Amazing 30-Minute Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

When you need that warm, sweet hug of a pastry but you just don’t have a whole morning to work yeast, I have the perfect solution sitting right here on my counter. Forget waiting around for dough to rise; we are whipping up these incredible Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts in under 30 minutes! Seriously, I developed this version because I often crave a sweet treat mid-afternoon, and anything deep-fried just feels too heavy for a quick fix. Baking them changes everything. They come out tender, cakey, and absolutely doused in that incredible spiced sugar crust. These aren’t just breakfast; they are the fastest, most satisfying homemade snack you can imagine. Trust me, once you try these easy baked gems, you’ll ditch the drive-thru!

Why You Will Love These Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Honestly, what’s not to love about these little cakes? They hit all the right notes without making a huge mess in the kitchen. If you’re picturing complicated deep-frying steps, ditch that idea right now. These are so straightforward!

• They are genuinely fast! Seriously, from mixing the flour to pulling them out of the oven takes about 20 minutes total. Perfect for a speedy breakfast or a sudden snack craving.
• They are baked, not fried, which saves on mess and makes them feel just a little lighter on a Tuesday morning. Don’t worry, that coating makes them taste totally decadent though! I linked my other raised doughnut recipe here if you ever do want the fried route, but these are the everyday heroes.
• That classic flavor combination is perfect. The warmth of the cinnamon mixed with just the right amount of sugar on a soft, cakey donut base? It’s pure comfort food magic.
• Cleanup is a breeze! Because you are only using one batter bowl and the donut pan, you’re generally done before your coffee finishes brewing.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

When it comes to these speedy baked donuts, the ingredient list is super short, which is part of the joy! It really highlights how simple baking can be when you don’t need fancy techniques or hours of rising time. If you are looking for another quick win in the kitchen, check out my thoughts on these peanut butter bars—they share that same simplicity!

Everything breaks down right before you tackle the mixing process. We’ll keep the dry stuff separate from the wet stuff, just like we always do. It’s the key to not overdeveloping the gluten and keeping these tender.

For the Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts Batter

We need the usual suspects here to act as our cake base. Remember, everything gets lightly mixed, so don’t worry about whipping anything too much!

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for the batter, don’t confuse it with the coating sugar!)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating on Your Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

This is where the magic flavor really kicks in! You need to mix these two ingredients really, really well so the cinnamon is evenly distributed. You don’t want a bite that’s pure sugar followed by a bite that’s pure cinnamon, right?

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar for coating
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon for coating

Step-by-Step Instructions for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Okay, this is the fun part! Since these are baked, the time commitment is minimal, which I absolutely adore. We are using a technique called the ‘muffin method’ here—mixing the dry and wet separately before combining—which keeps the finished donut beautifully soft. If you’re looking for other baked goodness, check out my steps for these amazing homemade cake donuts; the mixing principle is very similar!

Preparing the Pan and Mixing the Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts Batter

First things first: get your oven up to 350°F (175°C). Then, you must lightly grease that donut baking pan! If you skip this, you’ll be crying over broken donuts later, trust me. In one bowl, whisk your flour, the batter sugar, baking powder, and salt together until they are best friends. In a second, smaller bowl, give your milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla a good whisking. Now, pour the wet mixture into the dry. This is key: mix it gently until you see *just* combined. I mean it! If you mix until it’s perfectly smooth, those donuts will turn into little bouncy hockey pucks. A few lumps are your friends here.

Baking and Coating Your Warm Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Once you’ve mixed it just enough, spoon or pipe that batter into your prepared donut molds. Fill them about two-thirds full—they need room to grow! Pop them into that hot oven for about 9 to 11 minutes. You want them to pass the toothpick test, meaning it comes out clean. While they are baking, take a shallow dish and mix that coating sugar and cinnamon together really well; you want that spice evenly spread out, like when I make my pizza topping! When they come out, let them sit in the pan for just 5 minutes. Then, while they are still quite warm (that heat helps the sugar stick!), gently lift them out and roll each one completely in the cinnamon sugar. Put them on a wire rack to cool, and that’s it! So simple!

Tips for Achieving Perfect Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Even a simple recipe like this can go from great to legendary with just a couple of little insider tricks! I’ve learned these the hard way, so you don’t have to suffer through any sad, uncoated, or strangely textured donuts. These tips focus mainly on making sure you get that perfect crisp sugar shell and that wonderfully soft interior cake.

For excellent results every time, remember these three things. If you’re looking for another foolproof bake, these easy butter cookies follow a similar philosophy of minimum effort, big payoff!

• The Sugar Needs Heat: This is the biggest secret for that amazing crust. You absolutely must roll your donuts in the cinnamon sugar mixture while they are still warm—not piping hot, but definitely warm enough to release steam. The slight warmth and moisture on the surface of the donut acts like glue for that sugar. If you wait until they are totally cool, the sugar mixture just kind of slides right off!
• Don’t Over-Grease Your Pan (But Do Grease It!): I know I said to grease the pan well, but if you use too much melted butter or cooking spray that pools at the bottom of the molds, the donuts end up with greasy, weirdly dense bottoms that don’t absorb the sugar coating properly. A light, even coating of spray or even brushing on flavorless oil works better than just dumping in butter shavings.
• Spoon, Don’t Pipe, If You’re New: While piping the batter looks fancy, if you aren’t super comfortable with a piping bag, it’s easy to overfill or create air pockets as you push the batter in. Two small spoons or a little ice cream scoop usually gives you the most consistent fill level—that two-thirds full mark—which leads to evenly baked donuts all around your pan.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Your Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

One thing I always hear in my kitchen is, “What if I don’t have X ingredient?” Baking is fun because sometimes you have to improvise! Thankfully, this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts is pretty forgiving, but it’s good to know what happens when you make a swap.

We have two main substitutions that people often ask about. The first is swapping the fat—butter for oil—and the second is swapping the entire baking vessel if you realize halfway through you don’t own a donut pan. If you do end up wanting to try a pancake batter next, I have a great guide to crepes and pancakes you might like.

Butter vs. Coconut Oil Swap

If you’re dairy-free, or maybe you just ran out of butter halfway through melting it (oops!), you can absolutely use coconut oil instead. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter. You can replace that with 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil with no changes to the process at all. However, I will say that butter brings a certain richness and depth of flavor that oil just can’t replicate. The coconut oil will work perfectly fine structurally, but the final taste will be slightly simpler. Don’t worry too much, though—that heavy cinnamon sugar coating will mostly cover any subtle flavor differences!

What to Do If You Don’t Have a Donut Pan

This happens to me all the time when I’m on a baking roll and realize I don’t have the *exact* pan required! If you look in your cupboard and all you have is a standard muffin tin, don’t panic! You can use that tin to bake the batter into what I like to call “Donut Muffins.” They won’t have the classic donut hole, obviously, but they will have that exact same flavor profile—which is the important part!

You will need to adjust the baking time, though. Muffins are deeper than donuts. Since the heat has farther to travel to the center, you’ll want to check them closer to 14 or 15 minutes instead of the 9 to 11 minutes suggested for the rings. Start checking around 12 minutes just to be safe. Remember that toothpick test is your best friend!

Serving Suggestions for These Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Now that you’ve nailed the bake and the coating is clinging perfectly to those warm rings, the only real question left is: what should I wash this deliciousness down with? Since these Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts are rich, sweet, and full of cozy spice, you want something that either complements that warmth or cuts through the sweetness nicely.

Honestly, my go-to has always been a very simple cup of coffee—nothing fancy, just fresh black coffee lets the cinnamon flavor really shine. But don’t stop there! Sometimes you need something cold!

• A Cold Glass of Milk: There is just something timeless about dunking a warm, sugary donut into ice-cold milk. It’s nostalgic, simple, and the milk perfectly balances the spice. It is a classic combo for a reason, folks!
• Black Coffee: As I mentioned, this is my personal standby. The slight bitterness of a good, strong brew really cuts through the richness of the melted butter in the donut and highlights the brown sugar notes in the coating. It’s the perfect breakfast pairing.
• A Bright Citrus Drink: If you want something a little zesty that wakes up your taste buds after a warm donut, try something citrusy. You might even be able to whip up something like my favorite quick Orange Julius recipe to keep that easy, happy vibe going! That bright tartness is a great contrast to super sweet baked goods.

Whatever you choose, eat at least one while it’s still slightly warm. That’s truly when they are at their peak!

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

So, you made a huge batch of these easy Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts, which is totally understandable because they are addictive, right? The good news is that since they are cake-based and coated in sugar, they actually hold up pretty well at room temperature! You won’t need to touch the freezer for these guys, which keeps things simple.

The biggest enemy of a baked donut is air exposure, which makes that exterior coating get gritty or weirdly hard, and the inside can dry out a bit if you leave them sitting out for too long. Think of them like a muffin—best eaten the day they are made!

Room Temperature Storage

I usually store leftovers in an airtight container right on the counter, away from any direct heat or sunlight. They should stay perfectly good for about two to three days, maybe even four if your kitchen isn’t too humid. If you stack them, go easy! You don’t want the sugar coating from the top donut scraping onto the one beneath it. If you have a lot, use parchment paper layers between the tiers in your airtight container. That keeps the top and bottom of each donut looking pristine.

How to Wake Up Day-Old Donuts

If you make it to day two or three and things are starting to feel a little less fluffy, don’t toss them! We can fix that chewiness and bring back that fresh-from-the-oven magic with just a tiny bit of heat. You absolutely should NOT microwave these. Microwaving baked goods makes them rubbery and dense almost instantly—we want to avoid that cement texture!

Instead, pull out your toaster oven or your regular oven and set it to a low temperature, maybe 300°F (150°C). Pop the two or three donuts you want to eat onto a small baking sheet and warm them for just three to five minutes. You are just trying to get the soft interior warmed up again and maybe slightly re-melt that buttery crunch of the cinnamon sugar coating. It completely transforms them back to being almost as good as fresh!

Frequently Asked Questions About Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

I always get questions after people try these because they are just so easy to mess up slightly if you rush the process! Don’t fret if your first batch isn’t perfect; baking this type of quick bread with a coating requires a little finesse. Here are some of the things I hear most often from folks trying to master the easy Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts.

If you want to explore recipes that use different types of baked dough, you might want to check out my guide on cake donuts; sometimes a slight variation in batter consistency makes all the difference!

Can I make these Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts vegan?

You absolutely can tweak this recipe to be vegan, but you have to swap out the dairy and the egg. For the egg, I usually substitute with a flax egg—that’s one tablespoon of ground flax meal mixed with three tablespoons of water, let it sit for five minutes to gel up. For the milk, any plant-based milk, like soy or almond, works perfectly fine in the batter. Just be aware that swapping the butter for coconut oil (as mentioned above) might give you an even better result since we are removing all the dairy components at once!

Why is my coating not sticking to the donuts?

The number one reason the cinnamon sugar coating fails to stick is temperature! I cannot stress this enough: those donuts must be warm when you roll them. If they have cooled down completely, the surface moisture has evaporated, and the sugar has nothing to adhere to. You need to remove them from the pan after about five minutes of cooling—they should still be radiating heat—and roll them immediately. If you accidentally let them cool, don’t fret! Just give them a tiny spritz of melted butter or a super-thin brush of melted coconut oil just before rolling, and that should do the trick!

How do I prevent my baked donuts from being dry?

This usually comes down to one simple, crucial step in the mixing process: *Do Not Overmix*. Baked cake donuts are fragile, and the moment you overmix the flour with the wet ingredients, you start developing tough gluten strands. This creates a chewy, dense, and often dry final product. We want tender cake, not bread! When combining your wet into your dry ingredients, stop mixing the second you see the last streak of flour disappear. It’s okay if the batter looks a tiny bit lumpy. That little bit of unmixed structure is exactly what keeps them moist and fluffy as they bake!

Serving Suggestions for These Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

Now that you’ve nailed the bake and the coating is clinging perfectly to those warm rings, the only real question left is: what should I wash this deliciousness down with? Since these Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts are rich, sweet, and full of cozy spice, you want something that either complements that warmth or cuts through the sweetness nicely.

Honestly, my go-to has always been a very simple cup of coffee—nothing fancy, just fresh black coffee lets the cinnamon flavor really shine. But don’t stop there! Sometimes you need something cold!

• A Cold Glass of Milk: There is just something timeless about dunking a warm, sugary donut into ice-cold milk. It’s nostalgic, simple, and the milk perfectly balances the spice. It is a classic combo for a reason, folks!
• Black Coffee: As I mentioned, this is my personal standby. The slight bitterness of a good, strong brew really cuts through the richness of the melted butter in the donut and highlights the brown sugar notes in the coating. It’s the perfect breakfast pairing.
• A Bright Citrus Drink: If you want something a little zesty that wakes up your taste buds after a warm donut, try something citrusy. You might even be able to whip up something like my favorite quick Orange Julius recipe to keep that easy, happy vibe going! That bright tartness is a great contrast to super sweet baked goods.

Whatever you choose, eat at least one while it’s still slightly warm. That’s truly when they are at their peak!

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

So, you made a huge batch of these easy Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts, which is totally understandable because they are addictive, right? The good news is that since they are cake-based and coated in sugar, they actually hold up pretty well at room temperature! You won’t need to touch the freezer for these guys, which keeps things simple.

The biggest enemy of a baked donut is air exposure, which makes that exterior coating get gritty or weirdly hard, and the inside can dry out a bit if you leave them sitting out for too long. Think of them like a muffin—best eaten the day they are made!

Room Temperature Storage

I usually store leftovers in an airtight container right on the counter, away from any direct heat or sunlight. They should stay perfectly good for about two to three days, maybe even four if your kitchen isn’t too humid. If you stack them, go easy! You don’t want the sugar coating from the top donut scraping onto the one beneath it. If you have a lot, use parchment paper layers between the tiers in your airtight container. That keeps the top and bottom of each donut looking pristine.

How to Wake Up Day-Old Donuts

If you make it to day two or three and things are starting to feel a little less fluffy, don’t toss them! We can fix that chewiness and bring back that fresh-from-the-oven magic with just a tiny bit of heat. You absolutely should NOT microwave these. Microwaving baked goods makes them rubbery and dense almost instantly—we want to avoid that cement texture!

Instead, pull out your toaster oven or your regular oven and set it to a low temperature, maybe 300°F (150°C). Pop the two or three donuts you want to eat onto a small baking sheet and warm them for just three to five minutes. You are just trying to get the soft interior warmed up again and maybe slightly re-melt that buttery crunch of the cinnamon sugar coating. It completely transforms them back to being almost as good as fresh!

Estimated Nutritional Information for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

I always try to pull the nutrition numbers together for you because even though these are homemade treats, sometimes it helps to have a baseline. Keep in mind that this information is an estimate based on the specific ingredients I listed, especially the amount of butter and sugar we decided was necessary for perfection! If you follow the recipe exactly, you should be in the right ballpark. If you made substitutions, the numbers might shift slightly.

For a full breakdown, here are the numbers I calculated based on yielding six servings. If you want to read more about how sugar stacks up in different baked goods, I found this interesting article on fruit sugar content that I thought was neat food for thought!

Nutrient	Amount per Donut
Serving Size	1 donut
Calories	250
Sugar	18g
Sodium	150mg
Fat	10g
Saturated Fat	6g
Unsaturated Fat	4g
Trans Fat	0g
Carbohydrates	38g
Fiber	1g
Protein	4g
Cholesterol	30mg

Estimated Nutritional Information for Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts

I always try to pull the nutrition numbers together for you because even though these are homemade treats, sometimes it helps to have a baseline. Keep in mind that this information is an estimate based on the specific ingredients I listed, especially the amount of butter and sugar we decided was necessary for perfection! If you follow the recipe exactly, you should be in the right ballpark. If you made substitutions, the numbers might shift slightly.

For a full breakdown, here are the numbers I calculated based on yielding six servings. If you want to read more about how sugar stacks up in different baked goods, I found this interesting article on fruit sugar content that I thought was neat food for thought!

Nutrient	Amount per Donut
Serving Size	1 donut
Calories	250
Sugar	18g
Sodium	150mg
Fat	10g
Saturated Fat	6g
Unsaturated Fat	4g
Trans Fat	0g
Carbohydrates	38g
Fiber	1g
Protein	4g
Cholesterol	30mg

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