baked cinnamon mini doughnuts + cream cheese glaze.

I'm really excited about these. They're mini doughnuts. Everything is better mini .. well, most things.

They're adorable, healthy (baked, not fried), and virtually fat-free. I usually don't like cinnamony things, but I love these.

The texture is perfectly fluffy. I could pretty much drink the glaze on top, and the way in which it settles and slightly soaks into the top of the doughnut ... you are going to need to try these.

I felt inspired today, and these little bebes arose as a result.

I considered different flavor combinations for experimentation. Vanilla donut and strawberry jam glaze?  Ground walnuts in the base and blueberry glaze?

I decided on banana. With a cream cheese glaze, because that is flavorful and healthy. My family doesn't particularly enjoy things baked with banana, but I figured I'd eat them all if they didn't want any.

I put in a mashed banana along with some yogurt, and a teeny bit of oil. I added a generous amount of cinnamon, because I had cinnamon donuts from DD in mind.

LOL - I started on the right, and ended on the left.

I portioned out the batter, and was so excited to see the texture came out correctly, for my first trial.

Then I tasted it. Barely any banana flavor. Rather, they tasted of mostly cinnamon, and that was all. Darn it! Now I had to share with my family.

Beginnings of the glaze - cream cheese + ghee.

I whipped up a glaze really quickly while the mini muffins cooled. Use espresso, or strong coffee, if you can! It makes a glaze that is impressively similar to that used on cinnamon rolls. Sounds weird, but I swear it's a good combination. Dissolve some instant coffee granules in hot milk, if you don't have coffee on hand.

Now, if you have a mini doughnut pan, you escape this upcoming step. If you don't have a doughnut pan (like me, although I really want one!), you can still get doughnuts, you just need to put in a little more effort. You just need to poke out the center of the mini muffins, as shown in the following pictures. This part gets tedious after a while, so if you want, do as I did. Make a couple donuts, and then just dip the remaining mini muffins in whole. You'll have half donuts, half itty bitty muffins with glazed tops. That's a win either way, homie.

After dipping, just let the glaze set (the fridge speeds things up). I hope to experiment more with these - diff flavors & incorporation of whole grains. Of course I'll share if I make more. Enjoy these, meanwhile!

Baked Cinnamon Mini Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Glaze
it's a Yatee-creation, after perusing other baked doughnut recipes. the banana is a good fat substitute & adds moisture, but not really flavor.

• 1 cup flour (I subbed 2-3 spoonfuls of whole wheat for the all purpose)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tspn baking powder 
• 1/4 tspn salt 
• 1/2 tspn ground cinnamon  
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup mashed banana 
• 3 Tb yogurt or buttermilk 
• 1 egg 
• 1 Tb oil 

• 1 Tb cream cheese 
• 1 tspn butter or ghee , room temp
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar 
• 2-3 Tb strong coffee, or milk
• 1/4 tspn vanilla 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or 325 if using convection. Lightly spray a nonstick mini doughnut pan, or mini muffin pan. 
2. Stir together flour, sugar, powder, salt, and spices. 
3. Mix banana, buttermilk, egg, and oil together very well. 
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir till just combined. 
5. Evenly divide batter into the cavities of the pan. 
6. Bake for about 10 minutes. They are small, so take care to not overbake. 
7. Remove pan from oven, and immediately remove doughnuts/muffins from the pan and set to cool completely. 
8. Prepare cream cheese glaze. Mix cream cheese and butter. Add sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tb coffee (or milk). Beat well. Add more milk/coffee as necessary to create a glaze that's on the thick side. 
9. Assembly: If using doughnuts, just dip and let the glaze set in the fridge! If using mini muffins, poke out the center using a knife and skewer. Alternatively, you can use a narrow icing tip if you have one. (Refer to pictures above for more detail.) Then dip the tops in the glaze, and let the glaze set.