Baked Gingerbread Donuts for Christmas

Serve a unique Christmas dessert this year with these delicious gingerbread baked donuts. Originally posted December 2017. Last updated October 2021.

If you've been reading here for a while then you know how much I love making baked donuts. They are just so simple and cute. And for whatever reason, they're more impressive than cupcakes. So, naturally, I like to whip them out when entertaining. I first created these gingerbread donuts for a Christmas party at home and they pretty much taste like Christmas. Have I got your attention? Let's get festive.

If you love unique holiday baking ideas, try these recipe next!

• Holiday Cookie Boxes
• Mini Cranberry Apple Crisps
• Peppermint Vanilla Pound Cake

What Gives Gingerbread its Flavor?

First and foremost, what does gingerbread even taste like? Gingerbread has a deep flavor that is richly sweet from brown sugar and molasses and warmly spiced from ginger and other spices. Gingerbread, whether baked into a cookie or as a loaf, is a vintage treat that has endured the test of time, though I find that people tend to make it sweeter nowadays. The sweeteners used in gingerbread are deeper and less cloying that granulated white sugar, and not everybody appreciates that. Depending on your palate, you can dial up the spice factor by adding more ginger or play up the warmth and sweetness with more cinnamon and nutmeg. Gingerbread also plays well with other flavors, especially chocolate! Try it in my mini chocolate gingerbread man cakes or in spiked gingerbread hot cocoa. And, in case chocolate is not your thing, make a batch of my sweet potato gingerbread muffins. These are all great Christmas party dessert ideas, too.

What You'll Need for this Recipe

As you can see, I have all the unique gingerbread ideas and each one has the same core ingredients in common with these Christmas donuts.

• Baking Powder
• Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Eggs
• Flour
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Nutmeg
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Clove
• Molasses
• Milk
• Powdered Sugar
• Red and Green Sprinkles
• Sea Salt
• Vanilla Extract

Tips for this Recipe

• What kind of pan to use to make baked donuts? I use a nonstick metal donut pan--six count for smaller batches and either 20-count pan for when I'm baking donuts for a Christmas party. These have given me perfect results for all kinds of baked donuts.
• How to pipe donut batter for baking? Transfer your gingerbread cake batter into a pastry bag or (my personal preference) a ziploc bag with one corner cut off. Gently squeeze the bag to express batter into each cavity of the donut pan, using a swooping motion to make a circle. Fill the pan so that the batter just slightly domes over the top of each cavity. The batter should rise a bit for beautifully plump donuts.
• How do I bake donuts in the oven? Bake your gingerbread donuts in a prepared nonstick pan at 350 degrees and be sure to place the pan on the middle oven rack. This will help keep the donuts from browning unevenly or too quickly. I also recommend placing a pan on the rack below to catch any drips. This should not be an issue as long as you don't overfill the donut pan but better safe than sorry, right?
• How to baked remove donuts from donut pan easily? Even though I use a nonstick donut pan, I still spray it down with a neutral oil, as well. To remove baked donuts from the pan, let them cool slightly in order to be able to handle them safely. Place the cooling rack on top of the donut pan and the donuts should practically fall out of the pan once you flip it over but if they need a nudge, use a butter knife to gently tilt each one out of the pan then move them onto the cooling rack.
• What other tools will I need to make this recipe? You'll need a big mixing bowl, a silicone spatula for scraping down the mixing bowl and transferring batter into the piping bag, and last but not least, a wire cooling rack for your finished donuts.

These gingerbread Christmas donuts are so festive and perfect to take to an office potluck, ugly sweater party, holiday bake sale, or give as party favors or homemade gifts. If you show up to the annual Christmas cookie exchange with donuts, you'll leave as the Supreme, for sure. Let's get real--who can say "no" to a Christmas donut? If you like this recipe, go ahead and subscribe for meal inspiration every week. Thanks for reading!

How to Make Gingerbread Flavored Donuts Recipe

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