Baked Cinnamon Donuts (egg, dairy, and nut free) are a fun and sweet way to start the day! They’re topped with a cinnamon sugar blend, and made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Since they’re baked instead of fried, cleanup is easy.
I recently got a set of donut pans, and have been working all week on my cinnamon donut recipe. It’s taken a few tries, but my 3 year old sure has loved being my taste tester!
Looking for more egg-free breakfast and brunch ideas? Check out the recipes below!
You’d never know that these egg free cinnamon donuts are allergy friendly. The applesauce in this recipe works as a binder, adding some natural sweetness and pairing well with the cinnamon.
How to Make These Egg Free Cinnamon Donuts ( also Dairy Free, & Nut Free!)
- Stir together sugars, butter (or oil), applesauce, water, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir to combine.
- Distribute batter evenly between six donut molds (one 6-count donut pan), and bake for about 9 minutes.
- Top these egg free donuts with your favorite glaze (recipes below!), and enjoy.
That’s it!
Baked Cinnamon Donuts (Egg and Dairy Free)
Ingredients
Donuts
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce, level
- 1/4 cup melted butter or neutral flavored oil (such as vegetable or canola oil)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Topping
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter (or dairy-free margarine, if DF)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray 6-donut pan (mine is 3 1/4″ diameter per donut) with cooking spray – I do this even for nonstick.
- Stir together applesauce, sugars, oil, water, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to wet ingredients, and whisk together just until combined.
- Distribute batter evenly between the 6 donut openings. For best results, spoon batter into a plastic Ziploc-style bag, and pipe into donut pan through a hole cut in the corner of the bag.
- Bake at 375F for 8-9 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before carefully inverting onto a cooling rack.
- In a small bowl, melt butter (or DF margarine/oil). In second bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar topping. Dip top of each donut in the butter, then dip in cinnamon sugar topping.
Notes
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I am excited to try these! I was just wondering if you have ever tried adding protein powder to the batter to make them higher protein?
Hello! I haven’t tried adding protein powder (but also haven’t found a “safe” one yet!). If you try, I wonder if the flour may need to be reduced a little to make up for the additional dry ingredients?
Hello! I saw that milk was referenced in the top of the recipe but not within the ingredient list or steps. Can milk be used instead of water? Thank you!
Hello! Yes! I used to use milk in this recipe, but found that water makes for a lighter, fluffier donut. You can still use milk in place of the water – I’ve made them both ways! I’ll have to go through and update the rest of the post – thank you for letting me know. 🙂
The ‘story’ part of the post still references the milk.
For the instructions – do we add the granulated sugar to the wet ingredients or the dry? You forgot to include it.
Thank you for letting me know! I’ve updated the text and the recipe to reflect the changes. I sometimes edit recipes if I make an improvement, and these details can get lost in the changes.
I just bit into one after trying to make them for the first time. There was a sharp bitter taste. Could i have not mixed the baking soda into the flour well enough? I am scared to try again and serve them to guest if this should happen again. What do you suggest?
Otherwise they were quick and easy to make.
Hello – I’m sorry you had a bitter taste with the donuts! If the baking soda was clumping at all (which can happen easily with humidity or moisture), it may not incorporate as well into the dry ingredients and can leave a bitter taste. I would also check to ensure that: 1) the baking powder and soda are fresh, and 2) the baking soda and baking powder measurements were correct – accidentally swapping the amounts could also leave a bitter flavor. I hope this helps, and you have a better experience next time! 🙂
How can I make these in the size of munchkins?! Any thoughts?
Hello! Are munchkins the same as donut holes? I haven’t tried myself, but you could try making these in a donut hole pan instead of a classic donut pan.