GLAZED DONUT COOKIES

Glazed Donut Cookies are soft, delicate, donut-shaped cookies with a lovely chocolate or vanilla glaze and topped with sprinkles! These buttermilk cookies are a delicious twist on a traditional sugar cookie recipe, the results are a heavenly sweet treat.

Make these donut cookies and the best icing for sugar cookies, using staple ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen and pantry. These frosted sugar cookies might be the most delicious and unique cookies you have ever tasted! 

Easy Donut Cookies

Our family has always loved maple bars, so when I had the idea to make donut cookies, I was so excited to test the process out. I used my Soft Buttermilk Sugar Cookie dough recipe, because unlike other donut cookies, where you cut out donut shapes from traditional sugar cookie dough, I wanted these to really resemble donuts in taste and texture. The result? OMG, they are incredible! Rejoice, because I am about to introduce you to your new favorite cookie with this recipe. Be sure to read my notes and watch the video below. Donut Cookies are not difficult to make, but the dough is a bit sticky, so I give tips on managing it better.

Tip for how to make the BEST donut cookies

Donut cookies are a bit different than regular cookies, so here’s how to be successful in making them.

• First, mix the dough using an electric mixer. I use a KitchenAid mixer. I love mine! I have a Bosch as well but I find I use my KitchenAid for cookies. There is a cookie paddle that comes with every mixer that you attach to the top of the mixer. They’re easy to use and help you mix the ingredients uniformly.
• Second, line your cookie sheets with a piece of parchment paper. They’re sold in sizes that fit a 12×16 cookie sheet perfectly and enable to cookies to bake well without sticking. This is especially important for this recipe as the dough is quite sticky.
• The third item is a cookie scoop! Normally I recommend a cookie scoop so that you end up with uniformly sized cookies. In this instance, a cookie scoop is just a great way to measure out the same amount of dough for each donut. One critical step for your sanity in this recipe is to first spray the inside of the cookie scoop with non-stick spray. Trust me, life will just be easier this way! Spray the cookie scoop, spray your hands and after each batch of donut cookies made (which is 6-8 cookies, depending how well you space them apart of the pan) you’ll return the dough to the refrigerator, wash your hands and the cookie scoop. These little steps help make the process go much more smoothly!

Glazed Donut Cookie Ingredients

Butter: You need ½ cup of softened butter (1 stick) to give the dough great flavor.

Sugar: Add in ½ cup of granulated sugar to sweeten these cookies perfectly.

Brown sugar: By adding in ½ cup of brown sugar, it provides a wonderful depth of flavor that is simply amazing.

Egg: Use 1 egg to help bind the cookie dough together well.

Buttermilk: You will need ¾ cup of buttermilk to give these donut cookies the most incredible texture.

Vanilla extract: Adding in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract will help enhance all the great flavors in this recipe.

Flour: For the base and structure of these cookies, you need 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.

Baking soda: For the leavening agent in this recipe, use ½ teaspoon of baking soda.

Salt: To balance the flavors well, add in ½ teaspoon of salt.

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients

Butter: Use 2 tablespoons of butter for a nice rich taste and shine to this glaze.

Milk: Add in 2-3 tablespoons of milk to get the perfect consistency desired.

Vanilla extract: You need 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for more great flavor.

Powder sugar: 1 cup powdered sugar is the base of this glaze recipe.

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients

Butter: To flavor this glaze and get the right consistency, use 2 tablespoons of butter.

Chocolate chips: For great chocolatey flavor, use ¼ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Milk: Add in 2-3 tablespoons of milk to achieve the desired glaze consistency.

Powder sugar: Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar to create the best cookie topping.

How to make Chocolate & Vanilla Glazed Donut Cookies

Dough

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, white and brown sugars, for 1 minute. Then, add in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract, mix again until smooth.

Next, in a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. After that, add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir to combine. Proceed to mix in the other half and stir until combined.

The dough will be softer and stickier than normal cookie dough, this is what you want. Then, cover the bowl and let chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Bake

Get the oven preheating to 375 degrees F. Then, line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.

Next, spray the cookie scoop and your hands lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop out about 1.5-2 tablespoons of cookie dough into your hand. Proceed to roll the dough into a ball and gently flatten the ball until it’s about 1/2″ thick. You can shape the cookie dough into donuts in one of two ways.

• Method 1) Use a small round biscuit cutter to punch a hole in the center of the flattened dough. Place the donut hole back into the mixing bowl to be used for more cookies. This method is easier when you spray the biscuit cutter with non-stick spray first.
• Method 2) Press the top and bottom center of the flattened dough with your thumb and forefinger until you create a hole. Use your hands to pull the hole open wider, until it’s about 2-2.5″ wide.

Put each shaped donut cookie on the parchment lined cookie sheets, repeating process until you have 6-8 cookies on your sheets.

Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 9-10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for an additional 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely while you prepare the glazes.

Vanilla Glaze

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of milk and the butter, heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Then, add in the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Add additional milk as needed for the glaze to be smooth and dippable. If the glaze cools, microwave for an additional 15 seconds.

Chocolate glaze

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of milk, butter and chocolate chips, heat for 40 seconds in the microwave. Then, add in the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Add additional milk as needed for the glaze to be smooth and dippable. If the glaze cools, microwave for an additional 15 seconds.

Assemble Donuts

Proceed to dip the top round face of each cooled donut cookie in the warm glaze. Top with sprinkles immediately, if desired. Cool to set for about 10 minutes.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

HOW DO YOU STORE FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES?

Let your frosted sugar cookies sit out for an hour or two to help the frosting solidify. Place them in an airtight container and then lay a cut piece of parchment paper over the top before laying more cookies on top. They can last this way up to a week.

HOW LONG WILL DECORATED SUGAR COOKIES LAST?

If you keep your decorated sugar cookies properly stored, you can expect them to last up to a week at room temperature and be just fine.

Do I have to chill the cookie dough?

When recipes request that you chill your cookie dough it is usually for a good reason. That reason is that the flavor gets a bit more time to develop and the cookies taste even more incredible. But the biggest reason is because of the butter/fats in the dough. By chilling the dough we allow the fats to solidify which means your cookies will not spread out as much while baking, so the texture turns out perfectly. This is especially important on warmer days or when your butter is warm or softened.

Try more amazing cookie recipes here that you will love!

• Frosted Lemon Sugar cookies
• Strawberry Sugar Cookies
• Blueberry Banana Cookies
• Raspberry Meltaway Cookies
• Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
• Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
• Almond Crescent Cookies
• Hot Cocoa Cookies
• Eggnog Cookies
• Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Glazed Donut Cookies are soft donut-shaped cookies with an amazing chocolate or vanilla glaze and topped with sprinkles! These buttermilk cookies are a sensational twist on a classic sugar cookie recipe, the results are an incredible treat.

This photo fairly accurately depicts January in our state! Thankfully, snow is fun, so my kids don’t seem to mind at all. Here’s my youngest daughter, smiling for a photo after burying herself in snow. Can you say, COLD?!