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Although I am usually very much team “yeasted” when it comes to doughnuts (one of my favorite food groups), when those in question are of the glazed chocolate baked variety, I make an exception—particularly when we are talking about holes. These tiny, dare I say, adorable baked doughnuts are deeply chocolatey, have the most tender and moist crumb, bake up in fewer than ten minutes (and are assembled in less than ten, too), and are coated in a crackly, shiny, and not-too-sweet glaze. In other words, these doughnut holes, in my humble opinion, give any yeasted variety a serious run for its money.

Related Reading: What Is the Difference Between Cake Doughnuts and Yeast Doughnuts?

Yeasted doughnut holes are lovely, of course. They are puffy, airy, and light, and popping one after the other into your mouth is indeed one of life’s great pleasures. But they take time—the dough requires a stand mixer and at least one, if not two, rests—and I have not even begun to get into the frying part: There’s the tub of hot oil, the candy thermometer, the vigilant standing at the stove while frying, the splattered stovetop…I think you get the picture.

Jessie Sheehan

Baked doughnut holes, on the other hand, are one of the easiest things you can throw down and still expect to get more oohs and ahhs than a three-layer cake. doughnuts just have that effect on people. The ingredients are all pantry staples, and because the recipe calls for oil, rather than butter, you won’t have to wait around for the butter to soften. Plus, the whole shebang can be mixed up in a bowl with a whisk and a spatula—no fancy tools required—in very little time.

Wilton 24 Cup Mini Muffin Pan, $19.77 on Amazon

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Because the doughnuts holes are baked in a mini muffin pan, you may be wondering if these are just tiny chocolate muffins. But rest assured: once these babies are glazed and piled high on a big platter, the word “muffin” will simply be erased from the conversation.

Glazed Chocolate Doughnut Holes Recipe

Note: These are reason enough to always have buttermilk on hand, but if there isn’t any in your fridge, you can make your own!

Buttermilk Glazed Chocolate Doughnut Holes

View Recipe

Header image by Jessie Sheehan.

Jessie Sheehan is a cookbook author, food writer, recipe developer, and baker. She is the author of The Vintage Baker (one of the Washington Post’s best cookbooks of 2018 and beloved by Oprah and Nigella) and the co-author of Icebox Cakes (both published by Chronicle Books). She has developed recipes for many cookbooks, besides her own, and has contributed recipes, written and/or created video content for Better Homes & Garden, Rachael Ray Everyday, the Washington Post, Fine Cooking, Yankee Magazine (October 2020) Epicurious, Food52, The Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family Show, The Feed Feed, The Kitchn, TASTE, Chowhound, Yummly, Spruce Eats and Little Sous, among others. Jessie blogs at jessiesheehanbakes.com and can be found on Instagram at @jessiesheehanbakes.
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