Mini Chocolate Donuts dipped in a sweet vanilla glaze. These cute one-bite donuts are baked, so you feel less guilty while consuming and it allows for minimal hassle in the kitchen! The batter is made up of simple, everyday ingredients and comes together quite quickly. The donuts themselves are light-weight, full of chocolate flavour, and texture is comparable to cake donuts.
Over the last couple months, I’ve become a huge fan of oven-baked donuts. They’re so simple to put together and the creation combinations out there are endless. Since I’m the biggest chocolate fan, I knew I had to create a chocolate donut ASAP to share with you. These chocolate donuts require one bowl, comes together super quick, and creates approximately 30 mini donuts. If you don’t want to make mini donuts, feel free to use a regular donut pan! When the donuts are fresh out of the oven, they are generously dipped in a sweet glaze made from powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Simple to put together
- Light-weight
- Oven-baked; no frying mess
- Straightforward ingredients
- One bowl recipe
- 15 minutes and you’ve got donuts!
Key Ingredients
Full recipe and ingredients are in the recipe card below. Feel free to scroll through this section to view what ingredients we’re using and recipe variation ideas!
- Milk: Having milk at room temperature maximizes baking results. I use 3.25% milk, but any kind of milk works. Water is a good substitute if you don’t have any.
- Egg: Having an egg at room temperature helps it mix into the batter better.
- White sugar: Mainly used for sweetening. The bond between sugar and water locks in moisture so the donuts remains nice and soft.
- Oil: Any kind of oil works in this recipe; I recommend canola, sunflower, or vegetable. Melted butter may be substituted.
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, spoon gently into a measuring cup. Scrap any excess off, and make sure the top of the cup of flour is flat before adding it into the bowl.
- Cocoa powder: Good quality cocoa powder is important. Unsweetened cocoa powder is the best for baking, and it helps balance the sugars out. This is my holy grail unsweetened cocoa powder. It’s affordable and high quality!
- Baking soda: A leavening agent that is used to help the donuts rise in the oven. Do not substitute for baking powder; these are two different things.
- Vanilla: A simple vanilla extract is used for this. There’s a difference between vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste so be careful!
- Icing sugar: Also known as powdered sugar. It’s a soft sugar that dissolves easily and will be used for the glaze. Different than white sugar.
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Instead of a glaze, use cinnamon and sugar! Kind of like my Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Donuts
- Dip the tops in melted chocolate and top off with sprinkles.
- Use melted butter instead of oil.
- If using oil, try melted coconut oil! Baking game changer.
- Use more vanilla and less milk in the glaze.
- Make old-fashioned donuts…no glaze!
- Try using a regular sized donut pan (Add a few minutes of baking in the oven with this option)
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 – In a large mixing bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together. This is the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix until everything is well combined
Step 2 – Now it’s time to whisk in the dry ingredients. This is the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and baking soda. I recommend switching over to a spatula, and lightly folding the ingredients until a soft batter forms.
Step 3 – Transfer batter into a piping bag or ziplock with the corner cut. In a prepared mini donut pan, fill each donut about 1/2 full. I highly recommend this donut pan.
Step 4 – Bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes. You’ll know the donuts are ready when you touch it and it ‘bounces’ or ‘springs’ back in the pan.
Step 5 – While the donuts are baking, make the glaze. Combine icing sugar, vanilla, and milk in a bowl and mix until no lumps from the sugar are showing. With glaze, you can add more or less milk until your desired consistency is created.
Step 6 – While the donuts are still warm, dip into the glaze and place onto a cooling rack. I recommend placing parchment paper underneath the cooling rack to catch any excess glaze drip from the donuts. You may also double glaze the donuts, once the first layer has set.
Recipe Video
Mini Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Ingredients
Chocolate Donuts
- 1/2 cup milk room temperature
- 2 tsps vanilla
- 2 tbsp oil or melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 5 tbsp milk*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a bowl, whisk together egg, oil, milk, and vanilla.
- Once well combined, add in cocoa powder, flour, and baking soda. Continue mixing with a spatula until a chocolate batter forms.
- Pour chocolate batter into a piping bag or ziplock with the corner cut, and fill each donut cup 1/2 full. Don’t get crazy with this – the batter will rise quite a bit during baking!
- Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the top springs back when touched.
- To make the glaze, combine vanilla, milk, and icing sugar into a bowl and whisk until there are no lumps showing.
- While the donuts are still warm, dip and transfer onto a cooling rack until the glaze has set. You may dip again if desired, but this is optional.
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