin, but it’s all fixed now. Thank you for letting me know!!

      Reply

    • joythebaker

      Hello Jo, I’d try cutting the baking time in half! Mini would be great, you’d be able to eat more of them.

      Reply

  20. jennayly

    Hi Joy, just wondering, why do you list 8 tablespoons of butter when you only use 6 tablespoons?

    P.S. Love your blog, I’ve been a religious reader for a few years now and you’re the one who really sparked my interest in baking :)

    Reply

  21. Maalika

    These look heavenly! But I cant seem to get my hands on buttermilk. Anything I can substitute it with, or any recommendations for making it at home? Thanks!

    Reply

  22. Kelly

    Would the brown butter glaze work on the brown butter doughnuts? Not a huge chocolate glaze fan. Just looking for a yummy alternative that the kids and adults will also like.

    Reply

  23. Hannah

    Hi! I made these last night but without a donut pan.. Haha. Ended up using a tart and random little cake pans I had. It’s the same cake but it would have been so much better if I had a donut pan. I also halved the glaze for the recipe because I usually have so much left over.. But that was a mistake on my part because the glaze tasted amazing and I needed more on those “donuts”
    The pictures on @peekintohannah on Instagram if you want to see how they came out!

    Reply

  26. LBN

    These were delicious! Super easy and amazing. Personally I’d leave out the nutmeg a second time but I don’t care for nutmeg. I got 17 good-sized doughnuts out of it (and had enough glaze to cover them).

    Reply

  27. Jenn V

    I made these last night and just ate them for breakfast. Total perfection. I had some batter left over and used a mini muffin tin to bake the rest. They made great doughnut holes!

    Reply

  29. Awn

    I’m hoping someone has an idea…I used the link for the chocolate cake donuts and the cake part was brilliant! The problem I had was the glaze soaked into my donuts within minutes. They tasted amazing but were a bit more moist than they should have been. Too much liquid in the glaze is my thought but I’d love any ideas.

    Reply

  31. Rach C

    I’m sure these taste amazing, but can I just say haw cool the photos are with the squares from the cooling rack showing the through the circles of the doughnut holes! Yes, I know, geeky, but so lovely!

    Reply

  36. ashley

    I have a question.

    What do you do with all of these? I know you don’t eat all of them, you look to good for that. But I’m curious! Do you just have very lucky/happy neighbors? If so, what’s your address? :)

    Reply

  39. April

    I bought a doughnut pan specifically for the chocolate glazed brown butter donuts on your site. They are amazing as are these ones I’m sure. Cannot wait to try these!

    Reply

  40. Isabelle

    Beautiful!
    I love browned butter, and these sound sooo good.
    Such gorgeous photos too!

    I will be getting one of those perfect doughnut pans and mixing up this recipe hopefully sooner than later ;-)

    Isabelle @ Head Red & Blondi

    Reply

  41. Jen

    These look totally bonkers delicious, as usual! Question: I want to bring these as a hostess gift this weekend. I want them to be as fresh as possible but I’m short on time. Do you think I could make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate?

    Reply

  42. Barbara

    Just made these; no pistaschios in the house so I subbed salted butter pecans…super yummy! Definitely a keeper. Thanks!

    Reply

  43. Karen - 2Teaspoons

    I just love this post! Beautiful photos and lovely imagery!

    My dad just gave me a bunch of salted pistachios that I now believe need to be combined with brown butter glaze in the near future! I unfortunately don’t have a donut pan yet, but I think I’ll be fixing that ASAP :-)

    Reply

  47. Jena

    “Over cupcakes”?!?! Ummm, NEVER!!! (That’s crazytalk, lady.) But I can definitely get excited about these tasty treats!

    Reply

  51. Nicole B.

    You must have read my mind when I was thinking about how I wanted the recipe for these since they were pictured in yesterdays post. You. Are. Good!

    Reply

  57. ellie | fit for the soul

    Raise your hand if you eat halfway through your main ingredients (aka pistachios). *raises hand bashfully* hah! I would have definitely done that too. And these are sooo pretty!!!! Can you believe I still haven’t had a baked donut? Well, i did once which I bought at a cute little place in Hermosa Beach, CA, but it was so small I only ended up wanting more. I need to start making these asap for sure.

    Reply

  58. Julie Jones

    These look amazing! I’ve just bought a baked doughnut pan, and I definitely see some of these in my future… :)

    Reply

  59. sashahayman

    Joy! You did it AGAIN! I have a question though, if I were to use the same Wilton pan you used, but in the mini donuts size, how long would you bake those for? Just a guesstimate, I won’t hold it against you if you steer me wrong, duh.

    Reply

  73. Dori

    These look positively divine!! Do you think I could substitute some almond milk or coconut milk so I could make them for my son, who has a dairy allergy? Am also a new listener to your podcast. I often listen to it whilst paper crafting and working on my own blog!!

    Reply

  74. dessertfortwo

    It’s like you knew I had a jar of shelled pistachios in the pantry. And you knew that I haven’t had a donut in too long. I’m on it!

    Reply

  77. Maryea {happy healthy mama}

    I feel like I absolutely have to have a coffee get together and serve these donuts. Although I may have to pony up for shelled pistachios. I only like shelling those things when I’m sitting on the couch watching Orange is the New Black or some other form of entertainment. And then there will most definitely be none left for donut topping.

    Reply

  78. Julia @Vikalinka

    If theses are not the most cheerful donuts I’ve seen then I don’t know what they are! This recipe and gorgeous photos promptly sent me to amazon to order a donut pan! Can’t wait.

    Reply

  80. Lucia

    This is the best doughnut recipe ever seen. It makes me want to shove the computer (with doughnuts and pistachios and all) right into my mouth. P.S. Honoured to be the first to comment for the first time in my life!

    Reply

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