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Celebrate the holiday season with Christmas donuts! This fun baked donut recipe has so many decoration options! Get the whole family involved in making Christmas breakfast! 

12 Christmas donuts arranged in a grid in a donut box
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Recipe at a Glance

  • Christmas donuts are made in the oven
  • everyday ingredients
  • ready to decorate in 30 minutes
  • the decoration options are endless
  • get the whole family involved

Decoration Options

  • plaid
  • chocolate with sprinkles
  • white with sprinkles
  • christmas lights 
  • reindeer
  • chocolate with zig zag sprinkles
  • tie dye present with bow
how to fill a donut pan collage image

Tips For Filling Donut Pan

This is the donut pan I use. Before filling the pan I spray it with nonstick cooking spray and use a paper towel to wipe the spray around each donut well. 

Next, I use a cookie dough scoop to fill the pan. 

Do your best to evenly divide the batter among each donut well. 

Total Time Required

  • 10 minutes to prep batter and fill donut pan
  • 10-13 minutes to bake
  • 10 minutes to cool
  • 20 minutes to decorate
how to dip donuts in glaze
white donut with Christmas sprinkles on the left and a white donut with red and green plaid pattern on the right

How to Dip Donuts in Glaze

Once the glaze is made, transfer it to a  small, shallow bowl that’s slightly larger than the donuts. 

Dip the donut into the glaze. Hold the donut upside down for a few seconds over the bowl, allowing the excess to fall off and back into the bowl. Place the donuts on a cooling rack and allow the glaze to set. 

How To Freeze Baked Donuts

Allow the Christmas donuts to cool completely. Dip and allow the glaze to harden. Wrap each donut in plastic wrap, then place inside a freezer ziplock bag or container. 

To thaw: microwave for 20 seconds or place on the counter for 30 minutes.

close up of chocolate reindeer donut with other donuts in a donut box

How To Make Gluten Free Donuts

I’ve made these baked donuts with both regular and gluten free flour with awesome results on multiple occasions. I recommend King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. Use it as a one for one substitute for regular flour.

How To Properly Measure Flour

  • Fluff the flour with a fork
  • Use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup
  • Use a butter knife to level the measuring cup

Sticking the measuring cup straight into the bag of flour will result in too much flour to be packed into the cup, which can result in dry baked goods.

Tips

  • the frosting will harden as it sets, this may take a couple of hours
  • for detailed decoration I recommend squeeze bottles
  • this is the donut pan I own
12 christmas donuts arranged in a grid in a donut box

More Christmas Recipes

4.29 from 14 ratings

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Christmas Donuts

By: Beth
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 donuts
Celebrate the holiday season with Christmas donuts! This fun baked donut recipe has so many decoration options! Get the whole family involved in making Christmas breakfast! 

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp milk, I used skim
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil

White Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp milk, I used skim
  • red and green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp milk, I used skim
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Decoration

  • Christmas jimmie sprinkles
  • Christmas nonpareils
  • Mini M&Ms
  • Candy eye balls
  • Pretzels

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray then use a paper towel to evenly coat the entire donut well.
  • In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, sugar, baking powder and salt, mix until combined. Set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and vegetable oil, use a whisk or spatula to beat. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing by hand with a spatula just until combined.
  • Spoon the batter into the donut wells. Use a small spatula to smooth the tops of the batter if the batter is uneven.
  • Bake for 11-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a donut comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool completely in the donut pan, 10 minutes. Once cool, turn the donut pan upside down and hit the pan against the counter a few times to release the donuts. Repeat with the other half of the batter.

Glaze and Decoration

  • Combine the ingredients for the white glaze in a bowl and stir together until combined. Divide the glaze into 3 bowls, keep one white, add red food coloring to one and green food coloring to another. Repeat steps to make the chocolate glaze. Dip the donut into the desired glaze, allowing the excess to fall off into the bowl. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes.
  • Then add the desired decoration, use the photos as a guide!
    •plaid
    •chocolate with sprinkles
    •white with sprinkles
    •Christmas lights 
    •reindeer
    •chocolate with zig zag sprinkles
    •tie dye present with bow

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 66IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Beth

I believe that everyone should have a go-to dessert to bring to parties! With hundreds of recipes, I'll help you find yours!

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4.29 from 14 votes (13 ratings without comment)

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1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    So easy and a good tasting donut.  Made for our Christmas bake sale!   Also happy to join in the chances at your December bake giveaway