My husband loves mochas. Every time we hit a coffee shop that’s what he orders, even as I roll my eyes at the amount of sugar he’s drinking. I love the flavor of mochas — in college they were my “gateway” coffee drink, with the somewhat ridiculous addition of raspberry syrup — but these days I stick to lattes.
That doesn’t mean I don’t take the opportunity to combine chocolate and coffee while baking, whenever I can. I mean, this espresso streusel coffee cake is over the top in coffee flavor, in a good way. And since I made these peppermint mocha cupcakes a few years ago, I’ve been thinking about making peppermint mocha donuts.
Donuts feel festive no matter what, even the baked variety. For one thing, my kids get excited about donuts in a way they just don’t about muffins. They don’t need to know that baked donuts are practically the same thing, and are just as simple to make, right? While I’ve recently experienced the joys of frying donuts with these pecan coffee donut holes, baking donuts means breakfast is on the table in a flash.
Since these are family-friendly, the coffee flavor isn’t too strong. It’s more there to help bring out the natural flavor of the cocoa, giving it a deeper chocolate taste. You could always bump up the coffee by adding espresso powder in addition to the coffee, but be careful to not let it overpower.
Crushed candy canes on top add blasts of peppermint to each bite. For the pickier people in the house, you can skip them in favor of sprinkles, or just let the peppermint in the glaze stand on its own.
When making the glaze, be sure to mix it after the donuts are baked, because it will start to harden as it sits, making it difficult to coat all of your donuts. A fork or a spoon will help greatly in moving the donuts out of the glaze, and you can use a toothpick to pop any bubbles if you’re picky.
These peppermint mocha donuts are perfectly soft, sweet, and minty — the ideal antidote to any winter blues!
Peppermint Mocha Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
- 0.75 All-Purpose Flour
- 0.25 Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 Baking Powder
- 0.5 Fine Sea Salt
- 0.25 Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg Beaten
- 0.25 Milk
- 0.25 Strong Brewed Coffee Cooled
- 2 Vegetable Oil
- 0.75 Powdered Sugar
- 2 Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 Milk
- 1 Peppermint Extract
- 0.25 Crushed Peppermint Candy Cane Pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a donut pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined. Whisk in sugar.
- Stir in egg, milk, coffee, and oil and mix until combined, but do not overmix. As with muffins, a few lumps are fine.
- Fill donut pan wells about 3/4 full. Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly springy to touch. Remove from pan (a spoon helps here) and let cool on a rack set over a baking sheet. Clean off any stuck bits, re-grease, and repeat with remaining batter.
- In a bowl with a bottom wide enough for the donut, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and peppermint extract until completely smooth.
- Dip donuts into glaze and return to rack. Before the glaze hardens, sprinkle on candy cane bits.