Do-It-Yourself Dunkins - Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes

I used to work at Dunkin' Donuts a lifetime ago and had donuts for dinner every day.  Not once did I get tired of them. My favorite? Well, that's kind of hard to decide because I love them all, but I always go back to the chocolate glazed. On just about any given day you can bet I've got a hankerin' for them, but up until recently I was limited by the scarcity of nearby donut shops. Now, of course, there are more donut shops in this town than my figure can afford to know about, but I have since mastered the art of making my own donuts whenever I desire them. That is probably a lot more dangerous for my diet, but awfully satisfying to my sweet tooth.

I tried this recipe for the first time today and was thrilled with the similarity to my favorite little Munchkins. These are baked, not fried, so they are presumably a little healthier, but when you're eating donuts, who the heck is counting? This recipe makes a ton, so feel free to half it if you don't like donuts quite as much as me.

Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes
Prep time: 10 min  Bake time: 15 min
Makes 48

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Glaze:
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 24-count mini muffin pans with nonstick spray. 

Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Sifting is important; you want to remove any clumps of cocoa.  

In a medium bowl, whisk the beaten eggs, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely smooth.  Whisk in the melted butter until combined.  Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, careful not to overmix. Over-handling this batter will make your donut holes dense and tough.

Spoon batter into the mini muffin tins, only about 3/4 of the way full.  Be careful not to overfill or your donut holes will end up looking more like mushrooms!  Bake for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake them; they burn easily.  Allow the donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 more minutes before glazing.
 
While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze by sifting the confectioner's sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth.  Add more confectioners' sugar to make it thicker if desired; add more milk to make it thinner.  Dunk each slightly warm donut hole into the glaze and place on a wire rack on top of a large baking sheet to let the glaze drip down. Let glaze harden before serving--if you can wait that long!

69 calories per donut hole.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!