Seriously, who doesn’t like donuts? Most people love donuts! Our whole family does. Maybe you love the traditional yeast glazed, chocolate cream filled, sugar and cinnamon twist, jelly filled, boston cream filled, whole wheat or iced with sprinkles. There are almost as many donut options as there are people. Today, we are focusing on baked sugar donuts.
Did Someone Say “Healthy”?
We decided to put a little bit of a healthy twist on these sugar donuts by baking them instead of deep frying. They turned out amazingly! We all loved them. Now we did go into baking them instead of frying them with an open mind. We knew the greasiness would be missing. That being said, what they lacked in the greasy, old fashioned donut they more than made up for in taste and flavor. Plus, knowing they are healthier is an added bonus.

They are soft and full of sugary goodness. We will be making these again and again. They are so easy also! When they are baking in the oven they smell absolutely amazing! Your stomach will start to growl when you smell them baking.
Baked Sugar Donuts Tip Time!
One tip to make the process easier is to put the batter into a plastic zipped bag and cut a very small hole in a bottom corner of the bag. This makes filling the donut pans much easier. It keeps you from getting the batter all over the pans. We all most certainly appreciate less mess!


Baked Sugar Donuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 extra large eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar for coating after baking
Instructions
- Spray donut pans with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix the buttermilk, canola oil, granulated sugar, eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Mix in flour until smooth.
- Pour the batter into a plastic zipped bag and cut a tiny hole in a bottom corner (this creates a DIY piping bag). Fill the donut pans 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.
- Put the additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Dip donuts, one at a time, into the sugar. Coat the entire donut. Then place them on a cooling rack.
- These are best eaten immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container.
These baked sugar donuts are so sugary and good. You can’t help but lick all the sticky sugar from your fingers. You will feel like a kid again! Yes, the sugar can be a bit messy, but they are so worth it! 🙂
A big, cold glass of milk or a piping hot cup of coffee would go perfectly with these delicious donuts.
These are quick and easy. They make the perfect breakfast, after school snack or dessert. They would be so much fun to serve at a bridal or baby shower. I promise if you make them for game day the guys will eat them all up!

Change Them Up!
A fun twist on these baked sugar donuts would be to add some cinnamon to the sugar for dipping at the end. Have cinnamon sugar donuts instead of sugar. You could also top them with icing and sprinkles instead of the sugar. Drizzling a glaze over them would be a great idea also. So many different ways to decorate and enjoy them!
We would love for you to send us your pictures of how you ended up decorating yours. It is always great to see other people’s ideas.
Check out these other recipes we really love:
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Perfect Apple Pie
Easy Apple Crescent Dumplings
Have a great day!
You had me at donuts and won with over with them being baked. I have wanted to make donuts for a while now, but I hate the idea of having to deep fry them. This recipe looks nice and easy to make. Now I just need to get my hands on a donut pan and then I will give these a try.
We were the same way…the deep frying was so intimidating. We found our donut pans at Sur La Table!
I bet these are amazing!! And healthier? Yes please!!