Cinnamon Roll Baked Donuts

I just came back from a weekend in Dallas. I am originally a Texan and I spent most of my childhood living in the Houston area. Dallas and San Antonio are like homes away from homes to me. So naturally, when I went down to Dallas for the OU/TX football game and the Texas State Fair, I HAD to stop to eat at some of my favorite places!

One of my Texas favorites is Shipley Donuts. I have been eating Shipley's since before I can even remember. On Sundays my mom would take us to get donuts and kolaches at Shipley's, then we would buy the Sunday newspaper from the man in front of the store. We would go home and I would read the funnies and the store ads. It was one of my favorite traditions! Weird, huh? Not to me! And it was still just as good as I remembered it!

(P.S. If you don't know what a kolache is, you can make them and try them for yourself! Click here for my very own recipe!)

To wrap up this trip down memory lane, I have loved donuts for a long long time. But over the years, your kid taste buds turn into grown-up taste buds, and you really can't handle those fried donuts like you used to. Baked donuts have easily become my favorite breakfasts! They aren't too sweet and they come in a variety of gourmet flavors! Which is why I came up with cinnamon roll baked donuts. 

This recipe is pretty simple! It only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, as well. First you make the cinnamon roll topping. You will melt some butter along with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a couple other ingredients in a sauce pan. What you're doing right there is making that delicious amazing cinnamon roll filling. The best part! Next you will make the batter, it's a basic recipe; flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, milk, etc. You'll mix it until just combined, then pipe it into the donut pans. Cook these pretty things for 7-8 minutes, take 'em out, and glaze them with a powdered sugar glaze. Done! Enjoy them warm or room temperature, they taste amazing either way.

Did you have a favorite donut shop you enjoyed when you were younger or even now? 

INGREDIENTS
CINNAMON ROLL TOPPING:
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon cornstarch
DONUT BATTER:
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
GLAZE:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Dash of milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 6-cavity donut pan and set aside.

CINNAMON ROLL TOPPING:
Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the cinnamon, brown sugar, milk, and cornstarch. Heat until it just bubbles. Take it off the heat and pour about 1/2 tsp of the mixture into the bottom of each donut cavity.

DONUT BATTER:
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.

Pipe or spoon the batter into the donut cavities about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 7-8 minutes and turn out on a wire rack to cool.

GLAZE:
Using a fork, whisk the milk into the powdered sugar until desired consistency. Using a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip cut off, glaze the top of the donuts.