These lemon sugar-baked donuts are easy to make and are light, refreshing, and delicious way to start off your day! You can even add fresh lemon zest for some extra citrus flavor! Whether you have a special occasion or want to serve them just because, I know everyone will love them!
Easy Baked Lemon Donuts Recipe
These lemon-baked cake doughnuts are so simple to prepare! Plus, they are much less of a mess and hassle than typical fried donuts.
The lemon flavor gives them a refreshing, citrus twist to contrast the sweetness of the cake donuts. Be careful, once you make these donuts your family won't stop asking for them!
Jump to:
- Easy Baked Lemon Donuts Recipe
- 🥘 Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts Ingredients
- 🔪 How To Make Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts
- 💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- 🥡 Storing & Reheating
- ❓ Can You Bake Donuts On A Cookie Sheet?
- ❓ Which Flour Do I Use For Baked Doughnuts?
- ❓ Do Baked Donuts Taste Good?
- 🍩 More Donut Recipes
- 📖 Recipe Card
- 💬 Comments & Reviews
🥘 Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts Ingredients
This ingredient list consists entirely of common kitchen staples! You can use store-bought lemon juice or opt for fresh lemon and use the zest as well!
Baked Lemon Donuts
- Sugar - ½ cup of granulated sugar.
- Brown Sugar - ⅓ cup of packed light brown sugar.
- Butter - ¼ cup of salted, room temperature butter.
- Oil - ¼ cup of your preferred cooking oil.
- Eggs - 2 large eggs that have been beaten and are at room temperature.
- Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
- Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for flavor (*see note).
- Salt - ¾ teaspoons of salt to balance out the sweetness.
- Flour - 2⅔ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Milk - 1 cup of milk or buttermilk that is at room temperature.
Sugar Coating
- Butter - 4 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Sugar - ½ cup of granulated sugar.
- Lemon Zest (optional) - If you used fresh lemon juice, I recommend adding the zest to your coating for an extra boost of flavor.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts
These doughnuts are easy to throw together. Just make sure you have your donut pan and some measuring cups!
This recipe should make enough batter and coating for 18 regular-sized donuts!
- Preheat and prep the pan. To get started, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and lightly grease the pans you will be using (either donut or mini-donut).
- Mix wet ingredients. Add the ¼ cup of room temperature butter, ¼ cup of oil, ½ cup of sugar, and ⅓ cup of light brown sugar into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, cream together the wet ingredients and then add the 2 beaten eggs, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add dry ingredients. Next, add 2⅔ cups of flour and 1 cup of milk to the mixture of wet ingredients. Make sure to alternate between the two and add each in small increments. Do not overmix your batter, mix it until everything is just combined.
- Fill the pans. Pour the finished batter into the prepared pans, filling each compartment until it is about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake. Next, place the filled pans onto the center rack and bake them for 8-10 minutes until the bottom has turned a golden-brown color.
- Cool slightly. Once baked, remove the donuts and let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Afterward, flip them out of the pan onto a cooling rack.
- Top with coating. Finally, coat the warm donuts with 4 tablespoons of melted butter and dip them into a shallow bowl or dish of ½ cup of sugar (plus optional lemon zest). Turn to coat all sides then return to your rack to dry and set.
These donuts are a great sweet breakfast all by themselves! If you want to make a complete meal, add on some hashbrown casserole and a ham and cheese omelet! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Zest & juice a whole lemon to add the fresh lemon zest to the sugar coating if desired.
- Once the wet and dry ingredients have been added together, just mix until the ingredients are distributed. If you overmix the batter, your donuts will come out tough and chewy.
- You can use a spoon to transfer the donut batter into your donut pans or use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
- Baked doughnuts can become dried out easily. Poke a toothpick into the donut and there should be a few crumbs still sticking to it when you remove it.
- Before coating the doughnuts with sugar, make sure to brush them with some melted butter.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
If you have any leftover doughnuts, you can keep them in a sealed container or storage bag at room temperature for 2 days.
You can freeze these doughnuts (once completely cooled) by putting them into a freezer-safe storage bag and pressing out any remaining air. Freeze them for up to 6 months and then defrost them in the microwave at medium power.
❓ Can You Bake Donuts On A Cookie Sheet?
The batter for donuts is not firm like cookie dough. It will run over the sheet and flatten out. It is best to use a donut pan.
❓ Which Flour Do I Use For Baked Doughnuts?
For these baked donuts, I recommend using all-purpose flour. They don't need the same kind of gluten development as yeast-based donuts do. If you use bread flour, the baked donuts could be somewhat tough and chewy.
❓ Do Baked Donuts Taste Good?
Yes! They may not have the exact same flavor as fried doughnuts, but they are still very tasty! I actually like them more than fried donuts.
🍩 More Donut Recipes
- Chocolate Icing For Donuts
- Blueberry Baked Donuts
- Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts
- Vanilla Icing For Donuts
- Baked Donuts
- Raspberry Filling
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
Lemon Sugar Baked Donuts
Ingredients
Baked Lemon Donuts
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- ¼ cup butter (salted, at room temperature)
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 2 large eggs (beaten, at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk (or buttermilk, at room temperature)
Sugar Coating
- 4 tablespoon butter (melted)
- ½ cup sugar
- lemon zest (optional, if you opted for fresh lemon juice)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- To get started, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and lightly grease your donut pans or mini-donut pans.
- Add the room temperature butter, oil, sugar, and light brown sugar into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, cream together the wet ingredients and then add the beaten eggs, baking powder, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Next, add the flour and milk to the mixture of wet ingredients. Make sure to alternate between the two and add each in gradual amounts. Do not overmix your batter, mix it until everything is just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared donut pans, filling each donut section until it is approximately ⅔ full.
- Next, place the filled pans onto the center rack and bake for 8-10 minutes until they are golden on the bottom and you can see the lightly browned edges.
- Once baked, remove the donuts and let them rest in the pan for 5 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire cooling rack.
- Finally, coat the warm donuts with melted butter and dip them into a shallow bowl or dish of sugar (plus optional lemon zest). Turn to coat all sides then return to your rack to dry and set.
Notes
- Zest & juice a whole lemon to add the fresh lemon zest to the sugar coating if desired.
- Once the wet and dry ingredients have been combined, just mix until everything is evenly dispersed. Overmixing the batter will lead to tough donuts!
- You can spoon the donut batter into your donut pans or mini-donut pans, or transfer the batter into a piping bag or plastic storage bag (and snip the corner).
- Baked donuts can dry out easily. If you stick a toothpick into the thickest part of the donut, you want to see a few moist crumbs stuck to the outside when you pull it out.
- Brush melted butter onto warm donuts to coat with sugar.
- To store: Keep baked donuts in an airtight container or Ziploc bag at room temperature for up to 48 hours.
- To freeze: They can be frozen once cooled by placing them in a heavy-duty freezer bag and squeezing the air out (this is best before filling or icing them). Enjoy within 6 months and thaw in the microwave on 50% power.
Christy says
I made the Lemon Sugar Doughnuts last night. They baked great, but since I used bottled lemon juice, they didn't have as much of a lemon flavor as I wanted. This morning I made a lemon glaze from powdered sugar and lemon juice, and drizzled it over the remaining doughnuts ... YUMMY! Next time, I will try to have fresh lemon on hand. Thanks for sharing this recipe!