Before getting to the delicious Chocolate Marshmallow Donuts recipe…Did you know that it’s extremely cold in the middle of America? I always thought temperatures in upstate New York could rival the frigid winters of my hometown, but after being here for 2 weeks, I now remember that nothing compares to an Omaha winter. Currently, my iPhone tells me the temperature is a whopping 1 degree.
But hey, at least it’s mostly sunny and the temperature is going to jump 17 more digits to 18 today. WOW.
Anyway, since Omaha isn’t really a “walking city” like other places I’ve lived, I can deal with these cold temperatures. I just bundle up, blast the heat and sprint to my car. Oh, and I drink lots of my Sometimes Healthy hot chocolate, which is generally two parts hot cocoa, 1 part whipped cream and a ton of marshmallows.
My love for hot chocolate inspired today’s recipe, Hot Chocolate Donuts with Marshmallow Creme Topping. I also created a Winter Wonderland Countdown Workout that promises to warm up even those residing in the coldest of temperatures!
Let’s talk about the sweet stuff first! Donuts were huge last year for me. That was about the time the donut pan became big, and I just couldn’t get enough of baking donuts: chocolate chip donuts, cinnamon pumpkin donuts, blueberry donuts, red velvet donuts and more! The good news is, whereas it appears cupcakes are on a downward trend, donuts continue to capture the hearts of everyone. In fact, a little cupcake shop near me in upstate NY recently closed and turned into a donut shop.
Whether it’s with your morning coffee or as a fancy schmancy dessert at an overpriced restaurant, I have yet to meet a person that doesn’t covet the donut.
Now, let’s be honest with ourselves here: the baked variety will never quite eclipse the deliciousness of a deep-fried, glaze-coated donut. However, it sure is a nice Sometimes Healthy alternative.
I was at the gym earlier this week just dreaming up ideas and recipes, and that’s when the idea of a Hot Chocolate donut hit me. That’s what I do. I go to the gym to workout and dream about donuts. I also enjoy watching “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and other food porn while I run. In all seriousness, I usually get my greatest ideas at the gym. I think it’s the endorphins!
These homemade donuts taste just like hot chocolate, but the marshmallow creme topping is really the icing on the donut. I wanted to whip up a marshmallow creme frosting, but my mother’s mixer has gone MIA. So, instead, you lucky readers, I have given you two options for topping off your hot chocolate donuts. No mixer required!
Contents
Hot Chocolate Donuts Recipe with Marshmallow Creme Topping
- For the Donuts
- 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C hot chocolate powder
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 C melted butter, cooled
- 3/4 C lowfat buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 C plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits
- For the Glaze
- 2 C confectioners’ sugar
- 3 TBSP fat free half n’ half
- 1 tsp vanilla
- For the Creme Topping
- 1 7 oz tub Marshmallow Creme
- 1 cup Andes Peppermint Baking Chips
- Preheat oven to 350 and spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, hot cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine – be sure not to over-mix. Gently fold in Mallow Bits.
- Use a small spoon to place batter in donut pan – do not fill more than 2/3 full.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow donuts to cool about 5 minutes before gently removing from the pan and placing on either a wire rack or wax paper.
- While the donuts cool, prepare your simple glaze. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking until thoroughly combined.
- Dip each donut into glaze and place on wax paper to set.
- Once the glaze has hardened, spread 1 tbsp of of marshmallow creme on each donut and top with Andes Peppermint Baking Chips. OR
- After topping with marshmallow creme, line donuts on a greased baking sheet and place under the broiler to toast the top. Be sure to watch closely.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, I went ahead and roasted the top of these chocolatey delights. The only thing better than a marshmallow topping is TOASTED MARSHMALLOW, my friends.
Please don’t be jealous of my advanced plating techniques. You too can smudge marshmallow creme everywhere! I loved the taste of the toasted marshmallow creme mixed with super-chocolate donuts. My one issue is that, in some of the pictures, I feel like my donut looks like a broiled cheesey bagel. Ooops. If you use your fingers to create mini-peaks in the marshmallow creme, I believe this problem can be avoided.
You may wonder why I went with a glaze AND marshmallow creme topping. In my experience, glazing your donuts really helps to seal in the moisture. Sometimes baked donuts can turn out a bit dry (though I find buttermilk helps with that), and glaze ensures that your donuts will be moist and delicious for days to come.
Of course, the non-torched donuts are also delicious and pretty cute! For you peppermint lovers out there, the Andes Peppermint Baking Chips add the perfect amount of peppermint-pizzaz to these tasty donuts. Here is my prescription for your relaxing Friday night: 1 Hot Chocolate Donut + 1 Cup Hot Cocoa (with tons of whipped cream) + a classic Christmas movie.
‘Tis the season…to hibernate! Why not do it with something sweet?
Finally, for those that are curious how the “wizard” works behind the curtain, here’s what it looked like in the kitchen. Big thanks to mom for pitching in on the cleaning!
Mini Cinnamon Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Oh, hello there dear friends ;-). Today I will share with you an easy Cinnamon pumpkin donuts recipe and I’m pretty sure you will fall in love with these yummy little cuties.
Apologies the lack of posts, but the holiday season is a busy time, and a girl only has so many hours in the day. If it makes you feel better, I haven’t even had time to watch the crappy quality television that I discuss every now and then on the blog. I’m also writing a lot for the day job, and my little brain can only handle so many brilliant(ish) thoughts. In the spirit of “absence makes the heart grow fonder” can you forgive me?
I’m busy…but I’m not complaining…
As long as I have time to make adorable treats like this.
Little boxed donuts? From the donut shop? I think not!
I made these delectable little donuts for my family’s Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago, and before I baked them, my mother was both perplexed and annoyed that I would want to serve donuts at our fancy holiday dinner.
After she saw the finished product, she was literally eating her words…and drooling over my donuts. If you’re thinking, I’m a little over-due for a Thanksgiving post, I’ve got great news: they make a lovely last-minutes Christmas gift. You’re welcome. Now let’s talk donuts…
Donuts in a Box
When some people think of donuts, they think of Dunkin, Krispy Kreme or even the local coffee shop. But, not me. When I think of the donuts that I looked forward to the most on Donut Day in homeroom (yes we had donuts most Fridays at homeroom back in my Nebraska high school…I’m tellin’ ya, it really is the good life), I picture the predictable, yet always unbelievably tasty and perfect boxed Entenmann’s Mini Donuts (and regular donuts).
Doesn’t get any better than this.
Never under-estimate the power of mass produced baked goods. These little gems put an extra spark in my step every Friday morning back in the day. Over the years, I ate them less and less because I moved to cool cities like New York and Chicago, where there is a bakery on every corner. But, the very thought of a little donut out of those cute boxes brings a smile to my face. I’d try to recreate the recipe, but I have no idea where to begin to reach such levels of perfection.
Nevertheless, in the spirit of homage to the boxed donuts from my high school days, I decided to whip up some mini donuts of my own and put em’ in a holiday themed box.
Guess what? I didn’t even go semi-homemade this time around…these were from scratch! Yep, I went all out for the holidays with my homemade Mini Cinnamon Pumpkin Donuts. Just when you thought you’d see in it all with the donut pan, I hit ya with the mini. Boom! The possibilities are endless.
Once I “scheduled” my kitchen time around my cooking schedule, here’s what the recipe looked like:
Homemade Mini Cinnamon Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
(adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes)
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or simply the Dog Days of Summer, these mini delights never go out of style. Whether served in a box or on a plate next to a big glass of milk, they’re sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients: (Yields 24 – 30 mini donuts)
For Donuts
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup egg beaters
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
For Coating
- 1 cup Brummel and Brown Butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat oven 350°F. Spray the mini donut pan with baking spray – you will need to do two batches…unless you have two donut pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fill each donut just less than 2/3 full (any higher and you will have muffins). Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.
- For Donuts
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup egg beaters
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
- For Coating
- 1 cup Brummel and Brown Butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons cinnamon
- Preheat oven 350°F. Spray the mini donut pan with baking spray – you will need to do two batches…unless you have two donut pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fill each donut just less than 2/3 full (any higher and you will have muffins). Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.
Wait until you see how it went down in the crowded kitchen. I felt like a “real baker”
While we hustled around baking up a gourmet meal, I was in donut zen.
El Chefs working hard.
First, I whisked the wet and dry ingredients separately.
Whisking away!
Then, I mixed the dry and wet together. Like magic, my mini donuts were coming together!
There were no mixing bowls left so I used tupperware. Bottom of the food chain. What can I say?
Next, it was time to fill the donut pan…carefully (ish).
Masterpiece in the making…batter all over the edges, Sometimes Healthy style.
Once, out of the oven. The fun began. The dipping process. I went to town on the butter. Why not? It’s the holidays!
Ohhh yeah, here we go baby.
Dip in butter, dip in cinnamon/sugar. “Sample” mini donut. Repeat.
I wish I could bathe in butter, cinnamon and sugar too!
I let em’ dry for a little bit…
The prettiest picture in the world!
And then I boxed them and waited for the compliments to fly around. Oh and I heated up some dipping chocolate to kick it up a notch!
Chocolate makes a great donut superb.
All-in-all the donuts were a hit! Although we had quite the variety for dessert, I think everyone enjoyed the nostalgia of eating a donut out of a box!
Plenty of desserts to go around…but the donuts stole the show!
But, let’s be honest, all I did was make some little ol’ donuts. Eric and Julie did the real work with one of the best Thanksgiving meals I’ve ever eaten in my life.
And this is only part of the action!
If you like pumpkin you may also make a delicious pumpkin smoothie bowl too.
So, there you have it…my Thanksgiving donuts, just in time for your Christmas meal! I swear, I planned it this way.
And before I leave, a little congratulatory shout-out to my best friend, who sent me an email today asking why I haven’t blogged in a while. She and her husband found out today that they’ll be having a baby girl in May!
Oh and something sweet might be coming your way…
Well, everyone, parting is such sweet sorrow, but I do hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I promise – I’ll be back soon after I’ve closed out the year for work and enjoyed the holiday season.
