Mini Pink Lemon Baked Donuts
Makes 22 – 23 mini donuts (2-inch)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sugar
- Zest from 2 pink lemons (Meyer lemon or regular lemon)
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole milk
Pink Lemon Glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole milk
- 2 - 3 tablespoons pink lemon juice
- pink food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F (218˚C). Lightly grease a mini donut pan (If you have 2 pans, grease 2 pans.).
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar and lemon zests together. Add brown sugar. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add lemon sugars and vegetable oil. Beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat to combine. With a spatula, stir in the baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Mix well.
- Continue using a spatula, stir and add the flour and milk to the butter mixture alternately in 3 additions, by starting and finishing with the flour. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter into a pipping bag or Ziploc bag, fill the donut pan with batter all the way up to the rim.
- Bake in the oven for about 6 – 8 minutes. Test the donuts with a toothpick for doneness. The toothpick should come out clean. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the donuts to a cooling rack and cool completely. If you have extra batter, clean and dry the donut pan. Lightly grease and repeat filling the pan.
- For the glaze, in a medium bowl, add powdered sugar. Add the milk, 1½ tablespoons lemon juice & pink food coloring (if using). Whisk until smooth. Add more lemon juice if the frosting is too thick. Glaze the donuts and let them set for 20 minutes.
Notes
- If your donut pan is a silicone one, add a baking sheet at the bottom for support while baking.
- For regular size donuts, bake for about 10 minutes. Use a toothpick to check the doness.
- These donuts don’t take on much color when baking, so don’t worry about that.
- Even though pink lemons have pink flesh, the juice don’t have a strong color and the glaze needs only very little amount of juice. It doesn’t give the glaze a visible pink color, so I added pink food coloring. It is optional.
- Donuts can be stored at room temperate for up to 2 days, but best to serve the same day. If you plan to serve the donuts the next day, glaze it the next day.