Classic Donuts with Chocolate Frosting

It's National Donut/Doughnut Day!! Get out there and snag yourself a free donut oooor make some at home! I feel like I'll either be a really cool mom (in the super duper far off future) or be that really annoying one who doesn't buy anything store bought and hip. More sprinkles, that makes the future worry go away.

At my last job, I had a manager who would sometimes bring in donuts on Fridays for the team. Once we knew this was coming, we would request our favorite kind of donut. Someone requested a chocolate frosted donut. What comes to mind when you hear 'chocolate frosted donut'? Is it a plain donut with chocolate frosting? Or is it a chocolate donut with glaze? It all depends on where you put the emphasis: chocolate frosted or chocolate, frosted. But let's be real, it's glazed if it's the latter, not frosted. Get it straight.

I've made donuts a few times before and the frosting is always challenging. You have to get the right consistency so it stays on the donut and it has to dry, like sugar cookie icing, so it doesn't stay sticky. This ganache is pretty clutch (I've been using that word a lot lately, where did that come from?).

I found this made a little less than a dozen donuts and so the leftover frosting was consumed by the spoonful. The dough gets a little sticky, it looks like I should be dropping it into a fryer but we're baking them! And for added health bonus, they're made with more Greek yogurt. Again, another kick I'm on right now.

So you  mix the flour and brown sugar and baking magic (baking powder and soda) together in one bowl. Standard. In another, we use melted butter (woohoo!), milk, vanilla, one egg and Greek yogurt to mix up the wet ingredients. I usually use a measuring cup for this because it's easier to neatly pour into the dry ingredients when there's the built-in spout.

Stir away and then add to the donut pan. Sometimes the batter is thin enough to pour but this dough was stretchy so I used to spoons to kind stretch it out into the pan.

I let the donuts cool overnight before frosting them. In an ideal world, I would have dipped both sides in the frosting to make an entirely chocolate frosted donut. But I was limited on time, hungry coworkers and parking tickets. I thought about adding crumbled Butterfinger to the donuts but opted for festive sprinkles instead.

The baked donuts are a little denser than something you'd buy at Dunkin' but that's what makes them old fashioned. If you order an old fashioned donut at Dunkin', you'd get this. But more commercialized. I carried this plate of donuts from my apartment to a bus and from a bus to the police station to fight my parking tickets. The irony was not lost on me. But alas, I lost that battle. So then the donuts went on the train to work where they were served and consumed and drowned my parking ticket woes. Well done, donuts, well done.

Recipe
Dough

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 2/3 cups of plain Greek yogurt
• 3 Tablespoons butter (melted)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease your donut pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the melted butter, milk, egg, vanilla and yogurt. Whisk together until everything is smooth. 
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with flour, stirring as you go. Mix until there are no more dry spots of flour.
5. Spoon the batter into the baking pan so it is almost level.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
7. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Makes 10-12 donuts.

Frosting

• 1/3 cup of whole milk
• 1-1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

1. Pour the milk into a microwave safe bowl. Heat for about a minute until the milk is hot enough to melt the chocolate.
2. Add the chocolate chips and stir until smooth and melted. You can put it back in the microwave if needed.
3. Carefully dip the donuts, one side down, in the frosting. Remove and set on wax paper to set.
4. You can either add sprinkles and be done oooor you can wait for the frosting to set and dip the other side of the donut for complete coverage. 
5. Serve with coffee or straight to your face!