Doughnut Week! Baked Blueberry Doughnuts

After two days of deep frying, you might be wondering what has gotten into me? I mean really, me deep frying in my kitchen?? I used to think that was something that would never happen in my house!


Buuut then the pregnancy cravings hit.  Well, the pregnancy craving.  So far in my 19 weeks I have craved one thing and one thing only: doughnuts. Soft, delicious, still warm doughnuts.

So I had to get rid of my prejudices about deep frying, and trust me when I say that I am so happy I did.  But as much as I love the Spudnuts and other deep fried pieces of joy, sometimes you need a bit of a break from the greasy stove top and underlying sense of guilt as you shove the third one of the day (ok fine, of the morning) into your face.  Luckily these are a bit more guilt-free than the classic fried doughnuts, and a bit easier on your kitchen too!

I could not believe how light and fluffy these doughnuts were when they came out of the oven. Until now all of the baked doughnuts I have had were fairly heavy and dense, but these are so incredible light and fluffy!


In order to keep things simple and let the blueberries shine, I just quickly rolled the warm doughnuts in some sugar and it was all the extra 'sweet' they needed.  I think these would be an amazing doughnut to make with a filling, maybe a fruit jam of some type? I'll see what I come up with next time I make these.

This recipe is adapted from the 'Baked Raised' doughnuts found in the Doughnuts - Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home cookbook.  Again I used my 3 1/2" doughnut cutter (these raise too much when they cook for the mini doughnut cutter) and made about a dozen regular sized doughnuts and a dozen doughnut holes.


Baked Blueberry Doughnuts

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup warm milk (about 110 - 115 F)
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for kneading the dough)
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup blueberries 
• Melted butter to brush the doughnuts with (optional)
• Sugar for coating (optional)

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the egg and sugar until well mixed
2. Add the warmed milk, yeast, salt, and vanilla and blend well
3. With your mixer on low add 2 cups of flour (adding it about 1/2 cup at a time) and mix until the dough is thick and pulls away from the bowl
4. Switching to the dough hook, knead the dough on medium speed while adding the butter a few pieces at a time
5. On low, add the flour and the blueberries each 1/4 cup at a time until the dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl (it will still be a very soft dough at this point). I ended up adding an additional 3/4 cup of flour, for a total of 3 1/4 cups of flour in the dough
6. On a floured surface, knead the dough by hand until it is no longer really sticky
7. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl (turning to coat) and cover with a tea towel
8. Let the dough rise until doubled in a warm spot
9. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll it out on a floured surface until about 1/2" thick
10. Cut out doughnuts and doughnut holes, and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
11. Cover the cut doughnuts with plastic wrap and set aside for about 20 minutes, or until doubled in size
12. While the doughnuts are on their second rise, preheat the oven to 400 F
13. When the doughnuts have risen, bake for 5 - 8 minutes or until a very light golden brown
14. Immediately brush the doughnuts with butter (if using) and carefully coat in sugar
15. These are amazing while still warm!
16. Enjoy!