Easy Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts

If you love cinnamon rolls then you’re going to love these Easy Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts that are soft and chewy just like fried donuts.

These donuts are quick and easy to make in as little as 10 minutes with simple ingredients and taste amazing with a hot cup of coffee!

this recipe!

After the baked blueberry cake donuts received rave reviews, I was so inspired to create other flavours.

If this is your first time making baked donuts, you will find that they are so easy to make. No hot oil for these donuts, they’re baked in a donut pan in the oven.

These cinnamon baked donuts have a delicious soft cake like but chewy donut texture and taste like cinnamon buns. How great is that!

Also inspired by my no yeast cinnamon buns, you’re going to love how the crunchy cinnamon topping becomes the bottom of the donut!

The tops of the cinnamon donuts are dipped in a cinnamon glaze, then drizzle with an optional plain white glaze for a more decorative finish.

I hope you will enjoy these as much as we did! These glazed cinnamon roll donuts taste as good as fried donuts without all the fat and mess.

Trust me here, you’re going to want to make a double batch of these delicious baked donut recipe that are terrific as part of a holiday breakfast or snack!

Why you’ll love this donut recipe

• Simple ingredients and all you need is a donut pan. You can mix the batter entirely by hand.
• Much quicker and easier than making a batch of cinnamon rolls!
• Baked, not fried, these donuts have way less mess than fried donuts.
• Fun baked donut recipe as part of a holiday season breakfast or brunch

Ingredients for baked donuts that taste like fried

Ingredients notes for cinnamon roll doughnut

You can find a full printable recipe with quantities at the bottom of this page. Below is a few notes about the ingredients for this recipe:

• Butter at room temperature
• Eggs – should be a room temperature. Take them out of the refrigerator an hour before you start the recipe.
• Vanilla extract – I love the flavour that pure vanilla extract adds to a recipe. You can use artificial as well.
• Buttermilk delicious for making donuts
• All-purpose flour – stir up the flour, then scoop it into the measuring cup and level it off across the top with a knife.

Step by step instructions for making easy baked cinnamon roll donuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.

I like to use the Wilton donut pan with six donut molds for my baked donuts. Lightly grease the donut molds or spray with non stick spray.

You can mix the donut batter entirely by hand for this recipe.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the egg, then add in buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.

Transfer batter, in three separate batches to a decorating bag or ziploc bag.

Once filled, cut a hole in the bottom of the bag that is just a bit smaller than the width of the donut shape.

Pipe the cinnamon donut batter into the donut cavities in the greased donut pan.

I find the best way is to use the bag. Alternatively, you can spoon the batter into the greased donut pan by hand using a spoon.

Make the streusel: In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Mix until crumbly and sprinkle a small amount on top of each donut.

Bake in 350°F oven for 15 minutes. The edges will be a very light golden brown and you can test with a toothpick to ensure that they are cooked throughout.

Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove donuts from pan and set on wire cooling rack while you prepare the glaze.

Note: the top of the donut in the pan becomes the bottom of the donut. The streusel mixture is at the bottom of the donut.

For the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk and cinnamon.

You may need an additional tablespoon of milk, or a bit more powdered sugar to achieve the right consistency.

The glaze should be thin enough that you can easily dip and remove the donuts from.

For easy cleanup: Place plastic wrap or parchment paper under the wire rack to catch the mess from the dripping glaze.

One at a time, dip the top of the donuts into the glaze and allow the glaze to drizzle off a bit, then place on wire rack.

Optional: To match the donuts in the photos, I made a very small amount of plain glaze with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle on top and give it the white contrast against the brown cinnamon glaze. You can drizzle it with a spoon or pipe using an icing bag.

Variations for best cinnamon rolls donuts no yeast

Cream Cheese Icing – for a change, spread cream cheese icing from this banana bread recipe on top of cooled donuts.

Plain Vanilla Glaze – instead of the cinnamon flavoured glaze, omit the cinnamon and opt for a plain vanilla glaze.

If you don’t want to frost/glaze the entire donut, you could simply use a piping bag to drizzle a smaller amount of glaze on top of the donuts.

Sandra’s top tips for making baked cinnamon rolls donuts in the oven

• Butter and eggs should be used at room temperature for best results
• Pure vanilla extract makes baking donuts taste much better
• Measure the flour by scooping the flour with a spoon into the measuring cup and level off with a knife
• I like to use a piping back to pipe the batter into the greased donut pan but your can also scoop the batter in the with a spoon
• Test with a toothpick to make sure they are done throughout it should come out clean

Cinnamon roll donut calories?

This depends largely on the size and thickness of your donuts and the thickness of the glaze you use. For these baked cinnamon rolls donuts you can expect them to have between 214 to 250 calories per donut with the glaze.

You can lower the calories of the donut by not using or using a smaller amount of glaze on them.

Do baked donuts have less calories than fried donuts?

Yes baked donuts will typically have fewer calories and fat. The reason is you do not have the extra fat from the oil from frying the fried donuts.

Storage and freezing instructions for cinnamon roll donut recipe

Storing

Store donuts in an airtight container for 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days. If stacking them, place between layers of parchment paper.

Freezing

Freeze baked donuts in a freezer-safe container for 2 to 3 months using parchment paper to separate any layers.

Thaw at room temperature or the fridge before serving.

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