2021 Baking Challenge Part 4 : Oscar Worthy Doughnuts

Several years in a row, I hosted a big Oscars party that included themed food and drinks, decorations, prediction forms, and prizes given to those who got the most categories correct. I’m pretty proud of the food spreads I made so take a walk down memory lane with me…

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Last year I think I ran out of time to plan a party. This year, due to COVID, Pete and I watched it, just the two of us. We had leftovers for dinner, but I still had to do something in honor of the awards night and for my baking challenge so I tried to make doughnuts. I made this Ina Garten recipe for Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts that I thought was a great, quick option and hopefully a teensy bit healthier than a fried version.

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This was such an easy recipe to make on a night that I didn’t have too much time. The first step was to turn the oven on to 350 degrees and spray my donut pan with oil. The second step was to mix the dry ingredients together which included 2 cups of flour, 1.5 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, .5 teaspoon of cinnamon, .5 teaspoon of nutmeg, and .5 teaspoon of salt. Then I mixed the wet ingredients together which was 1 large egg, 1.25 cups of milk, 2 tablespoons of melted and cooled butter (the cooled part I didn’t actually do and it solidified a bit when I mixed it into the milk so learn from me and be sure to do that if you try this recipe to keep the wet ingredients all smooth and incorporated), and 2 teaspoons of of pure vanilla extract.

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Once those were whisked together, I added the wet ingredients to the dry until they were just combined. Then I filled my donut pan with the batter so that each space for the donut was about 3/4 of the way full. They were now ready for the oven. The recipe says that they should bake for 17 minutes but mine took about 22-25 minutes in my oven. Once a toothpick came out clean, they came out of the oven to cool.

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While the doughnuts cooled a bit, I prepped the topping. I melted one stick of butter in a sauce pan and mixed together about half of a cup of sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon (to be honest I just eye-balled the amounts for this one rather than get more dishes dirty). I popped the donuts out of the pan, dipped the top into the melted butter, and then into the cinnamon sugar.

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The final step was simply to enjoy the delicious dessert! They turned out really well. I asked Pete to give it a review and he gave it a 9.3 which is a pretty great score in my opinion! They had a really wonderful balance between the cinnamon and sugar so they weren’t overly sweet. Next time I make them, I may try to make a glaze or try a filled doughnut. Overall, I’m very pleased with how they came out.

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Let me know if you make these doughnuts and how they turn out. I have the next few months of baking posts mapped out but, if you have a tasty recipe or challenge you want me to try, send it my way!