Old fashioned powdered sugar donuts are fluffy and light, coated with confectioner's sugar and much healthier than coffee shop or bakery donuts. Made in one bowl, these dairy free donuts are ready within 15 minutes.
These fluffy baked powdered donuts are light and cakey, and dusted with soft sugar, oil-free and easy to make vegan or GF. In fact, these remind me of Entenmann's powdered donut they used to include in an assortment box. You can feel good about grabbing this donut to have with a hot drink as you begin your day.
But this recipe is so much healthier, with no preservatives or the other not-so-healthy ingredients found in processed donuts, just like my other donut recipes such as my chocolate donuts with sprinkles, and my pumpkin donuts.
You can make this recipe as muffins, but donuts are so much more fun. You'll need a donut pan.
Why You'd Love This
Baked & Nutritious. These baked donuts are lower in fat and calories, and don't have the processed oils that are soaked into fried donuts. These donuts are also healthier because they are baked and in fact are oil free so they don't contain any of the fats that fried donuts hold.
Versatile & Plant-based. These donuts don't have any oil or eggs - I used apple sauce and lemon juice in milk instead. I have tried this recipe with three different flours - all purpose, gluten free flour, and oat flour - and all versions came out delicious. The oat flour made them a bit less light than the AP and GF flour but still yummy.
Ingredients
The ingredients to make these donuts are simple and pantry-friendly, even though these donuts are vegan and gluten-free. I bet you have them in your pantry right now.
- Flour - I used all purpose first to get the recipe right. Then I tried GF baking flour (Bob's Red Mill's blue bag), and after that oat flour. All work perfectly.
- Sugar - I used organic cane sugar but any cane sugar is fine.
- Baking powder and baking soda - vital to provide the texture a cakey lift.
- Milk, lemon juice - These liquids are vital to bring batter together.
- Applesauce - This is the egg replacer in this recipe.
- Powdered sugar - the essential topping for powdered donuts.
How to Make
Here is a quick summary of the steps, but the detailed recipe and video can be found below in the recipe card below.
These donuts are one of my easiest recipes! The ingredients are easy to gather, often considered stock pantry items. And the recipe comes together in one bowl. Here are the steps:
1. Prepare by gathering ingredients, preheating oven to 350 F, greasing and dusting a 6-ring donut pan, and by adding the lemon juice to the milk to curdle it. Curdling the milk creates a buttermilk that reacts with baking soda to create a cake-like texture. It helps replace the eggs in vegan recipes.
2. In a large bowl, mix up the dry ingredients, including flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, including the lemon milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix up the batter and add it to a frosting bag or a ziplock bag with corner snipped.
4. Pipe the batter to fill the donut wells just under the top.
5. Bake the pan of donuts 12 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
6. Dip donuts while warm in the powdered sugar coating and it will stick without you having to brush it with butter.
7. Transfer donuts to cooling rack until cool. Dip again in sugar if any bare patches formed.
Recipe Tips
1.Don't fill donut pan too high or the donut will rise around the hole and it will disappear. If you have left-over batter, make another 1-2 donuts in another pan, or if it's easier, add two paper liners to a muffin pan, and put the batter in each liner.
2. This recipe works with three different flours - all purpose, gluten free flour, and oat flour. All versions came out delicious. The oat flour made them a bit heavier than the AP and GF flour.
3. I added cinnamon to my batter, but if you leave it out, the batter and donut will be lighter in color.
Storage
These donuts are best eaten the same day. You can store at room temperature for 24 hours covered lightly with a paper towel.
After that, you can refrigerate them in a sealed container for a week, or freeze for a month. In both instances, add a paper towel to the inside of the container to stop donuts from getting soggy. If you freeze, just set them on the counter to defrost for 20 minutes.
Once chilled, you might have to re-dip them in powdered sugar to cover any bare spots that might develop.
Variations
Chocolate glazed donuts. Instead of coating in powdered sugar, let them cool, and dip them in melted chocolate. Melt ½ cup of chocolate chips in microwave at 30 seconds. Stir, allow to cool a minute or so, then dip donuts and allow glaze to set at room temperature.
Vanilla glazed donuts. Instead of coating in powdered sugar, let them cool and dip into confection sugar made into a vanilla glaze. Stir 1 teaspoon of milk into one cup of powdered sugar until you have a glaze. Dip both sides of the donut and allow to set on a rack.
Make without donut pan. If you don't have a donut pan, pipe the batter into paper-lined mini muffin pans and make donut holes.
FAQS
Are Baked Donuts Healthier Than Fried Donuts?
Yes. Baked donuts are lower in fat and calories, and don't have the processed oils that are soaked into fried donuts. These donuts are also healthier because they are baked and in fact are oil free so they don't contain any of the fats that fried donuts hold.
Are Doughnuts and Cinnamon Rolls the Same?
No, doughnuts have a solid cake texture and are tossed in a coating. Cinnamon rolls have a bready texture, and have a coating rolled inside, and icing on top.
How Do You Make Donuts in a Muffin Pan?
Spoon donut batter into papers lining a regular-sized muffin pan and bake. Fill the batter about ⅔ high, just as you would when baking muffins. Bake around 10-12 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
More Baked Donut Recipes
Chocolate Mini Donuts
Chocolate Frosted Donuts
Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Apple Cider Donuts
Birthday Funfetti Donuts
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📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Powdered Sugar Donuts
Ingredients
Powdered donuts
- 1 ½ cup oat flour Or 1 cup of all purpose flour or GF baking 1 to 1 flour
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce
- ½ cup dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice Add to milk and let it sit for 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
powdered coating
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon optional
Equipment
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the lemon juice to the milk, stir and let sit for 5 minutes to curdle.
- Grease a 6-well donut pan or line a cupcake pan with paper liners
Make Donuts
- In a large bowl, mix up flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Add to that the lemon milk, applesauce, and vanilla.
- Pipe or use a spoon to fill the wells to just under the top. Don't fill them too high or the donut will rise around the hole.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Make Powdered Coating
- While donuts are baking prepare the powdered sugar coating. I add cinnamon to mine, but that's optional.
- While warm, straight out of the oven, dip each side of each donut, using a spoon to get all bare spots.
Store
- These donuts are best eaten the same day. You can store at room temperature for 24 hours covered lightly with a paper towel. After that, you can refrigerate them in a sealed container for a week, or freeze for a month. If you freeze, just set them on the counter to defrost for 20 minutes.Once chilled, you might have to re-dip them in powdered sugar to cover any bare spots that might develop.
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