This simple flavor combination is equal parts simple, easy to make, and gives you that sweet hit of flavor to your taste buds that you should be looking for in a good dessert donut.
Being such a popular donut flavor, there are also a lot of recipes for this kind of donut that have cropped up over the years. Almost too many to choose from.
After all, how do you separate good recipes from great recipes? How do you find those hidden gems that help put a new spin on an old treat, as well as reliable classic dishes?
Fortunately, we have answered that question here, by giving you our picks for the best cinnamon sugar donuts that you can try making for yourself, right now!
Since we’re covering such a classic donut recipe, we might as well start with a classic version of this recipe!
Thai particular dish has everything that makes the cinnamon sugar donut such a popular option for both professional bakers and amateur home cooks alike.
The recipe is simple to follow, can be cooked in just a few minutes after it has been properly prepared, and tastes amazing!
This batch makes around 8 or 9 donuts, meaning that this is also a great recipe for feeding a smaller crowd of friends and family. You won’t be wondering what to do with the rest of the batter, in any case!
Seeing as this is a fried donut recipe, make sure that you have your oil heated in advance before throwing your donut mix in. After all, you don’t want a soggy and greasy donut, do you?
Frying might be the most popular way to prepare cinnamon and sugar donuts (especially in a fast-moving commercial setting, but it is far from the only way that you can make an amazing cinnamon donut.
Take this recipe, for example. These donuts are made by baking them in an oven, rather than frying them in oil.
While some people may not be fans of the slightly less crispy texture on the outside, you do still get a nice, firm texture on the outside, like a traditional donut will have, alongside that fluffy inside.
Plus, you avoid eating a lot of the unhealthier ingredients in a classic donut, too.
Frying it might make the outside nice and crisp, but it also steeps the dough in tons of unsaturated fats, making it a nightmare for arterial and heart health (when eaten a lot, at least).
With baked recipes like this, you get all the flavor and sweetness of a good cinnamon sugar donut, and at a fraction of the calories too!
Okay. With the traditional recipe for this kind of donut out of the way, we can start to explore some interesting flavor variations that you can find out there!
Apple and cinnamon is a classic flavor combination that is loved in tons of other desserts and sweet recipes. So why wouldn’t the same be true for donuts as well?
There’s something that just feels perfectly suited for fall and the colder times of the year with this flavor combination.
Plus, with this being a baked donut recipe, you can also avoid the worst of the saturated fats that you get when frying your donut desserts.
Plus, if you’re looking to make this recipe even healthier, you can always ditch the applesauce that the recipe calls for, and try grating fresh apples into the mix itself!
If you’re someone who wants to try and switch up the flavors that you normally find in donuts, but want to go with flavors that you know blend well, this is a great recipe to stick with.
We’re not done with the apple and cinnamon donut dishes just yet, however. There’s a little more to be explored with this flavor combination. Especially when you start mixing up other ingredients too!
Like the previous recipe, this one mixes the cinnamon and sugar well in advance, as well as either finely blending fresh apples or adding applesauce into your batter mix.
However, things start to get interesting when you start changing the kinds of flour that your batter is made from.
All-purpose or regular flour is usually the flour of choice for donuts, but it’s also considered some of the worst when it comes to nutrition.
It’s one of the many ingredients or prep steps that make people associate donuts with being unhealthy.
This particular recipe, instead of using the low-nutritional standard flour, instead opts for whole grain flour, giving you a wider range of nutrients, such as fiber and many vitamins.
All of that, and you still get the classic sweet donut flavor with this recipe too!
Blueberry donuts have to be some of the most popular out there, alongside cinnamon sugar donuts.
So, what does it look like when you combine the two flavors into one single perfect pastry to try?
Well, something like this!
The blueberries help give the donut a natural sweetness, both enhancing the flavor, as well as allowing you to cut back on added sugars and other additives in your donuts too.
Combined with the baked recipe that this dough mix is made with, this probably makes it one of the healthier options when it comes to cinnamon donut dishes!
(Well, as healthy as cinnamon sugar can be, anyway!)
The donuts we’ve covered so far have all been some version of ringed donuts. But there are so many other kinds of donuts out there that can be improved with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar.
Jelly donuts are a perfect example. Filled with pretty much any kind of preservative that you can think of, these delectable donuts are usually finished with a light dusting of powdered sugar or glaze.
Instead of that, why not try rolling theme in your sugar and cinnamon mix instead?
When mixed with honey, you’ll have a glaze that people will be queuing up to get seconds of!
Speaking of glazes, glazing is another way of squeezing just that little extra bit of sweetness from your donuts. Just like you would with cinnamon sugar.
So, it was only a matter of time before someone mixed the two flavors to get one ultra-sweet recipe!
These two toppings for donuts are being added to a phenomenal blueberry donut recipe in this case, so you’re tripling up on that incredibly sweet flavor!
Donuts might be enjoyed by pretty much anyone that eats them, but that doesn’t mean that everyone gets to enjoy them.
Many people who either have dietary restrictions or allergic reactions are often unable to enjoy this well-loved confectionery.
At least not without some pretty nasty consequences for their health shortly afterward.
Fortunately for them, several different versions of donuts can be enjoyed by them, thanks to a tailored recipe.
Take this amazing recipe for example. With no animal products to be found in it, this vegan-friendly takes on a cinnamon sugar donut can be enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans.
Plus, with a good flour blend, you can easily make this recipe gluten-free too!
Strawberry AND cinnamon sugar on a donut? Isn’t that a little much?
Well, for us, clearly not! If anything, it’s not enough!
While there’s plenty of sweet flavor in the donut itself, thanks to the cinnamon and vanilla flavoring, the real show-stopping part here is the toppings.
Unsalted butter, melted down, makes for a great ingredient to allow cinnamon and chopped strawberries to mix their flavors!
In the same way that strawberries and cinnamon are an absolute blast to mix in a donut, chocolate, and cinnamon are another pair of sweet flavors that often get mixed, but never on donuts.
This recipe changes that, making this pairing a reality that you can easily prepare in your kitchen right now!
In many ways, the baking and preparation methods for this cinnamon donut are more like churros than donuts.
However, with this dish, you can avoid unhealthy oils and fats by baking your chocolate donut instead!
Well, we started this list with a classic cinnamon donut recipe, so we might as well end it with one too!
This recipe creates enough donut servings for 12 people, making it perfect for those medium-sized gatherings. And because it is baked, you’re keeping them pretty healthy too.
Just make sure that you give your batter time to prove, especially f you’re using a live yeast extract.
Final Notes
So, there you have it!
Cinnamon donuts come in all shapes, sizes, and flavor combinations, from ringed to jelly, from vanilla to chocolate, apple, and strawberry.
Hopefully, these recipes have given you plenty of sweet treats to bake for yourself, or given you tons of inspiration to play around with!
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