Dark Chocolate Donuts

Does anybody even care that it's Groundhog's day?  Why are we not all celebrating by eating hot dogs? Did everyone realize without me that ground hog is actually disgusting?

Or am I supposed to be watching the Superbowl?  I might be from Colorado but the second grade bully used to wear Bronco's jerseys basically every day so they've been my nemesis for awhile now.  I just can't support that kind of thing.  Plus horses have never been my favorite.

Can we just talk donuts instead?

A baked donut will never be a fried donut.  But that doesn't mean they can't be delicious.  Mentally prepare yourself for a little round cake with a hole in the center, instead of a crispy fried donut and these will wow you.  These are SO easy and only take 30 minutes from start to finish. This is the kind of treat you can whip up on a whim and not have to spend the entire day cleaning the kitchen afterwards.

The donuts themselves are dark and not super sweet, so the ganache glaze compliments them perfectly. I tried to put a clear glaze on a few and there was an uproar.  Point taken.

If you have kids they love to decorate their own donuts.  Read: They like to dump as many bottles of sprinkles as they can on top of their donuts.

You will need a donut pan to bake these in.  I bought mine at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon, but I've also seen them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and store likes Walmart and Target.

Now back to your chip dishes people!  May the best team win.

Dark Chocolate Baked Donuts

Recipe adapted from Buns in My Oven

-1 cup flour

-1/4 cup Hershey's special dark unsweetened cocoa

-1/2 cup white sugar

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/4 cup milk

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-1 egg

-1/2 tsp vanilla

-1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream (Reduced fat is fine)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a donut pan with Pam.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, and baking soda in a medium-large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together milk, oil, egg, vanilla, and sour cream until well combined.  Use a spatula to fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until combined.  Do not overstir.

Scoop batter into a Ziploc freezer bag and cut off one of the bottom corners.  Pipe batter into each crevice of the donut pan, filling each 2/3 full.  Do not overfill.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Turn out of pan immediately and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

-1/4 cup Guittard semisweet chocolate chips*

-1/4 cup Guittard milk chocolate chips*

-2 Tbsp butter

-1 Tbsp corn syrup

-1/4 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds.  Stir.  If mixture is not completely melted and combined, return to the microwave at 50% power for another 30 seconds.  Do not overheat or your chocolate will clump and scorch.

Dip cooled donuts by placing top-side down into the bowl of chocolate sauce.  Twist your wrist slightly as you pull each donut out in a swirling motion.  Set on a cooling rack and decorate with sprinkles, nuts, or coconut.  Repeat for each donut.

Tip- Make sure your chocolate is still very warm when you dip your donuts and the glaze will settle on nice and even.

*I like it best when I go a little heavy on the milk chips and lighter on the semisweet.  The donuts are really dark so a sweeter glaze compliments them better. Just be sure you're only using 1/2 cup of chocolate chips total.