Tender, moist and delicious, these baked donuts are super easy and fun to make. Made with a simple donut batter, topped with sweet glaze and decorated with melted white chocolate, these Halloween donuts get all the delicious flavor of a traditional donut without the mess of frying! The best part? You can make them as cute or as spooky as you want.
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Halloween Baked Donuts
It’s Halloween season and I’m all about themed treats. Say goodbye to cake mix donuts and wake up on Halloween morning to these delicious homemade donuts. Because why not having these baked donuts for breakfast? These are a great breakfast treat or a tasty snack to share with family, friends, and coworkers.
Also, these kid-friendly treats are the easiest Halloween recipe, so you can have so much fun baking and decorating them together. Make your own spooky creations like monster donuts, donut mummies, donuts with creepy candy eyeballs and more. The fun ideas are endless.
Why You’ll Love This Donuts Recipe?
- Quick and Easy: You don’t need special cooking skills to make this dessert, and it can be ready in less than 30 minutes.
- Basic Ingredients: This recipe uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
- Better than store-bought: You can have these delicious and fun Halloween treats with simple and whole ingredients without all the extra cost.
- Easily customized: This is a great recipe for any occasion! Make these baked donuts for Christmas and Valentine’s Day, too.
- Variety: These are a great alternative to Halloween cookies, Halloween cupcakes or cake pops, and an easier alternative to making a whole cake.
Halloween Donuts Ingredients
For specific ingredients and their quantities, check the printable recipe card below.
For The Donuts
- Flour: I use all purpose flour. You can substitute with 1:1 gluten-free flour to make gluten-free donuts.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar gives its light sweetness.
- Eggs: I use large eggs at room temperature.
- Leavening: This is a no-yeast donut recipe, so I use baking powder to help them rise.
- Flavorings: Pure vanilla extract and salt. I always use fine Kosher salt or sea salt for baking.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter, melted.
- Milk: I prefer whole milk, but you can substitute with 2%.
For The Glaze
- Powdered Sugar: Or confectioners’ sugar gives the glaze its silky smoothness.
- Milk: I use whole milk. Remember, the higher fat, the better.
- Vanilla Extract
- Food Coloring: I prefer coloring gels instead of liquid. For these homemade donuts, I picked purple, orange and green, but you can use the colors you like.
- White Melting Chocolate: For pipping. Although I prefer using chocolate, you can use candy melts if that’s what you have on hand.
How To Make Baked Donuts
Here’s the quick version of how to make these easy Halloween donuts. Find all of the details, including temperatures and timings, in the printable recipe card below.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using nonstick cooking spray, spray the donut pan and set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla extract.
- Combine the batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined.
- Scoop the batter: Using a spoon, drop the batter into the baking pan. You can also pipe the batter into the pans using a large piping bag. Fill the wells of the pan ¾ of the way full.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the donuts to rest for 3 minutes, then remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack.
How To Make The Donut Glaze
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.
- Add food coloring and mix until the color is well blended.
- Set up a wire rack with parchment paper underneath.
- Dip each donut halfway into the icing, then place it on the wire rack.
- To pipe the cobwebs, melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until is completely melted.
- Prepare a piping bag with a small round tip (such as round tip #2) and pipe the melted chocolate as a spider web on top of each donut.
Can I Make These Donuts Ahead Of Time?
- Donuts are best when eaten fresh, but they will last 2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Unglazed baked donuts can be frozen for up to a month.
- The donut batter can be made the night before and then stored covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have A Donut Pan?
If you don’t have a donut pan, you can bake it in a muffin tin using tinfoil to form center holes to simulate the donut pan. Or simply make donut muffins instead of regular donuts.
What Are Some Other Topping Ideas?
If you prefer chocolate frosting, you can add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the glaze or use melted dark chocolate instead of white. You can also make green glazed donuts by adding ¼ teaspoon of matcha powder to the frosting. The ideas are endless, and it will depend on the style of donuts you want to display. If you are into spooky donuts, you can use edible candy eyes! Now, if you are into cute Halloween donuts, what about using Halloween sprinkles or chocolate chips?
Can I Freeze These Donuts?
Yes, you can! Freeze the baked donuts without the glaze in a single layer on a sheet pan. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months.
Spiderweb Baked Donuts Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Remember that over-mixing the batter can make the donuts chewy rather than light and fluffy.
- Don’t overfill the donut pan. The donuts will rise when baked, so each donut well should be filled 3/4 of the way full.
- The donut batter can be made the night before and then stored covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Let the donuts cool before pouring the glaze over them. If they are too warm, the glaze will melt.
- You can use this baked donut recipe and glaze recipe for any holiday using a different color.
- These Halloween Baked Donuts taste amazing as is but if you want to spice them up a bit, you can add pumpkin spice, a little extra ground cinnamon and a little ground nutmeg to the dough before baking them.
Take A Look At These Other Fun and Spooky Halloween Recipes:
- Halloween No-Bake Cheesecake
- Stuffed Crescent Rolls – Halloween Icky Intestines
- Halloween Bats Oreo Cupcakes
- Dia de los Muertos Cake
- Halloween Icebox Cake
- Halloween Lollipop Cookies
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Halloween Donuts (Baked)
Ingredients
FOR THE DONUTS:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE GLAZE
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Halloween Purple orange or green food coloring
- 6 oz white melting chocolate
- Piping bag
- Small round tip
Optional: A black food coloring gel pen can be used for black webs
Instructions
To MAKE THE DONUTS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using nonstick cooking spray, spray the donut pan and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined. Try not to overmix the batter.You can spoon the batter into the baking pan or you can place the batter in a pipping bag. Pipe the batter into the wells of the pan filling ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the donuts rest for 3 minutes then, remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the donuts onto a wire rack until cool enough to handle but still warm.
MAKE THE GLAZE
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. If the glaze is too thick, add additional milk, ½ teaspoon at a time until the desire consistency is reached.
- Add food coloring and mix until the color is blended well.
ASSEMBLE
- Set up a wire rack with parchment paper underneath.
- Dip each donut halfway into the icing then, place on the wire rack.
- In a microwave save bowl, melt the chocolate in 30 second increments. Prepare a pipping bag with a small round tip (such as round tip #2)
- Pipe 8 lines equally spread apart from the center of the donut to the outside of the donut.
- Make a wide “U” shape connecting two of the lines near the center of the donut. Continue connecting the rest of the lines with that “U” shape all the way around the donut.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Remember that over-mixing the batter can make the donuts chewy rather than light and fluffy.
- Don’t overfill the donut pan. The donuts will rise when baked, so each donut well should be filled 3/4 of the way full.
- The donut batter can be made the night before and then stored covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Let the donuts cool before pouring the glaze over them. If they are too warm, the glaze will melt.
- You can use this baked donut recipe and glaze recipe for any holiday using a different color.
- These Halloween Baked Donuts taste amazing as is but if you want to spice them up a bit, you can add pumpkin spice, a little extra ground cinnamon and a little ground nutmeg to the dough before baking them.
Nutrition
Take a look more spooky Halloween recipes from our #HalloweenTreatsWeek Bloggers today: Halloween Cookies & Bars:
- Bat Sugar Cookies from The Flour Handprint
- Voodoo Doll Cookies from Sweet ReciPEAS
- Halloween Confetti Cookies from Fake Ginger
- Black Cat Whoopie Pies from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
Halloween Cakes & Cupcakes:
- Marshmallow SpiderWeb Cupcakes from Big Bear’s Wife
- Candy Corn Poke Cake from Devour Dinner
- Halloween Brownie Cupcakes from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Hocus Pocus Layer Cake from Love and Confections
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from It’s Shanaka
Halloween Brownies:
- Spider brownie bites from Tastes of Homemade
- Evil Dead Necronomicon Brownies from Savory Moments
Halloween Pies & Cheesecakes:
- Mini Candy Corn Cheesecakes from Cheese Curd in Paradise
Halloween Drinks:
- Halloween Themed Layered Drinks from 4 Sons R Us
Chilled Halloween Treats:
- Extra Dark Chocolate Pudding from Pastry Chef Online
Sweet Halloween Treats:
- Spooky Strawberries from For the Love of Food
- Halloween Bark from West Via Midwest
- Halloween Snack Mix from Savory Experiments
- Healthy Halloween Snacks from House of Nash Eats
- Sweet & Savory Halloween Snack Board from An Affair from the Heart
- Spooky Candy Bark from Sweet Beginnings
- Poisoned Candy Apples from Fresh Coast Eats
- Donut Hole Mummies from Family Around the Table
- Halloween Caramel Popcorn Munch Recipe from Back To My Southern Roots
Savory Halloween Recipes:
- Mini Monster Meatball Sliders from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Mummy Brie from The Spiffy Cookie
- Halloween Deviled Eggs from I am a Honey Bee
Felicia says
I canf wait to try this recipe. does the egg or milk need to be room temp?
Kathy McDaniel says
It doesn’t have to but room temperature ingredients are easier to mix.
Rae says
These turned out perfect! We made them in orange and the kids did their own decorations. They didn’t look as pretty as yours but the kids had so much fun!