These gluten free Baked Eggnog Donuts are a holiday mash-up of Christmas nog and Hanukkah donuts. Since donuts for Hanukkah are usually fried, I also have a gluten free Fried Eggnog Donut recipe for that as well. But I like options and variation, so here we are! These soft cake donuts are spiked with bourbon and spiced with nutmeg, then coated in a spiced white chocolate glaze and sprinkled with candied pecans. Talk about a treat!
Time to Make the Donuts
This is a simple and straight-forward batter to whip up. Begin by combining the dry ingredients- gluten free flour (not all are alike, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour), baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl.
In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar. Then add in the eggs, eggnog, bourbon and vinegar.
Add the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix until combined well.
Baking the Donuts
To ensure that you will have nicely shaped donuts, pour the batter into a gallon sized plastic bag. Cut about ¼ to ½ inch off of one corner of the bag and pipe the batter into the donut molds. This will result in a nice shape to the donut and a smooth top. You can also spoon the batter into the molds and smooth it with wet fingers. Try not to fill the molds more than 2/3 of the way, otherwise the batter rises and starts to cover the hole. It will still taste great though!
Dairy Free Options
I did test a version using dairy free eggnog and although it tasted very good, the glaze was too runny for my liking. I couldn’t find dairy free white chocolate chips either, so there was still some dairy in the glaze. If you really want to reduce the dairy in this recipe and don’t mind the compromise with the glaze, I say go for it! Or just coat the donuts in sugar instead. It will be fine to substitute the eggnog in the donut batter for a dairy free version and substitute the butter for a dairy free option as well.
The Spiced White Chocolate Glaze
This Spiced White Chocolate Glaze is lick-your-fingers sticky good. That is, until it dries. But you’ll probably want to gobble them up before that happens! It is really quick to make too. All of the ingredients go in a microwavable bowl at the same time. Heat it gradually until the chips begin to soften. Then stir it all together until it is smooth. Dip the cooled donuts into the glaze then sprinkle the Candied Pecans on top. So good!
The Candied Pecans
I would make a double or triple batch of these because you will want them for snacking, on salads, on ice cream, oatmeal and everything in between! They are very easy to make too. Just heat the butter in a pan, then add the pecans, sugar, maple syrup and salt. Stir it almost continuously while it bubbles and the sugar dissolves. When it begins to smell toasty, pour the nuts onto parchment paper to cool. This should take 5-10 minutes max!
More Gluten Free Deliciousness to Check Out
- Vanilla Cake Donuts with Mocha Glaze
- Fried Eggnog Donuts
- Dirty Snowballs
- Naked Cut Out Cookies
- Matzoh Crack
- Not So Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Crunch Frosting
Baked Eggnog Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 1 ½ cups Gluten Free Flour Blend with xanthan gum I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup full fat eggnog
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Spiced White Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup full fat egg nog
Candied Pecans
- ½ cup chopped unsalted pecans
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your donut pans.
For the Donuts:
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the softened butter with sugar using a hand mixer. Next add eggs mixing until combined. Then add the egg nog, bourbon and vinegar.
- Gradually add the flour mixture until combined.
- Pour the batter into the donut pans until ⅔ full. I like to put the batter in a ziplock bag, cut ½ inch off one corner and use it to pipe the batter into the pans. This makes a smoother and more even looking donut when it is baked.
- Bake large donuts for about 18-20 minutes, mini donuts for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely before glazing. Sprinkle glazed donuts with candied pecans and they are ready to serve.
Spiced White Chocolate Glaze:
- In a microwavable bowl wide enough to dip donuts in, combine the chips, eggnog and nutmeg. Heat for 60 seconds, then in 15-30 second intervals until the chips have softened enough to stir. Remove from the microwave & stir until completely combined and all of the chips have melted. Glaze the donuts while the glaze is still warm.
- Dip the donuts into the glaze and let them rest on a cooling rack or parchment paper. The glaze will likely drip from the donuts but will form a touchable "crust" after it dries… if you can wait that long to eat them!
Candied Pecans
- Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, add the pecans and remaining ingredients. Stir continuously until sugar crystals dissolve and mixture bubbles.
- Be sure that the heat doesn't get hot enough to burn the sugar or pecans. Pour the nut mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and let cool until ready to use. These can be made ahead and stored in your fridge or freezer.