Gingerbread Spice Donuts (Printable)
Fluffy donuts infused with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, topped with a sweet glaze. Perfect for holiday treats.
# What You Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
06 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
→ Wet Ingredients
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
11 - 1/4 cup molasses
12 - 1/2 cup milk
13 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
14 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Glaze
15 - 1 cup powdered sugar
16 - 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
17 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
# How To Cook:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a donut pan with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until evenly blended.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Incorporate molasses, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract, blending thoroughly.
04 - Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring gently until just combined. Avoid overmixing to maintain light texture.
05 - Spoon or pipe batter into prepared donut cavities, filling each approximately two-thirds full.
06 - Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow donuts to rest in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
07 - In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk and optional cinnamon until smooth. Add additional milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency.
08 - Dip cooled donuts into glaze, allowing excess to drip off, then place on a rack to set.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- They're ridiculously easy to make—no yeast, no waiting around—just mix, bake, and glaze in under an hour.
- The spice blend tastes like the holidays even when it's not December yet, and your whole house will smell absolutely incredible.
- Soft and tender on the inside with a delicate crumb that stays moist for days, which honestly never happens in my kitchen.
02 -
- Don't skip the cooling time in the pan—I learned this when my first batch fell apart the second I tried to remove them. Those five minutes create just enough structural integrity without making them dense.
- Room temperature ingredients matter more than you'd think. Cold milk and cold butter will create lumps in your batter that don't disappear during baking. Let everything sit on the counter for 15 minutes before you start.
- The glaze consistency is everything. Too thick and it's pastry frosting, too thin and it runs off before setting. Test it on one donut first—you can always adjust the remaining glaze.
03 -
- Invest in a good donut pan—nonstick matters more here than you'd expect, and silicone pans can sometimes brown the bottoms unevenly. I use a metal pan that's been seasoned with use.
- Make the glaze while the donuts are cooling. There's a sweet spot—about 10 minutes after they come out of the pan—when they're cool enough to glaze but still warm enough that the glaze sets slightly differently than on completely cooled donuts, giving you a thinner crust.