Chocolate and peppermint is a match made in Christmas heaven, which is why these Chocolate Peppermint Donuts are the heavenliest of all donuts!
For years – yes, literally, years – I had been convincing myself to purchase donut baking pans. I would go to baking supply shops and search them out. I’d hold them in my hand and consider whether or not the investment was worth it.
DONUT PANS – A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR THE AVID BAKER
After all, how often will one make donuts at home? Did I really need to spend money on a set of donut baking pans? Would I use them more than just twice a year? Then, I’d convince myself that I didn’t have much storage room and eventually, I’d leave the store without them.
Ever since I broke down and purchased a set of donut baking pans, I can’t stop thinking about making donuts. Truthfully, Dear Reader, I will try to find any excuse I can to whip up a batch. I try not to do that, though. If I can limit them to special occasions only, I won’t feel so guilty for eating so many of them.
BAKED, NOT FRIED!
These donuts are baked and not fried, which makes them super healthy, right? Oh, if only that were true! In fact, baked is better than fried in terms of health-conscious eating. So, these baked Chocolate Peppermint Donuts are indeed healthier, so at least we have that going for us!
It really doesn’t matter if they are healthier or not when it comes to Christmastime. There are only a few occasions within a calendar year that encourage extra sugar consumption. Christmas is certainly one of those times!
DECORATING SKILLS ARE NOT NEEDED HERE!
Whenever I bake donuts, I’m always surprised at how well they turn out in the end. I’m not a cake decorator by a long shot. But, I can manage the dunking of said donut into the glaze, and topping with sprinkles or candy.
When I was dunking these donuts into the glaze, and topping them with the sprinkles, I thought that the addition of the crushed candy canes to the top of the chocolate glaze might have been too much peppermint for some, so I decided to make some with just sprinkles instead.
There are no stead-fast rules to decorating a donut. The flavour of the donut will not change at all, or very little at the least, when you top them. All of the donuts you see in these photographs are made from the same donut batter, but the toppings vary.
CANDY CANES ARE SO CHRISTMASY!
My favourite is the crushed candy canes. But, who can resist the classic red and green sprinkles or the little red, green, and white ball-type sprinkles? Oh, and to make things a little more festive and Christmas-like, I added a few of those little silver balls as well. I think they look super festive!
If you don’t have a donut pan, and you love donuts, I encourage you to purchase one. I have two donut pans that make 6 donuts at a time, which is perfect for this recipe, because this recipe will yield 12 donuts. I have the Wilton brand, which if memory serves me correctly, was only $10 for the pair.
If you have a Dollarama or a Dollar Tree near your home, you can also purchase donut pans from there. I have never used them, so I cannot say how well they bake, but even if the donut is not perfectly round when it comes out of the oven, the only thing that matters is the taste. Am I right? Right! Here’s the recipe; have fun!
Chocolate Peppermint Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donut
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
For the Glaze
- 3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Food colouring, see note
- Christmas themed sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a 6-hole donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a hand-held mixer to blend together the milk, sour cream and eggs.
- Next, beat in the butter, vegetable oil, and peppermint extract.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Beat into the wet ingredients.
- Dump the entire batter into a large Ziploc bag. Cut one of the lower corners off the bag, and in a circular pattern, fill the donut pan about 3/4 way full. Tap the pan firmly on the kitchen counter to get the batter to settle into the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.
- Repeat until all batter is used.
- When the donuts have fully cooled, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, peppermint extract, and milk until the icing is smooth and consistent. For a thicker icing, add more confectioner's sugar. For a thinner icing, add about 1/2 teaspoon of milk at a time. Divide the icing in half. Leave one half white and add two tablespoons of cocoa powder to the other half. Whisk to incorporate. This is optional.)
- Dip the donut, top side down, into the icing. Lightly shake the excess icing off the donut, or gently drag the iced part of the donut over the rim of the icing bowl.
- Push the iced donut gently into a bowl of candy sprinkles to coat, or sprinkle the candy over the glazed donut.
- Place the donut, iced side up, back onto the wire cooling rack and allow the icing to harden.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Kelly says
Hi there, it looks like the actual recipe here is showing Canada Day mini maple muffins, not the peppermint chocolate donuts that are discussed in the post. I’d love the recipe for the donuts if it’s kicking around somewhere! Thank you in advance!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Kelly – thank you for letting me know! That was a technical issue, which I have corrected on the back end. The correct recipe is now attached to the right post. 🙂