Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I was reading a recipe post the other day for a baked donut recipe that only required one ingredient. I was pretty sure the ingredient was Pillsbury dough, and sure enough it was.
I’ve made donuts using Pillsbury biscuit dough before. When you fry them up and dust them with sugar or coat them with glaze, they taste remarkably similar to a real doughnut. (Recipes here and here.) I liked the idea of being able to do a baked version, but my initial thought was “If I bake them, won’t they just taste like biscuits since that’s usually how you prepare the dough?“
But I decided to give it a shot. I don’t have a mini donut cutter, so I broke off chunks of biscuit dough and molded them to fit into my mini donut pan. I own this one. Then in the oven they went. Ten minutes later, they popped out, all puffy, cute and a golden brown. They sure looked similar to the mini donuts I’ve baked before.
Then I topped them with icing. I normally like doing a chocolate ganache but I wanted to stick to the shortcut theme and icing is a little easier to make.
So the verdict? Okay they didn’t really taste much like donuts. They tasted like slightly buttery dough mixed with icing. They weren’t horrible, but they weren’t great. I think this would be a fun project with kids but it’s not something I’d bring to my next adult party.
Shortcut Mini Baked Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 can of premade biscuit dough Pillsbury or store brand
- 2 cups icing/powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a mini donut pan. Take a chunk of biscuit dough and press into donut mold, so that it fills halfway. If you have a small donut cutter, you can also cut out mini donut shapes.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. The dough inside the donut pan will turn a golden brown but the top part will remain a pale white. If you let the top turn golden brown the donuts will be overcooked.
- While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze. Place icing sugar in small bowl. Add in 1 tbsp of milk and stir with a spatula. Add another tbsp and stir again. Check to see if it is the right consistency. If needed, add another 1/2 to 1 tbsp. You want to add the milk in slowly because a small amount can make the icing too thin. Add in a few drops of the desired food coloring and mix until the icing color is uniform. Dip donuts into the icing and then set on a cooling rack so icing can set.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These are cute! Too bad they didn’t taste much like donuts, but a fun experiment anyway.
Hehe, yeah they baked up so cute! They dont taste really like donuts but I imagine if you are working with small kids they will likely enjoy making and decorating and eating them anyway.