Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Craving a sweet treat? Make a batch of these Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. Ready in less than 45 minutes, these doughnuts are always a family favorite!

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I grew up eating powdered sugar doughnuts on Saturday mornings. There was a ritual of sorts in our house – my sister and I would wake up early on Saturday morning to watch cartoons and eat powdered sugar doughnuts. Every now and then, I’ll grab a pack of doughnuts from the store and relive those memories. Scooby-Doo is always the cartoon of choice.

As I was walking through the bread/doughnut aisle at the grocery store recently, I stopped and looked at the cinnamon sugar doughnuts. They looked delicious. Now I know it’s hard to beat a doughnut covered in powdered sugar, but a donut covered in cinnamon + sugar? Well, that’s a tough choice. I’ll take one of each!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I decided to pull out my recipe for Baked Powdered Sugar Donuts and give it a cinnamon-sugar makeover. That recipe is legit – those baked doughnuts are fantastic! Let jump into this cinnamon sugar version:

Doughnut Pan

In order to make baked doughnuts at home, you’re going to need a doughnut pan. There’s really no way around it. If you have a mini-muffin tin, you can make donut muffins. They’re good. Like really good. But there’s just something about donuts needing that hole in the middle, right??

Baked Doughnuts

• Cake Flour. I’m a big fan of cake flour when it comes to homemade baked donuts. The texture is softer and, well, cakier than regular all-purpose flour. If you don’t have any cake flour, you can make it by taking 1 cup of all-purpose flour, removing 2 tablespoons of flour and adding 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Since this recipe uses 1¼ cups of cake flour, you’d want to remove 2½ tablespoons of flour and replace with 2½ tablespoons of corn starch.
• Granulated Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt. The other basic dry ingredients. Sugar adds sweetness and flavor while the baking powder helps the donuts rise in the oven. A tiny bit of salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the donuts.
• Egg, Milk, Vanilla Extract, Melted Unsalted Butter and Heavy Cream. These ingredients add the necessary liquid to the recipe while also adding flavor.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• Melted Unsalted Butter. Once the donuts have cooled, brush the tops and bottoms with melted butter. Then immediately dip both sides in the cinnamon + sugar mixture. The butter helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the donut. The first bit of cinnamon sugar will likely absorb into the butter, so I like to sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar on top of the donuts before serving. It’s messy…but it’s worth it!
• Granulated Sugar and Ground Cinnamon. 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon to ½ cup of granulated sugar produces a cinnamon sugar with strong cinnamon flavor. It’s perfect for these baked doughnuts!

Our 9-year-old son happened to be home from school for a teacher workday when I made these Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. He helped make the doughnuts themselves, and then we sat down and ate one (or maybe two) together. He declared them to be the best doughnuts he’s ever eaten!

If you’re looking for a fantastic baked doughnut recipe, then put these Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts on the list. They’re a favorite around our house – Happy Baking!

How to Store Leftover Baked Donuts

Baked donuts always taste better when they’re fresh out of the oven. However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. (Good luck on getting them to last that long!)

You can also freeze baked donuts. If you know you will be freezing these, I recommend freezing them without the cinnamon sugar topping. Place the plain baked donuts in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the donuts thaw at room temperature before brushing with melted butter and adding the cinnamon sugar topping.

Did you make this Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Craving a sweet treat? Make a batch of these Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. Ready in less than 45 minutes, these doughnuts are always a family favorite!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 doughnuts

Calories: 379kcal

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Ingredients

For the Doughnuts

• 1¼ cups cake flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 3 Tbsp heavy cream

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted

Instructions

For the Doughnuts

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Using a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients (cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt); stir until well combined.
• Using a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla extract, melted butter and heavy cream.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients; stir until just combined.
• Using nonstick baking spray, generously grease a donut pan.
• Spoon or pipe the batter evenly into each cavity of the greased pan.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until doughnuts begin to turn golden brown on the edges.
• Let doughnuts cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• Using a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
• Brush doughnuts with melted butter (tops and bottoms) and then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon sugar on top.
• Doughnuts will taste best served immediately, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Looking for more baked donut recipes? Check out these other favorites, too: