Spiced Donuts With Cranberry Glaze

Whisking Wolf
by Whisking Wolf
6 servings
24 min

Skip the bakery and make these Spiced Donuts with Cranberry Glaze at home. Soft, fluffy and perfectly spiced, these donuts are finished with a from-scratch cranberry glaze. Easy and addicting, this recipe is a delicious treat for the holidays.


Leave it to the government to mess up mealtime.


In case you didn’t notice, the USDA left dessert off their food pyramid. On purpose! Dessert needs to be on top where it belongs, like buttercream icing. Omitting sugar from the triangle of food groups is an F-U to Egyptian pharaohs. For thousands of years children have used sugar cubes to construct mini pyramids. King Tut is probably putting an ancient curse on the USDA as we speak.


I just put a modern curse on them. Not only because their healthy food choices are in direct opposition of my cake-loving lifestyle, but because the pyramid’s color palette is all kinds of wrong. There should be five food groups and they should all be pink: unicorn ice cream, cotton candy, Bazooka gum, flamingo cupcakes and pickled turnips.


What, you don’t like pickled turnips? Fine, these cranberry glazed spiced donuts make for a tasty replacement. They’re the perfect hue of hot pink plus every bite is super soft and fluffy. Spiced for the season with cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg, these homemade donuts are finished with a sweet cranberry glaze.


Donuts don’t get any easier than this. In less than 30 minutes you can prep and bake half a dozen of these addicting treats. The next time you have a craving, skip the bakery and make Spiced Donuts then top them with a pretty-in-pink Cranberry Glaze.

Spiced Donuts With Cranberry Glaze
Recipe details
  • 6  servings
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 9 Minutes Total time: 24 min
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Ingredients
Spiced Donuts
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour unbleached
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1/3 cup milk room temperature
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt room temperature
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla pure
Cranberry Glaze
  • 1/2 cup cranberries fresh
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp orange zest
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla pure
Instructions
Spiced Donuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease donut pan with olive oil and set aside.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar and spices together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla until combined.
Carefully add wet ingredients to dry, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Take care to avoid overmixing. Note: Batter will be thick.
Pipe batter into donut pan, evenly distributing between the six cavities.
Bake for 9 minutes. Donuts are done when tops spring back when pressed by a fingertip.
Cool donuts in pan for 3 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cranberry Glaze
Add cranberries, water, sugar and orange zest to saucepan. Simmer for 8 minutes, while crushing cranberries with a fork, until mixture thickens to the consistency of jam.
Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Add powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and cranberry mixture to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Note: glaze will be thick.
Assembly
Dip donuts tops into glaze. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Donuts taste best the day they are made but can be covered and stored at room temperature up to 2 days.
Tips
  • For the moistest, fluffiest donut texture be sure all ingredients (egg, milk and yes, even yogurt) are at room temperature before beginning.
  • Pipe batter into your donut pan using a zip-top bag with a bottom corner snipped off.
Whisking Wolf
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Comments
  • Farmer’s wife Farmer’s wife on Nov 23, 2020

    Think this recipe can be adapted to make donut holes? Think I’ll try

    • Whisking Wolf Whisking Wolf on Nov 24, 2020

      Good question! If you have a donut hole pan (or even a mini muffin pan), I think donut holes should work with this recipe although the baking time may differ a bit. Overbaking will dry them out so check them for doneness early and often. Good luck!

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