Pink Party Donuts

Literally love at first bite.

I mean… does it really get any better?

These are my party donuts! Party ready, party perfect. I made these about 3 weeks ago and have been holding on so I could share them with you on a Monday. Because if anything is going to help cure your post-superbowl-monday blues, it’s rainbow sprinkle heart shaped donuts. That are PINK. You are welcome.

Guess what? I’m on the road again. (UPDATE: I just learned that my book signing in Boston tonight is being rescheduled because of the snow, we’re working on finding a new date now! My NYC stop tomorrow is still on.) I hope to meet many of you on the last leg of my book tour! I’m looking to add a few more stops later this year, so I’ll keep you updated. While we’re speaking business things, thank you for all your supportive words as well as applications for the job opening. I’m continuously blown away by this community!! I’m still accepting applications, so read more about the marketing assistant position if you’re interested. Thank you. ♥

Alright, let’s celebrate. These pink party donuts are not only for Valentine’s Day around the corner but for freakin’ every day. I mean, wouldn’t your day just be 1000x better if you woke up to pink donuts every morning? You’re guaranteed happiness. As well as a larger pants size.

Do you know how easy it is to make baked donuts? It’s like whipping up an easy muffin batter. And you don’t need a mixer; a simple whisk and a couple bowls will do. One thing you DO need is a heart-shaped donut pan. You can obviously use your regular donut pan, but hearts > circles. The world needs more heart donuts.

The heart shaped pan is just like a regular donut pan, but the cavities are somewhat smaller. Do not fill the heart cavities up very high or you won’t have a hole in the center of the donut. They’ll look a little, ahem, bloated. 🙁

So, careful on that one!

The donuts are flavored with vanilla and cinnamon. You can essentially make any of my donut recipes into hearts and top with this pink icing. For these photos, however, I made a version of my baked cinnamon sugar donuts. Without the cinnamon-sugar topping, but full of their divine cakey-ness. Cakiness? Whatever.

Alright, let’s chat about this pink icing situation. It’s really just a thick vanilla glaze tinted pink with magical sprinkles on top. I add a little melted butter to this vanilla donut glaze– just adds extra flavor and richness. It also helps set the glaze on top of the baked donuts after a few hours. The glaze won’t completely set, but won’t be dripping off either. A happy (rainbow bright) medium.

So in addition to being pink √ pretty √  sprinkled √ and heart-shaped √ , these pink party donuts are flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Nutmeg is my secret ingredient in baked donuts. I don’t add much; just a little gives the baked donuts that bakery donut taste. You know cake donuts? Just like them! I always add it– and I think you’ll be hooked too.

This recipe only makes 9 or so heart-shaped donuts, so I suggest making 2 batches for a larger crowd. And make 2 batches of glaze, too! I obviously made more than 1 batch because I can’t get over the cuteness.

Print

Pink Party Donuts

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 30 minutes


• 
  Cook Time: 10 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 45 mintutes


• 
  Yield: about 9 heart donuts or 8 round donuts


• 
  Category: Breakfast


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

Print

Pin

---

Description

An easy recipe for baked pink party donuts covered in pink tinted vanilla frosting and an overload of rainbow sprinkles. It’s love at first bite!

---

Ingredients

• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1 large egg, at room temperature


• 1/3 cup (65g) packed light brown sugar


• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*


• 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted


• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar


• 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled


• 3–4 Tablespoons (45-60ml) heavy cream


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• pinch salt


• 1–2 drops red food coloring


• for garnish: rainbow sprinkles*

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray the donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.


2. Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk the egg, brown sugar, and buttermilk together until smooth. Add the melted butter and vanilla, whisking until fully combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be very thick.


3. Spoon the batter into the donut cavities—I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag for ease. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling only 1/2 – 2/3 full. If baking hearts, do not fill up too much or the donuts won’t have a hole in the center (they’ll puff up too much).


4. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool in the pan for about two minutes then place each on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet or parchment paper (to catch any sprinkles or glaze in step 5). Bake the remaining donut batter (there is usually enough batter for 2-3 more donuts) and once baked, transfer to the wire rack. Allow donuts to cool down until you can handle them.


5. Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients together until completely smooth. Add more cream to thin or more confectioners’ sugar to thicken, if desired. I always add a little salt to offset the sweetness. Dip each donut into the glaze, then place back on the rack. Top with sprinkles. Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If glazed lightly, the glaze will somewhat set after a few hours.

---

---

Notes

1. Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the glazed or plain donuts for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up to your liking in the microwave. I usually just zap ’em for a couple seconds– even with the glaze on. Very tasty.


2. Double Batch: Instead of doubling the recipe, make two batches. I find it’s easy to overmix when working with a double batch in 1 bowl. Overmixing may lead to too-dense donuts.


3. Muffins: You can make this recipe into 8-10 muffins using a muffin pan. Bake at the same temperature for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.


4. Buttermilk: Buttermilk is fabulous in this recipe! I highly recommend it. So much flavor, you’ll love it. Instead, you can use 1/4 cup any milk and 1/4 cup any yogurt to replace the 1/2 cup buttermilk.


5. Sprinkles: I mixed a bunch of sprinkles for these donuts– I got rainbow sprinkles from Target and mixed them with Sweetapolita sprinkles.


6. Donut Pan: Heart-shaped donut pan or regular donut pan.

Keywords: heart donuts, donuts

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sallysbakeblog on Instagramand hashtag it #sallysbakingaddiction

Since I don’t think you got enough pink today, have you tried my frosted sugar cookie bars yet? Frosting layer as thick as the cookie layer. YUP.

Share this post