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    Home » Recipes

    Gingerbread Donuts

    Published: Dec 11, 2020 · Modified: Oct 27, 2021 by Emily · This post may contain affiliate links · 26 Comments

    'Tis the season for all things gingerbread including these Baked Gingerbread Donuts! These donuts are topped with a Cream Cheese Frosting and festive sprinkles that will make any holiday morning even better!

    baked gingerbread donut with sprinkles
    Jump to Recipe

    These Baked Gingerbread Donuts are the perfect holiday breakfast or a sweet treat. They are festive, easy to make, and delicious. Who could ask for more? Add some holiday-colored sprinkles and Christmas morning is done. Did I mention these are also delicious with coffee?

    Ingredients For Easy Gingerbread Donuts

    • all-purpose flour
    • baking soda
    • sugar
    • cinnamon
    • ground ginger
    • ground cloves
    • fresh ground nutmeg 
    • molasses
    • vanilla extract
    • sour cream
    • milk
    • vegetable oil
    • egg

    How to Make Baked Gingerbread Donuts

    1. Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare the donut pan with non-stick spray.
    2. Put the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
    3. In another mixing bowl, add the wet ingredinets and whisk together.
    4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
    5. Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan. Bake for 14 minutes and then remove to cool on a rack.
    6. In a medium mixing bowl, add the frosting ingredients and whisk until fully combined and smooth. Decorate and enjoy!
    baked gingerbread donuts with sprinkles and frosting

    Other Ways to Top These Donuts

    If you don't want or like cream cheese frosting, here are some other ideas for finishing these Gingerbread Donuts.

    • Roll each cooled donut in melted butter and then in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
    • Make a simple glaze with 1 cup of confectioners powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla.
    • Add Candied Ginger to the batter or on top!

    Tools for Baking Donuts

    It's always a good idea to have the right tools for the job. Below are a few of my favorite things when it comes to making donuts.

    Donut Baking Pans

    I personally have a silicone donut pan and I like it a lot. It's easy to remove baked donuts and it's easy to clean. The only downside is the silicone starts to change color over time. Another option is a non-stick metal pan. The one below is nice because it has 12 slots.

    Mixing Bowls

    You can never have enough mixing bowls in my opinion. Here are a few sets that make baking so much easier when you have a clean bowl ready instead of searching and cleaning the only one you have (you know who you are 😉).

    Whisks

    Yes, there is such thing as a bad whisk. If you have an inexpensive whisk, it will probably lose shape over time or bend while whisking (been there done that). A metal whisk is a must-have in any kitchen. I also love a silicone whisk because it scrapes the side of the bowl as it mixes.

    gingerbread donut with a bite taken out

    More Fun and Easy Desserts to Try

    • Easy Cake Bites
    • Instant Pot Strawberry Cheesecake
    • Easy Passion Fruit Bars
    • Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Caramel Apple Glaze
    • Easy Cherry Crumble Bars
    stacked gingerbread donuts

    Baked Gingerbread Donuts

    Baked Gingerbread Donuts are topped with a cream cheese frosting and festive sprinkles that will make any holiday morning even better!
    5 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 14 minutes
    Cooling Time: 6 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 12 donuts
    Author: EmilyFabulous

    Equipment

    • 3 medium/large mixing bowls
    • whisk
    • donut baking pan
    • non-stick spray

    Ingredients

    Gingerbread Donuts

    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used freshly grated or you can use pre-made)
    • 3 tablespoon molasses
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ cup sour cream
    • ¼ cup milk
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 large egg

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    • ⅓ cup cream cheese
    • ½ cup confectioners powdered sugar
    • 1 tablespoon milk
    • festive sprinkles

    Instructions

    Gingerbread Donut Batter

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare the donut pan with non-stick spray.
    • Add the flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg to a large mixing bowl and whisk to fully combine. Set aside.
      dry ingredients for gingerbread donuts
    • In another mixing bowl, add the molasses, vanilla, sour cream, milk, vegetable oil, and egg and whisk together.
      gingerbread donut wet ingredients
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't overmix or your donuts will be dense and tough. The batter may be a little lumpy and that's ok.
      gingerbread donut batter
    • Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan. Bake for 14 minutes and then remove to cool on a rack.
      gingerbread donut batter in donut pan

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    • In a medium mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
      cream cheese frosting for donuts
    • Spread on top of each cooled donut, add some sprinkles and enjoy!
      baked gingerbread donut with sprinkles

    Notes

    • Baked donuts don't always end up with a traditional hole in the middle based on your pan, how the batter rises, etc. Don't worry, they still taste amazing and the only one who will really notice is you!

    Any nutrition calculations are only estimates using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

    gingerbread donut with frosting and sprinkles
    Click on the image above to PIN for later!

    Did you make these Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts?

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says

      December 15, 2020 at 5:08 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely LOVE baked donuts. Your gingerbread version looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 15, 2020 at 6:53 pm

        I love baked donuts too and these gingerbread donuts are sure to delight!

        Reply
    2. Leslie says

      December 13, 2020 at 1:23 am

      5 stars
      Definitely a recipe worth trying!

      Reply
    3. Alena says

      December 12, 2020 at 4:27 pm

      5 stars
      Love these festive donuts!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 12, 2020 at 4:41 pm

        Thanks, Alena!

        Reply
    4. Rosario Arecco says

      December 12, 2020 at 2:21 am

      5 stars
      So delicious!

      Reply
    5. Kristina says

      December 12, 2020 at 12:54 am

      5 stars
      We love gingerbread and these donuts taste great, especially with my usual gingerbread latte.

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 12, 2020 at 2:12 am

        Wow, gingerbread times 2??? I like where you are going with this!!

        Reply
    6. Audrey says

      December 11, 2020 at 10:13 pm

      5 stars
      I LOVE that these are baked!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 11:19 pm

        Baked donuts are THE BEST!!

        Reply
    7. Jessie says

      December 11, 2020 at 10:01 pm

      5 stars
      I love baked donuts and that frosting looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 11:20 pm

        Thank you! There are not a lot of things that are better than frosting IMO.

        Reply
    8. Sondra Barker says

      December 11, 2020 at 9:11 pm

      5 stars
      The perfect holiday treat! Yum.

      Reply
    9. Tara says

      December 11, 2020 at 6:26 pm

      5 stars
      Oh how fun! My kids love baked doughnuts and these are so perfect for the holidays. They sound amazing with those spices and the sprinkles on top.

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 8:37 pm

        Tara, your kids will definitely love them, I finally had to tell my son "no more!"...LOL!

        Reply
    10. Shashi says

      December 11, 2020 at 6:19 pm

      5 stars
      I so love baked donuts and these would have the house smelling marvelously festive! So delicious - can't wait to try these soon!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 8:38 pm

        You're right, Shashi, the house does smell good while these are baking. I hope you give them a try!

        Reply
    11. Michelle says

      December 11, 2020 at 6:03 pm

      5 stars
      Does it get any more festive than this?! I will be eating these from now til Christmas

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 8:38 pm

        I might do the same thing...they are so easy to make and so good!

        Reply
    12. Catherine says

      December 11, 2020 at 5:49 pm

      5 stars
      Oh my goodness this looks so incredible! Can't wait to try. 🙂

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 8:38 pm

        Thanks, Catherine, I hope you do!

        Reply
    13. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      December 11, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      5 stars
      This is absolutely the perfect time to bake these donuts, though I wonder why I can't I eat them year around. They look so festive!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 5:20 pm

        That is a great question because they are REALLY good! LOL!

        Reply
    14. Mahy says

      December 11, 2020 at 4:32 pm

      5 stars
      These gingerbread donuts made my mouth water immediately! you made this recipe so well - perfect and just in time, too! 🙂

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 11, 2020 at 4:36 pm

        Thanks, Mahy!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. 40 Festive Recipes to Try This Christmas Season says:
      December 16, 2020 at 4:37 pm

      […] Baked Gingerbread Donuts […]

      Reply

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