Baked Sour Cream Glazed Donuts are an easy and delicious, old fashioned recipe from grandma. With 12 ingredients and a donut pan, you will have soft, tangy, cake donuts in minutes.
Serve them at brunch with a Mimosa Mocktail, as a sweet mid-day snack, dessert, or with your morning coffee.
For more breakfast inspired recipes, try my Breakfast Bagel Sliders, Rhubarb Snack Cake, customizable Basic Muffin Recipe, or these Banana Carrot Muffins.
There is nothing better than the taste of a homemade baked donut, especially when it’s grandma’s recipe. These Sour Cream Glazed Donuts are reminiscent of the fried version, except they are baked. Because let’s be honest, it’s a pain in the butt frying donuts. You will also love…
- there’s a family secret ingredient in them (keep reading to see what it is)
- a quick and easy donut recipe
- tangy sour cream based donut batter that adds moisture and flavor
- old fashioned sour cream donut flavor but easier and without hot frying oil
Watch This Quick, 30 Second Recipe Video:
Baked Sour Cream Glazed Donuts Ingredients
You will need 12 ingredients, simple ingredients for both the donuts and glaze. Below are a few notes as well as potential substitutions. Don’t forget to grab your donut pan or my favorite one by Wilton here.
- Sour Cream: Always use full fat sour cream that has been brought room temperature.
- Sugar: We will use both granulated and light brown sugar for the best flavor and texture.
- Oil: You will want to use a light and neutral oil like vegetable oil or Canola oil.
- Egg: Brought to room temperature, just like the sour cream.
- Vanilla Extract: To flavor our donuts and glaze. Always use pure or homemade extract and never imitation, it just isn’t the same.
- All-Purpose Flour: This recipe has been tested with gluten free 1:1 flour (it works great).
- Baking Soda: This leavening agent will give our donuts a light and fluffy texture. Just be sure your baking soda has not expired, you can check using this guide.
- Nutmeg: Our family secret ingredient for all donuts, muffins, and cookies. It adds a note of spice and accentuates the sweet flavors without being overwhelming.
- Salt: Used to balance sweetness and boost flavors in the donuts and glaze.
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioner’s sugar.
- Melted Butter: I recommend unsalted butter so your mixture does not get too salty. The melted butter should also be slightly cooled.
- Hot Water: Used to thin out the glaze. You can also use milk in it’s place for an even richer flavor.
How to Make Baked Sour Cream Glazed Donuts
Here is a quick overview of how to make these baked sour cream donuts. The recipe card below will have complete details and instructions.
1. Make the sour cream donut batter. Whisk together the wet ingredients and fold in the dry ingredients. Be careful to not overmix the donut batter, the dry mixture should be just absorbed. Place it in a piping bag with a 1/2 inch hole cut in one of the tips.
2. Pipe the batter into a 6 cavity donut pan (make sure the donut pan has been lightly prepped with non-stick cooking spray). Fill the cavities 2/3 of the way full.
3. Bake for 12-15 minutes until donuts spring back to the touch. Cool them for 15 minutes in the pan and then on a cooling rack until room temperature.
4. Glaze the donuts. Mix together the vanilla glaze and dip the cooled donuts covering them completely. Dry the glazed donuts on a rack lined baking sheet to catch the excess vanilla glaze.
Storing Information
I would be surprised if you had any leftover donuts, but if you do they should be placed in an airtight container or they will dry out. At room temperature they will last up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5 days. These also freeze well for up to 3 months.
3 Tips for the BEST Baked Sour Cream Glazed Donuts
1. Always use full fat sour cream. This gives our donuts a wonderful cake-like texture. Without the fat that comes from sour cream, the donuts would be dense and lacking in flavor.
2. Do not overmix the sour cream donut batter. Mixing your donut batter too much builds up gluten and makes them tough and dry. My rule is to immediately stop mixing once the last dry bit of flour is absorbed.
3. Don’t forget to prep your donut pan by lightly spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. This ensures the donuts will turn out of the pan without sticking.
Frequently Asked Questions About Baked Sour Cream Glazed Donuts
Donut pans can be found pretty cheap at most grocery stores and dollar stores. Alternatively you can make donut holes using a mini muffin pan or muffins using a standard muffin pan. Baking times may vary so keep a close eye on them as they bake.
Not at all. But keep in mind, a glaze does help cake donuts from drying out. You can keep them as they are, roll them in butter and then cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. These would even taste great dipped in a chocolate glaze as well.
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Sour Cream Glazed Donuts
Equipment
- 1 Donut Pan - 6 cavity
Ingredients
Baked Sour Cream Donuts
- ½ cup sour cream - room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg - room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
Baked Sour Cream Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 °F and prepare the donut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sour cream, granular sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract until pale in color and well combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Fold until just combined, careful to not over mix.
- Place donut batter into a piping bag or gallon bag. Cut a 1/2 inch hole at the tip.
- Pipe the batter equally into the 6 cavities of the donut pan.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they spring back to the touch and are golden brown.
- Allow the Sour Cream Donuts to cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove and move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Glaze
- In a bowl combine the powdered sugar, melted unsalted butter, hot water, vanilla extract, pinch of salt.
- Gently dip the cooled Sour Cream Donuts into the glaze, covering them completely. Place on a baking rack and cookie sheet for excess glaze to drip off.
- Continue with all 6 donuts and allow the vanilla glaze to dry completely.
Video
Notes
Storing Information:
- At room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to three days.
- Refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to five days.
- Frozen, in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.
Other Baking Options:
- Mini Donut Holes: Place the donut batter into a prepared 24 cavity mini muffin pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes and follow all other instructions as written. This recipe will make 12.
- Standard Sized Muffins: Place the donut batter into a prepared 12 cavity muffin pan. Follow all other instructions as written. This recipe will make 6 muffins.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
I made this for our lazy Saturday brunch today.
The recipe worked perfectly and they tasted amazing. I don’t have a donut pan so I used a mini muffin tin and baked if for 11-12 minutes. It made 16 mini’s.
It was easy to make and a lovely way to get your donut fix in because it doesn’t involve deep frying!
Hey Linda!
I love that you used a muffin tin! And thank you for sharing the photo with me on Instagram. So glad you enjoyed them!
~Elizabeth
I printed this recipe and will make them. They look yummy and easy.
Hi grandma!
I hope you and grandpa enjoy them!
~Beth