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Baked Donut Holes are the easiest way to get that fresh donut shop taste at home with no deep fryer and no mess, just soft, fluffy mini bites studded with chocolate chips and dipped in a sweet vanilla glaze. I started making these on slow Saturday mornings when the girls wanted donuts but I did not want to deal with hot oil. They come together as fast as our baked chocolate chip cake donuts.
Made in a mini muffin tin with pantry staples, these baked donut holes bake up in under ten minutes and disappear even faster.
Baked Donut Holes Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 7 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 17 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 18 donut holes
- ⚡ Calories: 103kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Soft, fluffy mini donut bites with chocolate chips and a sweet vanilla glaze
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our baked cake donuts
Quick Answer
Whisk together a simple batter of flour, butter, egg, sugar, vanilla, and milk, then fold in mini chocolate chips. Fill a greased mini muffin tin halfway and bake at 350 degrees for 6 to 7 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool, then dip each one in a quick vanilla glaze for soft, sweet Baked Donut Holes in under 20 minutes.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Baked, not fried. A mini muffin tin gives you all the soft, cakey donut texture with none of the hot oil or mess of frying.
- Ready in minutes. These tiny bites bake in just 6 to 7 minutes, so you can have warm donut holes faster than a coffee run.
- One bowl batter. The batter comes together with a whisk and pantry staples, no mixer or special equipment needed.
- Mini chips melt in. Mini chocolate chips fold evenly into the small bites so every donut hole gets melty chocolate.
- Double dip glaze. Dipping each one twice builds a thick, sweet vanilla glaze that sets into a shiny shell.
- Perfectly portioned. Mini muffin cups make uniform, two bite donut holes that are easy for little hands to grab.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No deep fryer required, so you get that donut shop flavor with way less mess and oil.
- They are ready in under 20 minutes start to finish, perfect for a quick weekend breakfast. For more easy mornings, try our strawberry scones.
- Kid approved and fun to make, the little ones love dipping the donut holes in glaze and snacking on the chocolate chips.
Key Ingredients
Simple baking staples turn into soft, glazed donut holes. Here is what each one does.
- All purpose flour: The base for a tender, cakey donut hole. Spoon and level it so the batter is not dense.
- Mini chocolate chips: Their small size means melty chocolate in every bite without weighing down the little donuts.
- Butter and egg: Melted butter and one egg make the bites rich and moist with a soft crumb.
- Milk and vanilla: Milk loosens the batter and vanilla adds that classic donut bakery flavor.
- Powdered sugar: Whisked with milk and vanilla, it makes the quick glaze that gives these their sweet, shiny finish.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These donut holes are easy to switch up. Here are a few ideas.
- Cinnamon sugar: Skip the glaze and roll the warm donut holes in cinnamon sugar instead.
- Plain vanilla: Leave out the chocolate chips for classic glazed donut holes.
- Chocolate glaze: Add a tablespoon of cocoa to the glaze for a double chocolate treat, like our double chocolate muffins.
- Sprinkles: Add rainbow sprinkles to the wet glaze for a fun, colorful finish.
- Maple glaze: Swap the vanilla for maple extract for a cozy fall flavor.
How to Make Baked Donut Holes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a mini muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix the cooled melted butter with the egg and vanilla, whisk in the sugar and milk, then stir into the dry ingredients until no lumps remain.
- Fold the mini chocolate chips into the batter until evenly distributed.
- Fill each greased mini muffin cup about halfway up with batter.
- Bake for 6 to 7 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk into a smooth glaze, dip each donut hole twice, and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not overmix the batter once the flour goes in, or the donut holes can turn tough.
- Fill the cups only halfway so they bake into neat little domes instead of overflowing.
- Watch them closely. At 6 to 7 minutes they bake fast, so start checking early to avoid drying them out.
- Cool slightly before glazing so the glaze sets into a shell instead of soaking in.
- Dip twice for a thick, bakery style glaze, letting the first coat set before the second.
- Use mini chips for the best chocolate distribution in such small bites.
- Serve them fresh. Baked donut holes are best the day they are made, while soft and tender.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These donut holes are a breakfast and snack winner. Pile them on a platter for a weekend brunch next to our strawberry scones and fresh fruit, or stack them on a tray for a party dessert with coffee.
They are perfect for dipping and sharing. Set out extra glaze or a bowl of chocolate sauce, and add our air fryer vanilla munchkins for a donut hole variety platter the kids will love.
For a cozy fall morning, serve them warm with cider or hot cocoa. If you love easy baked breakfasts, our apple cinnamon roll ups are another quick, crowd pleasing treat.
Baked Donut Holes FAQs
A mini muffin tin gives the classic donut hole shape, but you can use a regular muffin tin for larger baked donut muffins. Just increase the bake time to about 12 to 15 minutes and check with a toothpick.
Dry donut holes usually mean too much flour or overbaking. Spoon and level your flour, and start checking at 6 minutes since these tiny bites bake very quickly.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. They are best fresh, so glaze them the day you plan to serve for the softest texture.
Yes. Freeze the unglazed donut holes in an airtight container for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature and add fresh glaze before serving.
Absolutely. Leave them out for classic glazed donut holes, or swap in sprinkles, blueberries, or cinnamon for a different flavor.
A simple powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla glaze is classic and sets into a sweet shell. You can also try a chocolate, maple, or cinnamon glaze for variety.
Want full size donuts? Make our baked chocolate chip cake donuts next for the same easy, no fry treat.
For another no fry treat, bake a batch of our baked peanut butter donuts.
Round out your brunch with our bakery-tall Nutella muffins.
Love a sweet breakfast? Make our Buttermilk Pancakes next.
Baked Donut Holes
Ingredients
Donut Holes:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour not packed
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup mini milk chocolate chips
Vanilla Glaze:
- 1¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with baking spray, set aside.
- Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt
- In a separate bowl, mix in the cooled melted butter with the vanilla and egg. Whisk in the sugar and milk until combined.1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted, 1 egg room temp, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup milk
- Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and mix until there are no dry lumps.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.¼ cup mini milk chocolate chips
- Fill greased mini muffin tin sections halfway up.
- Pop ’em in the oven and bake for 6-7 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- While donuts are cooling, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together until smooth.1¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ cup milk
- Using two forks or your fingers, dip each donut hole. I dipped each one twice, there was just enough glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This makes a smaller batch, you can easily double the recipe to have more.
- You can glaze or decorate to your liking, see some of my ideas above.
- We like mini milk chocolate chips but semi-sweet and dark are also delicious.
- You can use either vanilla bean paste or extract for this at a 1:1 ratio.
- Remember, the best donut hole recipe is the one you make your own!
- These can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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This looks like a great weekend breakfast. I can’t wait to try these baked chocolate chip donut holes!
Oh yummy! As usual, your pictures and recipes are beautiful. Thank you for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Hope to see you again tomorrow.
these look so delicious!!
ohhh so yummy! you always have the most delish recipes!!
Yum! I love that you made them in a mini muffin pan (I can do that!)
Thank you for sharing this at Brag About It Link Party on VMG206.
~ Megin of VMG206