These blueberry donuts are baked, so they’re not only super-easy, but they’re healthier than fried. They’re a great way to enjoy blueberries in season!
Philip and I famously cannot grow anything. Well, except weeds, which run rampant in our front yard. And our back yard.
Maybe it’s not as bad as all that. We did a square foot garden a few years back and had moderate success with zucchini (which are über-easy to grow), tomatoes, and peppers (of the bell and jalapeño variety). We have a lovely rosemary bush in our front yard that grows year-round, and we actually managed to grow that one from a cutting off of another one that we had that tried to take over our sidewalk and had to be put in its place. We’ve also managed parsley (which came back several years in a row but hasn’t shown up this year) and basil. And we have a peach tree in our front yard that at the moment is still too young to produce anything more than pits covered with fuzzy skin.
And then there are the blueberry bushes, the darlings of our yard. We’ve had them for three or four years, purchased on sale at a garden store just a street or two over. We planted them in this weird rocky area near our driveway and I was quite apprehensive about whether they’d grow, produce, or even survive there, though Philip was quite confident that they would. Turns out he was right, and every year we get a few more berries than we did the year before.
One bush has grown much more than the other, which we figure is attributed to the exact amount of shading that the bush gets as compared to the other, even though they are only a couple of feet apart (if that even). Plants are so fickle and we are so ignorant in the grand scheme of things. This year we also had to shoo a few birds off and we lost a few more berries than we have in the past (which always brings back painful memories of the time that I managed to grow one. solitary. strawberry. I waited till just the right moment to pick it….and a bug had wormed right through the middle). Still, we got a full quart bag of blueberries from our still-baby bushes, carefully dumping them into the bag then sticking it back in the freezer as we picked a few at a time, getting so excited that couple of times that we got so many berries at once that we had to come in the house to get a container to carry them in.
We have different approaches to our berries, me and Philip. I want to hoard them, to use them a teaspoon at a time, to make them last till next summer. He wants to figure out what to make with them. I keep telling myself I should enjoy them while they’re fresh (um, fresh-frozen, that is) but wahhhhhhh! I want berries from my yard when March rolls around!
Anyway, I’ve been reasoning with myself, and I’m not going to lie. These donuts were not made with berries from my yard. Well, maybe some of the berries were….but I’m a berry-hoarder, you guys. The ones I used here? Frozen from last summer, some from the farmer’s market, some from our bushes. Still delicious. I’m making progress, though. This July I’ve made blueberry scones, blueberry-orange-banana smoothies, and these beautiful purply-pink gems, my own brainchild…a stroke of genius really. I have no idea where this came from, but one day I just said to Philip, “Blueberry donuts. I need to make blueberry donuts...with warm spices” And I could have used just cinnamon, or maybe pumpkin pie spice or Chinese Five-Spice powder….but why would I do that when I have the locally created Alchemy Spice Wake and Bake Sweet Spice Blend? I mean, I love all of the aforementioned things….but when you can get a jar of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg, lemon zest, cardamom, and cacao nibs, you foresake all of those other spices and blends. For realsies. I mean, if you must use just cinnamon, or another spice blend, by all means do. But you’re gonna want to check this stuff out. I went the extra mile and made Wake & Bake sugar to coat the donuts. That’s right, friends. The spice in in the blueberry donuts and ON the blueberry donuts!
And you’re definitely going to want to make these blueberry donuts. Today. DO IT.
Cause after I made them I said to Philip at least twenty-seven times: “I’m so glad I had this idea. This was a really good idea and I have no idea where it came from but man was it a good idea!”
(to purchase Alchemy Spice products, go here: http://www.alchemyspicecompany.com/shop/ (if you are in Chattanooga, you can purchase them at Whole Foods, Enzo’s, Main Street Farmers Market, or the Chattanooga Market). To purchase a donut pan like mine, you can go to a local discount or home store (like Target or Bed, Bath, & Beyond) or purchase it from Amazon (<–affiliate link).
This post contains an affiliate link. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Mary
Yield: 12 donuts
This recipe is adapted from Weelicious and Joy the Baker.
20 minPrep Time:
15 minCook Time:
35 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup flour (not self-rising. I used 3/4 cup white whole wheat and 1/2 cup cake flour.)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Alchemy Spice Wake & Bake Sweet Spice Blend (or cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or Chinese Five-Spice powder.)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 2 tablespoons frozen blueberries (thawed)
- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 tablespoon Alchemy Spice Wake & Bake Sweet Spice Blend (or cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or Chinese Five-Spice Powder)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup mini donut pan (I brushed mine with canola oil).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and teaspoon of spices.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and the 1/2 cup sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the egg, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the blueberries (frozen blueberries may break up a little and will turn the batter a little purple....I don't mind). Scoop the batter into a gallon-size zipper bag and snip off the corner. Carefully pipe the batter into the donut pan (I filled eleven of the donut cups) then smooth the tops.
- Bake the donuts for 14-16 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan briefly then use a knife or offset spatula to remove the donuts from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
- To make the glaze, mash the thawed blueberries to get out as much of the juice as possible (I pressed them through a sieve) then discard the skins. Mix the blueberry juice with the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk using a fork or a small whisk until smooth.
- Mix the tablespoon of Wake & Bake blend into the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Dip one side of each donut into the melted butter, then into the sugar blend. Flip the donut and dip the other side into the blueberry glaze, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl.
- Allow the donuts to sit glazed-side up until set, then serve.
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