Soft Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts (Printable Format)

Fluffy baked donuts with cinnamon-sugar coating for a quick, sweet treat.

# What's Needed:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

→ Wet Ingredients

07 - 3/4 cup buttermilk or milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ For Coating

11 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
12 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
13 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a standard donut pan.
02 - Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract until fully blended.
04 - Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
05 - Spoon or pipe the batter evenly into the donut pan cavities, filling about three-quarters full.
06 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until donuts spring back when lightly touched.
07 - Allow donuts to cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
08 - Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush each warm donut with melted butter, then immediately dip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.
09 - Enjoy donuts warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They taste like a treat but come together faster than you can brew a second cup of coffee.
  • No deep fryer, no oil splatters on your stovetop—just a simple donut pan and your oven doing the work.
  • The cinnamon-sugar coating is addictively crispy on the outside while the donut stays impossibly soft inside.
02 -
  • The three-minute cool-down in the pan is non-negotiable—transfer them too soon and they'll fall apart; wait too long and they're harder to remove.
  • Cinnamon-sugar coating only sticks to warm donuts brushed with butter, so time this step right or you'll end up with bare donuts and a bowl of coating.
  • Don't walk away during baking; the line between perfectly fluffy and slightly overbaked is about two minutes.
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients mix more smoothly and produce a lighter, fluffier crumb than cold eggs straight from the fridge.
  • If you don't have a donut pan, you can bake these in a muffin tin and skip the hole, though they'll bake slightly faster so watch them closely.
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