Bursting with the goodness of cinnamon and sugar, these soft and tender snickerdoodle donut holes are made healthier by being baked instead of fried!
You’ll never guess what I was doing at 7 AM on Sunday (read: yesterday) morning.
Nope! I wasn’t sleeping (although that would have been nice).
Nuh uh. Wasn’t making pancakes or waffles either.
And newp… I wasn’t in the gym getting my sweat on.
I was actually in the kitchen licking cinnamon and sugar off my fingers. Err… that is… I was dusting donuts.
Snickerdoodle donut holes to be more precise. And would that be considered coating since there was no powdered sugar involved? Either way… I was adding even more cinnamon sugary goodness to what were already cinnamon sugary donut holes to begin with, and enjoying the fruits of my labour in the process.
Don’t worry — I only ate the lumpy/misshapen ones 😉
I’ve been obsessed with the combination of cinnamon and sugar for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I could polish off a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch like it was nobody’s business (1.5 days is my record), and one of my favourite meals growing up was actually a combination of rice and yogurt sprinkled with buried under mounds of cinnamon and sugar. I don’t mess around.
I also don’t hate the fact that the cinnamon sugar combo reminds me of Christmas, which I have to admit that I’ve been slooooowly transitioning to over the past week or so… as evidenced by the fact that my home is currently devoid of anything/everything pumpkin related. I know it’s still technically fall, and that all of my American friends haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but:
a) Thanksgiving was so October for us Canadian folk,
b) it doesn’t look like fall around here (read: we’re buried under a nice blanket of snow), and
c) I really just want an excuse to eat more snickerdoodle donut holes while listening to Mr. Buble tell me that he’ll be home for Christmas…
Focus, Amanda. Focus. Donut holes. Right.
I guess these should technically be called mini muffins since they’re baked in a mini muffin pan and all, but when you taste this good, names don’t really matter all that much. You could bake them in a regular donut pan if you felt so inclined, or even in a regular muffin pan — it matters not.
The only thing that matters is that soft and tender doughiness…
These guys are like little pillows of cinnamon sugar goodness. The donuts themselves are spiked with an extra dose of cinnamon, and the cinnamon sugar coating not only adds even more flavour and sweetness, but helps keep the donuts moist while adding the subtlest little crunch as well. So dreamy.
Because they’re baked and not fried, you won’t feel weighed down and heavy after enjoying one four. And yes, I speak from personal experience — I think I mentioned a slight obsession with the cinnamon sugar thing?
The recipe calls for buttermilk for added moisture, but I made a second batch using a milk + yogurt combination (read recipe notes) and it was just as good. Other than that, there’s only one thing left to say.
You need these in your life, stat…
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Baked Snickerdoodle Donut Holes
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 24 donut holes 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk*
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and lightly grease a 24-count mini muffin pan**. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using either a hand-held or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, mixing on a low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Use a tablespoon to divide the batter evenly among the 24 muffin cavities, filling each cavity about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until donuts holes begin to turn brown on the edges and spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool before applying the cinnamon sugar coating.
- Prepare the coating: Place butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for until fully melted, about 30 seconds. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Quickly dip each donut hole into the melted butter and then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar, shaking off any excess. Set on wire rack to set. Donuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
* If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 2 Tbsp. of plain yogurt to 1/2 cup of milk and use that instead.
** If you do not have a mini muffin pan, these can easily be made into regular sized donuts or muffins. Simply adjust baking times accordingly (12 minutes for donuts, 18 minutes for muffins).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Looking for more donut & muffin recipes? Try one of these!
Healthier Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Flourless Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Already made them twice in the last four days, and I’ve been asked to make them for Thanksgiving this year too. They are super easy, taste amazing, and are absolutely addicting.
These were absolutely delicious!! I didn’t have buttermilk or yogurt on hand so swapped in milk mixed with lemon juice and they turned out great!
so creative and awesome! yum!
Just saw these donut holes over on Show Stopper and had to head over for the recipe! I’d be licking cinnamon and sugar off my fingers too after making these:) Love how they’re baked in a mini muffin pan; thanks for the recipe, Amanda!
These would be perfect for breakfast this weekend…or any day for that matter!! They look amazing!! My biggest problem would be stopping at just a few! Thank you for sharing them with us at Foodie Fridays! I’ll be featuring them on my Facebook page tomorrow morning!
These look so good. I’m gonna take some to pair with my tea. 😀
Geez Louiiiiiisssssse. You’ve done it again.
Like you, my favourite cereal is CTC. I can still polish off a box on my own. I also loved Fruit Loops as a kid!
I haven’t had a donut in a while but I tend to pick out the chocolate glazed or sour cream glazed TimBits when they’re around!! 🙂
These donut holes have me pondering – what really is a serving size after all … I think I will stick with your version of it and eat me ” one – four” too 🙂
Love your use of buttermilk in these -along with all the other deliciousness thrown in and on!
Dude. Ridiculous.
When I craved cinnamon the other week, I made toast with butter and added brown sugar and cinnamon. So good.
Now I want to go to the Subway in NYC and have another cinnamon bun.
We’ve already talked about how buttered toast with honey/sugar and cinnamon is the best thing ever. Well, one of them, anyways.
Is it weird that I want to bring these to my annual Friendsgiving this Friday night? I know everyone’s expecting pumpkin-this or apple-that but THESE. Nom. I totally want to throw a curve ball now and bring donut holes!
Get a cup of Christmas Blend in your life to pair with these!! Not a perfect pairing, but tasty nonetheless. I like the term “dusting donuts.”
I had my first taste of Christmas Blend earlier this week! I’m not sure if I like it better than my beloved Pike’s, but it was still good!
That sounds like the yummiest Sunday morning ever! Cinnamon is my weakness! And in the form of snickerdoodle donut holes!? I will be enjoying these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!! Pinned! 🙂
These remind me a lot of the cake-like donut holes at Dunkin Donuts! I can’t believe you figured out how to achieve the same thing while baking them! You’re amazing!
I’m obsessed with snickerdoodle cookies but I’ve never had them in donut form. They look insanely good! The cinnamon sugar combo really is the best!
Long time no comment! It’s so nice to catch up on your blog. SO many amazing recipes I’ve earmarked to make. These have made their way to the time. My favourite donut is oddly honey dip from Timmy’s. FRESH ones to be specific.
I feel like snickerdoodle is one of my favorite flavors. And the most underrated one. I have a recipe in my head for something snicker doodlethemed very soon 🙂
Unrelated, I one time polished off a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream in about the same time period as your cinnamon toast crunch. Let’s just say my other did not buy me ice cream again for years.
You constantly kill me with your recipes. These look DIVINE!
My donut experience is limited thanks to allergies, but of the few that I’ve tried, I love the chocolate glazed ones from Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. These look like they could easily top my favourite list though. Anything with cinnamon sugar is bound to be amazing. It reminds me of eating cinnamon sugar toast as a kid!
Cinnamon Toast Crunch will forever be my favourite cereal. Always <3 And as for favourite donut…sour cream glazed. Although chocolate glazed can take the number 2 spot.
And you know the answer to the snow question. Although at least I can be happy that the high today was -2 as opposed to feeling like -25?
Chocolate glazed were always, always my favourite. I’m still bitter with Timmy’s for slapping me in the face with that allergy warning 😥
i love doughnuts and i love snickerdoodles so i would love these!
HELLS yes. These look fabulous. I’m all about a lightened up treat.
Ohhh my goodness these donut holes!! I am totally dying. Anything cinnamon is… well… my favorite thing in the world. And even just the WORD donut makes me happy. I’ve gotta make these asap, missy!!