High Altitude Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts
These soft and buttery gingerbread cake donuts are flavored with molasses and cozy spices, then coated in crunchy cinnamon sugar.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup full fat sour cream
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp molasses
Cinnamon Sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Doughnuts
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray your doughnut pans with non-stick baking spray.
- This recipe makes enough batter for about 12 standard-sized donuts (around 2 1/2 - 3 inches) or 3 dozen mini donuts. If you don't have enough pans, let the batter rest at room temperature while you bake the donuts in batches.
- In a bowl, whisk together both flours with the granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and spices, until everything is evenly distributed.
- Separately, whisk together the egg, sour cream and milk. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, along with the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract and molasses. Use a spatula or a whisk to briefly stir everything together into a thick batter.
- Fill a 16-inch disposable piping bag half full with the batter (you can refill as needed), and snip off the tip. Pipe the batter into the greased donut pans, filling the molds half full. Don't overfill your donut pans, or the batter will spill over the molds, creating a little muffin top on the donuts.
- Bake the donuts for about 12 minutes (for standard sized donuts) or around 8-10 minutes (for mini sized donuts), until the donuts spring back when gently touched. Cool in the pans for several minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Cinnamon Sugar
- In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. While the donuts are still warm, coat them in the cinnamon sugar.
- Baker's Note: Sometimes baked donuts can have a slight "crust" on them right after baking, so that the sugar doesn't want to stick very well. You can opt to very lightly brush (do not dip or submerge) the donuts in melted butter, to help the sugar stick.But if you have the time to wait a bit, another easy solution, without adding extra butter, is to coat them in the sugar while warm, then place them in an airtight container. Place the lid on and let the donuts sit for at least 30 minutes to cool. The steam will be trapped inside the container, and the moisture will soften the crust on the donuts. Coat the donuts again in the cinnamon sugar, and it will stick much better.You can even bake the donuts the night before, store them in an airtight container at room temperature overnight, and coat them in the cinnamon sugar in the morning. They'll be just as soft and moist as they are when freshly baked.
Notes
Leftover doughnuts should be cooled completely, then stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/