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These baked cinnamon mini donuts are coated in cinnamon sugar and served alongside a rich chocolate sauce for dipping. YUM!
Are you ready for a kid-approved treat like these sweet baked cinnamon mini donuts with chocolate sauce?
Believe it or not, this is now my second post inspired by my kid’s Spanish class. Yep, anyone that claims that foreign language studies in school aren’t productive clearly isn’t reading this blog.
One of my very first blog posts included a recipe for carne asada tacos that I made for my son to share with his Spanish class for Hispanic Heritage month. Today I’m going straight for your sweet tooth with these mini cinnamon donuts inspired by churros y chocolate that he is bringing for a class party.
I first learned about churros from my seventh grade Spanish class. As a student I struggled with the Spanish subjunctive, when to use usted instead of tú, and how to roll my r’s, but one thing I learned pretty quickly was how delicious churros were, especially when dipped into chocolate.
To be fair, you can’t dip “usted” in cinnamon sugar and chocolate, so I really can’t call it a contest. But from that very first description to that very first bite, I was hooked.
These baked mini donuts are a slightly healthier version than fried churros and a whole lot less mess. It’s a simple batter that is piped into a mini donut pan, baked and then rolled into cinnamon sugar.
The chocolate dipping sauce is sweet, but not cloying and because they’re mini, the donut to cinnamon sugar coating ratio is just right.
To say that his class gobbled them up would be an understatement. And to say that this was perhaps his favorite homework assignment, well that pretty much goes without saying too.
Let’s make baked cinnamon mini donuts with chocolate sauce
- After mixing up the donut batter, grease a mini donut pan with cooking spray.
- Use a piping bag and fill the donut molds 2/3 full and bake.
- Once the donuts are baked, brush them with melted butter and coat with cinnamon sugar.
- Make the chocolate sauce and serve!
Tips for success
- Don’t over-fill the molds or you won’t have the round “donut look”.
- A piping bag works the best for filling the molds, but a ziplock bag with the end snipped off will work in a pinch.
- Brush the donuts while they’re still warm with the melted butter.
- The chocolate sauce can be made up to one week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
More kid-approved sweets
These baked cinnamon mini donuts are coated in cinnamon sugar and served alongside a rich chocolate sauce for dipping. YUM!
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 oz unsalted butter melted (1/2 stick)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 6 oz milk chocolate, chopped
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
- 2 cups heavy cream
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
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In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
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In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed with a mixer. Add the egg and beat until combined.
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Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/2 of the milk, repeating until everything is incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.
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Fill a pastry bag with the donut batter and pipe into the the donut molds, filling each mold just shy of 2/3 full.
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Bake for 8-10 mins or until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean.
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Repeat with the rest of the batter depending how many donut pans you have, spraying the donut pan before refilling.
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Combine the cinnamon and the sugar.
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Release the donuts onto a wire rack and using a pastry brush, brush each warm donut with a little butter then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
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In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients over low heat.
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Heat until chocolate is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir until sauce is well blended and smooth.
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Serve donuts alongside chocolate sauce for dipping.
Special Equipment: mini donut pan
Recipe yields: 30 mini donuts
Serving Size: 3 mini donuts
- Don’t over-fill the molds or you won’t have the round “donut look”.
- A piping bag works the best for filling the molds, but a ziplock bag with the end snipped off will work in a pinch.
- Brush the donuts while they’re still warm with the melted butter.
- The chocolate sauce can be made up to one week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December 2016 but was republished with tips in June 2020.
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Vivian {Stay Alive and Cooking} says
Ohhhhh I LOVE churros!! They sometimes sell them at events here in town, and I can’t resist to buy a bag filled with steaming hot churros topped in cinnamon-sugar. Don’t you love how inspiration can come from the most unexpected places? I’ve had Spanish class for 2 years but never thought to turn churros into mini donuts… 😉
Cathy says
Me too Vivian! Churros are top of my list. And yes…inspiration comes from the most unlikely places sometimes!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
My kids are taking Spanish and I have yet to be inspired to make donuts. Ha! You are a great mom and these babies look to die for dipped in that chocolate!
Cathy says
Thanks Karen! Perhaps some Spanish class-inspired tapas in your future? 😉
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I love this post Cathy! Your photos and your styling are just beautiful! You’re such a great mom to make all these delicious looking donuts for Jack and his class! I love how they are baked and not fried because I think I know I’d have a very hard time stopping at one or two!!
Cathy says
Thank you Mary Ann. Mean a lot coming from you!
Alida | Simply Delicious says
Wow, these look so awesome Cathy! I’m sure your boy and his class just LOVED these. I’m with Mary Ann, I would definitely not be able to stop at just one or two!
Cathy says
Thanks Alida. And full disclosure…I didn’t stop at one!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Oh my gosh, what a fun treat! Would be so great to enjoy over the holidays 🙂
Cathy says
Thanks Jennifer! Since we’re on holiday sweet overload, why not a little dipping chocolate. 😉
Cindy says
Oh my, I am dipping right along with you. I wanted to hop into that bowl of chocolate sauce myself. Love the way that gif makes me want to literally pop into this recipe. Thinking this is perfect Xmas morning with my family all around to gobble them up.
Cathy says
Thanks Cindy. Yep, that chocolate sauce didn’t last long around here! (Neither did the donuts.)
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon says
Ooh, those look great! Spanish class is clearly an excellent way to get inspiration and you basically had me at chocolate sauce. 🙂 I have some donut molds on my Christmas list…
Cathy says
I hope Santa brings you those molds Annemarie. It’s so much fun to make baked donuts and not bad to eat either 😉
annie@ciaochowbambina says
I can not handle the cuteness going on here! Who doesn’t love anything ‘mini’?! Especially when it means we get to eat more!! 😉
Cathy says
Right Annie? Mini means more for sure!