During my stint in graduate school, my professor brought in a big box of donuts for us nearly every Saturday morning as a semi-peace offering for working weekends. They came from one of the two mom-and-pop shops in town, where the owners glazed and decorated each donut with love—including the crazy fruit loop-topped ones.
Because most of us refused to set our alarms for 6 am like during the week, we could still walk upstairs in the early (or, uhh, late) afternoon and snag one of the best treats. I usually gravitated towards the cinnamon crumbs and old-fashioneds, which always showed up in those pink cardboard boxes, but on the rare occasion where Bossman glanced at the kiddie section…
I immediately grabbed the double chocolate donut. Chocolate cake, chocolate glaze, and—if I was extremely lucky—rainbow sprinkles to boot. As much as I adore Christmas and Halloween, those festively colored sprinkles just didn’t taste the same!
One weekend as I sat savoring my chocolate kiddie treat in the break room, slowly ripping off little nibbles, I glanced at the cakey insides and nearly gasped. A fat streak of vanilla stared back at me!
The owners must have wanted to cut down on their dishes and simply mixed cocoa powder into their standard vanilla batter… Because the chocolate donut completely lacked the rich depth of the weekends before. It tasted light, somewhat bland, and like, well, vanilla-y chocolate. And as much as I adore swirled ice cream cones, I prefer one flavor or the other in my donuts!
But these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts are the exact opposite: unbelievably rich, deliciously decadent, and with a fudgy texture to boot! It’s as if you crossed your favorite fudgy brownies with chocolate cupcakes… And then ate them for breakfast. With the peanut butter glaze on top, they practically taste like Reese’s!
To ensure these donuts taste as chocolaty as possible, we’ll add almost as much cocoa powder as flour. With only ¾ cup of flour and a whopping ½ cup of cocoa powder, the chocolate flavor is front and center—no vanilla-y chocolate donuts here!
To sneak in a little extra fiber and nutrients, I opted for whole wheat pastry flour. It has a very similar texture to all-purpose and isn’t quite as dense as regular whole wheat, but both of those would work as substitutes, as well as white whole wheat flour. Basically… Just use whatever you already stock in your pantry; no need for a special trip to the grocery store!
To keep these healthier donuts “clean-eating friendly,” they’re sweetened with maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. No, you can’t taste the maple at all! Only rich dark chocolate. We’ll add just enough syrup to taste, but not so much that these become sugar-laden breakfast bombs like the pancakes and waffles of my childhood. And be sure to use the real stuff—pure maple syrup—instead of the faux corn syrup variety!
Because my guy drove over 100 miles to buy me a donut maker for Christmas two years ago, that’s what I used to bake these. I own this model, and I love its compact size and cute design. Even better, I don’t have to heat up the entire kitchen by turning on the oven—a huge plus because it’s still 90° where I live!
Note: You can still use a conventional oven and mini donut pans too. I included the directions for that below the recipe!
This peanut butter glaze is mindlessly simple and doesn’t require any powdered sugar! Greek yogurt creates the base and thickens the glaze, along with creamy peanut butter. I tried really, really hard to save it all for the donuts, but… A spoonful (or three) may have escaped the bowl and somehow made it to my mouth instead.
But for the glaze that did coat the top of the treats, it made these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts taste like dessert! 100% ultimate comfort food breakfast right there. Totally perfect for lazy weekends, birthday brunches, and a random Tuesday morning meal.
Because who wouldn’t want healthy Reese’s chocolate donuts for breakfast?
These fudgy donuts practically taste like a chocolate peanut butter cup! They’re best if eaten the same day they’re made, but store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Preheat an electric donut maker. (For a conventional oven and donut pans, see Notes below.)
- To prepare the donuts, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.) Transfer the batter to a large zip-topped bag, and snip off one corner.
- Lightly coat the cavities of the donut maker with nonstick cooking spray. Pipe the batter into the cavities, filling each to the rim. Close the lid, and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until barely firm to the touch. Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool, and repeat with any remaining batter.
- To prepare the glaze, stir together the yogurt, agave, and peanut butter in a small bowl. Slowly add the milk ½ teaspoon at a time, stopping once the desired consistency is achieved. Dip each donut into the glaze, and return to the wire rack to let the glaze set.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ tsp (1g) xanthan gum.
Regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. (All-purpose should work too.)
To bake in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a donut pan (12 mini cavities) with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare the batter as directed, and pipe into the cavities. Bake at 350°F for 5-8 minutes, or until barely firm to the touch. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Continue as directed.
Maple syrup, agave, and honey can all be used interchangeably in this recipe.
{gluten-free, clean eating, vegetarian, low fat, low calorie}
I am wild about all things PB & C. I bought two silicone donut plans and made a double batch of the donut batter and the glaze.
I followed the directions exactly including measuring correctly. Sadly, my donuts came out super dense. Cake donuts are my preferred over a yeast donut because I like the denseness of cake vs airiness of yeast. However, mine are too heavy of a cake. I don’t think I over mixed. I stired in 3 batches as advised. Maybe silicone pans need less time and/or more wet ingredients? Advice? Thanks. (Glaze is perfect. I did add some PB One powder to up the PB flavor. Delish!)
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed the glaze! 🙂 Did the insides of your donuts look like the insides of mine in my photos? How did you measure the cocoa powder? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, did you scoop it directly from the container with your measuring cups? We’ll get this sorted out!
Hi Amy, Thanks for the reply. I measured the way you instructed…used spoon to fill the measuring cup and then a knife to level. Mine look a little bit denser inside than yours but not too much different. I mixed the dry/wet in batches but I must have mixed too long rendering the final doughnut too dense. Or the silicone doughnut pan requires less time. Practice makes perfect.
Thanks for the information! If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring the cocoa powder (and flour, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up cocoa powder from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the cocoa powder into it. Once there’s a small mound of cocoa powder extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess cocoa powder. Never “pat” the cocoa powder down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less cocoa powder to the batter, so you’ll end up with moist and tender donuts that aren’t as dense. Does that make sense? 🙂
I really want to try this recipe! However, I only have a standard size donuts pan. I know they will have to make longer than the minis but should the oven temp be adjusted?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Patricia! The oven temperature can remain the same. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these donuts!
I really want to try this recipe would I be able to use almond flour instead for a gluten free option?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lisa! If you substitute almond flour, the flavor will remain the same. However, the donuts will turn out much denser and might not rise as high. This is because gluten is the protein that allows baked goods to hold their shape while baking and after cooling. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try them!