CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT DOUGHNUTS
This time of year my home is filled with a practically endless stream of holiday aromas. From my oven especially wafts the scents of wintry baked goods every day. And there’s one special flavor often found among these treats that greets my household only a few weeks each year: the one and only peppermint. I’m usually crushing candy canes over the whipped cream of hot chocolate around Christmas, but for this recipe I decided to translate that goodness into a batch of delicious doughnuts.
The ingenious machine I used to make these beauties is a kitchen appliance to define all others. The June Oven is an electric smart oven featuring a gorgeous minimalist design and several innovative features that can totally change the way you operate in the kitchen. One of my favorites is its companion application for smartphones, which allows you to adjust your cooking time and temperature remotely without having to be tied to your kitchen every second. Another is its built-in camera, which not only allows you to monitor your meal but also auto-detects items placed in the oven for which the June offers pre-set cooking programs. As a kid I used to sit cross-legged in front of the oven, glued to its glass door watching my cakes literally rise as they baked. All grown up I still get to enjoy this same satisfaction, only now with the June’s camera it’s from a live feed conveniently on my phone! I love it.
These doughnuts feature a surprising level of depth for how simple they are to create. I tossed chocolate chips into the chocolate cake batter for chocolate-upon-chocolatey goodness that simply never quits. Peppermint extract cuts through this decadence with a sharp and satisfying refreshment, creating a very tasty cyclical contrast with every bite. The yogurt, melted butter, and chocolate glaze also ensure these treats are optimally moist and delicious to the last crumb.
Using the June Oven to bake my doughnuts made the process incredibly easy. Its convection functionality allowed it to pre-heat in only a couple minutes, and with my phone’s application at the ready to watch the doughnuts baking every step of the way, I was already deep into setting up my photography by the time they were done. If you’re looking for an appliance to transform your kitchen, I cannot recommend the June Oven enough. It can stand not only in the place of your oven, but also in the place of your toaster, your slow cooker, your air fryer, your dehydrator, and more. The June Oven is currently all sold out, but the good news is that you can sign up for the waitlist at juneoven.com to be notified by email when it becomes available the following week. Nevertheless, with or without this awesome oven you can follow my recipe below to enjoy the chocolateyist, peppemintyist doughnuts ever. With preparation and baking, it all takes less than half an hour, so it’s absolutely no hassle at all. Happy holidays!
Chocolate Peppermint Doughnuts
For the Doughnuts
¾ cup / 94g All-Purpose Flour
¼ cup / 21g Cocoa Powder
½ cup / 50g Granulated Sugar
½ cup / 55g Dark Brown Sugar, packed
¾ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt (I use Diamond)
2 large Eggs
¼ cup / 60g Plain Yogurt
4 tbsp / 2oz Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly.
¾ tsp Peppermint Extract
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Chocolate Chips
For the Glaze
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
4 tbsp Milk
Crushed Candy Canes, optional garnish
Equipment
1 medium bowl, 1 small bowl, whisk, 1, 6 cup doughnut pan, 1 small saucepan.
Method
Heat oven to 350°F.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk together until well combined; set aside.
To a small bowl, add the eggs, yogurt, peppermint and vanilla extract, and whisk together until smooth.
Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredient and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined.
Fold the butter and chocolate chips into the batter just a few times until incorporated.
Spray the doughnut pan with non-stick spray. If you skip this step, the doughnuts will likely stick, even if the pan is non-stick.
Fill each doughnut mold half full with batter. The easiest way to do this is to fill a pastry bag or a zip lock bag with the batter, snip of the tip (or one corner of the ziplock) and start filling.
Place the pan in the oven and bake the doughnuts for about 8-10 minutes. The doughnuts are done when they spring back to the touch.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about a minute, use a spoon or offset spatula to carefully remove them from the pan.
Spray the doughnut pan again, and bake off the remaining batter. You should be able to fill an additional 2-3 more doughnut molds.
Place the doughnuts on a rack and allow them to cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze:
Add the chocolate chips and the milk to a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. As the chips begin to melt, begin to whisk the mixture until a smooth and glossy chocolate glaze is achieved.
Transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl and dip each of the doughnuts into the glaze.
If using, immediately garnish with crushed candy canes and enjoy!
Thank you to June Oven for sponsoring this post! As always all opinions are my own.