Time to make the doughnuts!

Peppermint Candy Cane Doughnuts! I decided to post this at the last minute since I had to make them for my son’s holiday party today. It’s a morning party so we always try to make muffins or doughnuts as the sweet treat since it seems a bit early for cakes and cookies. (I know, potayto, potahto) There isn’t too big a focus on food for these parties, so a couple of sweet treats and a few healthy treats, then we’re on to games and activities.

For the last school party in the fall, I made delicious Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins. They were a denser, richer cake doughnut, and if you haven’t tried them yet, you should. Today’s recipe is lighter, spongier and easier to throw together. Unlike many doughnuts that perish within hours, these stay moist so you can make them the day before, if you need that option.

I found this recipe on Averie Cooks. It’s her recipe for Baked Vanilla Donuts with Vanilla Glaze. (Yes… donut vs. doughnut. I was tempted to go with the shorter name for this recipe, but decided to remain consistent with my other doughnut post.) I used her recipe for the base and just tweaked it a bit for my Peppermint Candy Cane Doughnuts.

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She suggested using a plastic zippered bag to fill the pan and it works great! Makes filling each cavity quick and neat. I used a Crate and Barrel candy cane shaped doughnut pan; I actually don’t like buying specialty shaped pans because they’re too specific, but I picked these up on sale last year and figured I’d at least get a few uses out of them. (That’s why I raised my hand and said, “I’ll make Peppermint Candy Cane Doughnuts.” Now I can say I’ve used the pans twice.) You can use any doughnut pan or even a muffin pan.

The doughnut itself is vanilla. Then, there’s a bit of peppermint extract in the glaze. I topped them with Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips that I finely chopped for easier sprinkling. I like using these instead of crushed peppermints because they are creamy and not crunchy (even though their name has “crunch” in it.) They make the doughnuts look festive and add just a bit more peppermint flavor. It’s a nice balance. This is breakfast; we don’t want to end up with breath mints.

This was an easy treat for an already crazy week. A few years ago, I undertook a crazy cake pop project for another school function that took hours and hours and hours, much longer than I thought could have been possible. When I showed up with my creation, in all of its beautiful presentation glory, one of the kids said, “Hey, look! Munchkins!” (Ugh! Seriously? I could have just stuck a bunch of doughnuts on a stick and it would have been the SAME?!? Ahhh, lesson learned. Well, not really. I have plenty of stories like that one.)

These, on the other hand, won’t take any time at all. And the kids?

They’re just going to be thrilled to be at a holiday party instead of doing math :)

Peppermint Candy Cane Doughnuts

Yield: 26 candy cane doughnuts (about 2 1/2 inches long) see note below

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 T butter, melted (either salted or unsalted is fine)

For the glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 or more Tablespoons of water or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, not mint
1/4 cup Andes white chocolate peppermint chips, chopped finely

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease or spray doughnut pan or muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together buttemilk, eggs and vanilla then stir into flour mixture.
When mixture is almost combined (you still have floury streaks), add the melted butter and stir until incorporated.
Spoon batter into a large zippered plastic bag. I use freezer bags because they're sturdier.
Snip a corner off and pipe batter into doughnut pan, about 2/3 full. (You can also just spoon the batter into the pans.)
Bake for 8-11 minutes or until firm. Doughnuts will not be golden brown on top, they'll appear light, but will spring back when touched. Mine took exactly 8 minutes. When you take them out of the pan, the flip side will be lightly golden.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack.
Make the glaze. Mix confectioner's sugar, water or milk, vanilla and peppermint extract in a small bowl. Add enough water to get a good drizzling consistency.
Dip each doughnut top, warm or cool, into the glaze, scraping excess off with a spoon.
Sprinkle with chopped white chocolate peppermint chips. Allow icing to set before packing up for storing.

Notes

*The cavities in this pan are smaller than a regular doughnut pan or muffin pan, so you may need a couple of extra minutes in the oven if you use a larger pan. Your yield might be just over a dozen with a regular sized doughnut or muffin pan.

*You could also use a mini muffin pan. This will yield more than 26 and will probably take a minute or so less, but I would do my first check at 5 minutes.

*Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Recipe slightly adapted from Averie Cooks Baked Vanilla Donuts with Vanilla Glaze