Cute Factor = 10
O.M.G. That is all. How CUTE are these???? And delicious I might add.
Now, I am not a HUGE proponent of eating donuts all the time, but I have two reasons why I made these, and two rationalizations for it being ok.
Reasons:
1. When I was a kid, I had an unhealthy desire to eat a pink frosted donut from Dunkin’Donuts every day. No lie. It still haunts me.
2. I saw this mini donut pan from Wilton on sale, and I HAD to buy it. I mean, its not my fault if a pan just jumps into my shopping cart. At least that’s what I told myself.
Rationalizations:
1. On a sort of serious note, in his book Food Rules, Michael Pollan suggests that you should only eat junk food if you’re willing to make it yourself. Ice cream, donuts, cupcakes – if you make it (which lets be honest, takes a lot of effort and doesn’t happen that often… unless you’re me) you can eat it. (PS- read this book – its SO great, and really encourages having a healthy relationship with food, which I can’t agree more with!)
2. Valentine’s Day is coming up. I needed more pink desserts in my life.
And now you’ve realized how my brain works. I didn’t say it was pretty people.
And yes – they are really really mini!!!
Mini Vanilla Bean Cake Donuts (adapted from Glorious Treats, makes 36 mini donuts)
- 1 1/4 C flour
- 1/2 C sugar
- seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1 1/4 t baking powder
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 C buttermilk, room temp
- 1 egg, lightly beaten and room temp
- 2 T butter (separated into 1/2 T and 1 1/2 T)
Preheat the oven to 425. Grease the donut pan with the 1/2 T melted butter (you’ll need to do this a few times, so don’t use it all at once).
In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla beans. Add the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter, and stir to combine.
Scoop the batter into a ziplock bag, and snip off the very end of one corner with scissors. Pipe the batter into the pan until the molds are just 1/2 way full (the dough rises quite a bit).
Bake for 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the process two more times, until the batter is all used up.
Toss with cinnamon sugar, glaze, frost, or eat them plain.
Simple Sugar Glaze
- 1 C confectioners’ sugar
- 1 T milk (add more to get correct consistency if need be)
- 1/2 t vanilla extract (or other flavoring if you’d like)
- food coloring (optional)
Mix together all ingredients, adding more liquid if necessary.
Dip the donuts in, and let dry completely for a few hours on a rack. If you’re using sprinkles, put them on right after you’ve glazed, before they dry, so the sprinkles stick.
Enjoy!!
