Baked Peppermint Mocha Donuts

Peppermint mocha donuts turn a coffeehouse favorite into the perfect holiday treat! This small batch baked donut recipe is full of rich chocolate, just enough coffee to shine through without being overpowering, and a bright pop of peppermint with every bite.
If you love all the specialty holiday coffee drinks, chocolate frosted donuts, and seasonal flavors - this is the donut for you!
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TELL ME ABOUT THIS FESTIVE CHOCOLATE BAKED DONUTS RECIPE
Level of difficulty: Easy.
Flavor: A peppermint mocha meets your favorite chocolate donut
Time: You’ll need about 30 minutes to make these chocolate coffee donuts with peppermint. This includes prep, cooking, cooling, and decoration time!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
All-purpose flour
Cocoa powder
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Granulated Sugar
1 large egg
Peppermint extract
Instant coffee (regular or decaf)
Whole milk
Sour Cream
Salted Butter
Semi-sweet or dark chocolate
Neutral Oil (I use grapeseed)
Candy canes
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE THIS PEPPERMINT MOCHA BAKED DONUTS RECIPE
- Make the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, peppermint extract, instant coffee, whole milk, sour cream, and melted butter
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined
- Pipe or spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool the donuts prior to adding the chocolate glaze:
- Remove from the oven and allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a cooling rack and cool completely
- Make the glaze, frost, and decorate:
- Make the glaze by placing the chocolate, peppermint extract, and neutral oil into a microwave safe bowl and heat in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth (about 1 minute)
- Dip each donut into the glaze and decorate with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes if desired. Allow to set and enjoy!
- Store leftovers: baked donuts are generally best eaten the same day, however, if you have leftovers, store remaining donuts in an air-tight container in the fridge for a day or two.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
These peppermint mocha chocolate baked donuts are perfect paired with a warm cup or coffee or a cool glass of milk. You can go all-in and get really festive by enjoying them with a peppermint mocha too!
EXPERT TIPS
Do not overmix your batter. Doing so can create tough baked donuts (and you don’t want that!). Gently fold your wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
Is the dough supposed to be this thick? Yes, baked donut batter is much thicker than you might expect! If you are having issues getting all of your dry ingredients incorporated into your wet ingredients, you could add a little more milk, a dab of sour cream, or even a little water. Do so in 1 teaspoon increments so you don’t make your dough too moist or runny.
If you do not have sour cream, you can use yogurt! You can replace sour cream with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt if you would like to.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MAKE BAKED DONUTS
Donut Pan: Homemade baked donuts are one of those treats that do need a special piece of equipment to get that classic donut shape: a donut pan. You can either get metal donut pans or silicone donut pans (selection is based on personal preference).
- I love and use this 2-Pack of Non-Stick Metal Donut Pans
- I have friends who love and use this 2-Pack of Silicone Donut Pans
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Baked Peppermint Mocha Donuts
Recipe details
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- ¼ C cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ C granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- 1/3 C whole milk
- ¼ C sour cream
- 2 Tbsp salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 C semi-sweet or dark chocolate
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 tsp neutral oil
Decoration
- 2 small candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, peppermint extract, instant coffee, whole milk, sour cream, and melted butter
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined
- Pipe or spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
- Remove from the oven and allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a cooling rack and cool completely
- Make the glaze by placing the chocolate, peppermint extract, and neutral oil into a microwave safe bowl and heat in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth (about 1 minute)
- Dip each donut into the chocolate glaze and decorate with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes if desired. Allow to set and enjoy!
- Store leftovers: baked donuts are generally best eaten the same day, however, if you have leftovers, store remaining donuts in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1-2 days

Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
I genuinely don’t use coffee … could I leave it out and just have the chocolate be the star?