Gluten-free Baked Chocolate Donut Holes are light, fluffy, lightly chocolate flavored, and coated in glaze. They’re made easily in a mini muffin pan, so you don’t even need to buy a special donut maker.
Chocolate, cake-like donuts always have a place in my heart.
And, my stomach too of course. 🙂
I love to bake my own donuts at home. You can make them pretty quick, whatever flavor you like, and coat them in your favorite sprinkles.
I’ve already shared recipes for:
- Banana Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
- Chocolate Protein Donuts
- Pumpkin Apple Donuts
- Lemon Donuts
- Strawberry Donuts
- Healthy Vanilla Donuts
- Healthy Chocolate Donuts
My kids love them, so they’re an easy repeat in our house!
I’ve seen people make “donut holes” online with mini muffin tins and I knew I had to try my own version.
So I took my Healthy Chocolate Donuts and turned them into these gluten-free Baked Chocolate Donut Holes. They’re basically extra fluffy mini chocolate muffins coated in donut glaze.
Which means, they’re delicious and small so it’s crazy easy to keep grabbing “just one more” over and over again!
They do take a ittle extra time, because you have to fill each mini muffin tin hole and then coat each donut hole with glaze. So, I wouldn’t call this a fast recipe by any means.
But, they’re still pretty easy to make and you don’t need any extra equipment to make it happen (other than a mini muffin pan).
These are great for weekend breakfasts, treats for kids, bridal or baby showers, and they would work really well on a Dessert Charcuterie Board.
Take a little extra time, and make these super fun gluten-free Baked Chocolate Donut Holes this weekend!
Here’s a few tricks, to make the best donut holes ever.
Luckily, there aren’t many tricks. As I said, these are basically extra fluffy mini muffins so they are very similar to making a regular muffin recipe. But there are a couple things to keep in mind.
First, be sure to put your cocoa powder into the donut hole batter through a fine mesh strainer. This ensures that you don’t have any cocoa powder clumps in your batter (and, eventually, in your baked donut holes).
I know it doesn’t seem necessary, but I promise it does make a difference.
These gluten-free Baked Chocolate Donut Holes are made with pretty typical ingredients:
- butter
- maple syrup (sweetened naturally)
- plain Greek yogurt (helps them to be extra fluffy!)
- milk of choice
- vanilla
- eggs
- gluten-free all purpose four
- baking soda
- salt
- cocoa powder
After combining all of them, you’ll have a fairly thick donut batter. That’s good. It’ll make it easier to scoop and put the batter into each mini muffin tin.
If your batter gets stuck in your cookie scoop, I recommend using a mini spatula to scoop it out. I absolutely love my set of mini spatula’s, and would tell EVERYONE that they need some!
After baking, let your donut holes cool entirely. Then top them with your glaze.
GLAZE
The glaze is made simple: with powdered sugar and milk. If you’d like, you can add vanilla. It adds extra flavor to the glaze.
However, classic donut holes appear white on the outside. So, if you’d like your donut holes to stay white you’ll either need to use clear vanilla or omit it from the glaze.
The vanilla I use is brown, so I just omit it from the glaze. It’s just as delicious still!
Either way, you have fluffy, light, glazed and baked Chocolate Donut Holes that are such a fun recipe to make every now and then. My kids go crazy for anything cute and little like these!
This was a fun recipe for me to make, and I hope ya’ll have fun eating them too! Who else is donut crazy?!
After you make them, let me know what you think. Leave a comment and rating, below. Hearing from you all is my favorite thing!
Before you go, you should check out my gluten-free Chocolate Chip Muffins, Chocolate Cupcakes, Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, and Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies too (in case you need a little extra chocolate in your life). 🙂
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (skim, 2%, whole or almond), heated to room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 8-10 tsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray in each muffin cavity.
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To a large mixing bowl, add your butter and maple syrup and whisk them together. Add your Greek yogurt, milk and vanilla and whisk till combined. Add your eggs and briefly mix them in.
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To the same bowl, add your flour, baking soda and salt. Add a fine mesh strainer over the bowl, and sift your cocoa powder into the bowl. Stir till you have a thick, smooth donut batter.
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Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the donut batter into each mini muffin cavity till they're all filled.
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Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes, or till spongy to touch and a tootpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool partially, then flip them out onto a cooling rack.
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To a mixing bowl, add your powdered sugar and 8 teaspoons of milk (and vanilla). Whisk till smooth. If your glaze is too thick, add one more teaspoon of milk.
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Dip each donut hole into the glaze and roll it around till covered entirely. Gently shake any excess glaze off into the bowl, then place back on the cool rack (with a pan underneath for glaze drips). Repeat till all of the donut holes have been glazed.
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Devour!
Stored in an airtight container these will last a few days at room temperature. Dip them in the glaze prior to serving them.
Do you the serving amount of these and nutritional information for the serving amount that you could share, please? While I’m not gluten-free, I am diabetic and have to pat close attention to nutritional values. Thank you for your help! I’m very hopeful of being able to make and indulge in these.
I have just recently had to go gluten free. These are amazing. Even my gluten-eating husband liked them. I froze some for future snacks and dessert. Perfect to take with me to someone else’s house where a gluten dessert is served.
Hi! Soo delicious, making them again, just wondering if I can freeze them I’m for like lunches? Future desserts or something
Hi Morgan. That should work just fine! I’d recommend defrosting them in the fridge, overnight, when needed.
Could these be frozen after baking?
Hi Kylee. Yes, definitely. I’d recommend letting them defrost in the fridge overnight.
AHHHMAZING so fluffy and light. Not dense at all. I used cup 4 cup flour and subbed the yogurt for sour cream (all I had).
What would you substitute for yogurt? My little who is gluten free is also dairy free and we can’t find a yogurt that doesn’t trigger other allergies.
Hi Victoria. Sorry for the late response. I would recommend trying these with either mashed banana or pumpkin puree instead of yogurt, and hopefully that works just as well. With the banana, you’ll have a bit of banana flavor but that could be delicious too! I hope this helps.
There are also some really good dairy free yogurts. You may like one of those!
Try the coconut yogurt and also almond yogurt in your dairy free recipes. Very delicious!
I miss donuts! Love this is gluten free.
Made this recipe yesterday and they are absolutely delicious! Only change was using plain low fat yogurt instead of greek yogurt. Been gluten free for 6 months due to celiac diagnose and really, really needed this treat!
My kids aren’t big fan of maple syrup in baked goods. Could you use regular sugar and the recipe still turn out? Same amount?
Hi Erica. I would recommend trying to use 3/4 cup of white sugar instead. I hope this helps!
What would you suggest as an egg replacer?
My default would be a chickpea egg (NEAT Egg) maybe with a little extra baking powder. I think applesauce would be dense and wet, nut butters dense, and BRM has never worked well for me.
Donut holes without oil would be amazing!
Hi Jeanette. I would recommend a flax egg (1 tbsp flax and 2.5 tbsp of water, let sit till gelled).
not a big fan of maple syrup…do you think it would be okay to substitute honey??
Hi Wanda. It should work just fine with honey instead.
These were my first time making them! Delicious! I’m not gluten free but my sister is and I wanted her to have this for Christmas dessert. My one question is – do I need to put in the fridge if I make them a day ahead?
Hi Candace. Sorry for the delayed response! I would recommend keeping them on the counter but not dipping them in the icing till the day of serving.
As someone that is gluten free, you made her Christmas 🥹 What an amazing sister she has to include her dietary needs ❤️