Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

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Today is the one week mark until Christmas! I can remember back to when I was growing up - I would get a chocolate advent calendar every year. Each morning, as soon as I woke up, I would eagerly open that little cardboard door, exposing that day’s treat. Each chocolate would have a different Christmas associated design on it, such as a Christmas tree or an angel. I used to love seeing if I could guess the design each day before opening the door – I was usually always wrong lol. To be honest the chocolate didn’t taste great, but of course I ate it because I’m NEVER one to turn down chocolate.  

This year my advent calendar has looked a little different. My sweet mom gifted me with a L’occitane advent calendar, where instead of a chocolate each day, there is a different L’occitane product sample behind each of those cardboard doors. In addition to a material calendar, I have also been going through the She Reads Truth's Joy to the World advent series. It’s been humbling to be reminded each day of the true meaning of Christmas and God’s love for us. J e s u s   I s   t h e   r e a s o n   f o r   t h e   s e a s o n,  y’all.

I did some holiday baking over this past week, and one of the things I made were these chocolate peppermint donuts. My first round of this recipe produced a donut that was much too dense for my liking. So I increased the wet ingredients, and now these donuts are fluffier and less dense. They almost remind me of a cupcake in circular form, with a hole cut out of the middle. Unlike the traditional donuts that typically come in bright pink boxes, these donuts require zero rising and zero frying oil. So does that mean they are kind of healthy…? Relatively speaking yes, but compared to kale? Um, yeah no. lol. But these are delicious and fun to make, so you should still try them!

The recipe is non-fussy and only takes 10 minutes to bake in the oven. You may have noticed that these donuts are a lighter brown coloration than most chocolate goodies, that they almost look like a coffee flavor. And you are completely right. I usually always add instant coffee or espresso to my chocolate-based goodies because coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. So these donuts have a hint of coffee in them, which is a wonderful addition to the predominant flavors of chocolate and peppermint. For the topping I went simple – just a chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes – because these flavors together are simply perfection and don't need anything else, am I right??  

Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

Prep time:

Bake time:

Serves: 16

Donut Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 2 1/4 cups cake flour

Glaze Ingredients:

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 candy canes, crushed

Donut Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray, and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and butter until smooth.
  3. Stir in the eggs, one at a time.
  4. Whisk in the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract until well combined.
  5. In a pyrex measuring cup, stir together the milk and instant coffee.
  6. Alternate adding the milk mixture with the flour into the butter mixture, ending with the flour. Stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.
  7. Transfer the batter to an icing bag (or large ziplock bag with a small corner cut off the bottom), and pipe the batter in one pass into each donut mold, filling 3/4th of the way full.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes. When the donuts are done, they should be springy to the touch. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring the donuts to a cooling rack. Allow the donuts to cool completely before icing.

Glaze Instructions:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together the chocolate chips, butter, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir continuously.
  2. Once the glaze is smooth, pour over the donuts. Top with the crushed candy canes.
  3. Store the donuts in the refrigerator in an airtight container.