If you love hot cocoa as I do, wait until you try these Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Donuts! They make a delicious winter treat! These mini donuts are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, just like the donuts you had before going gluten free! Even better? These little donuts are ready in about 20 minutes!
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We are getting a lot of holiday baking done early this year...I have been testing out fun recipes each week, and my kids tell me which recipes are worth making for the blog!
Sometimes recipe development is tough work! It took three tries to get these donuts to turn out with that rich hot chocolate flavor! Luckily my kids are still eager tasters.
These cookies are both perfect for dipping in hot cocoa! They love these Gluten Free Chocolate Mint Madeleines dipped too! These cookies are both perfect for dipping in hot cocoa!
Why Make These Donuts:
- These delicious donuts are like a comforting mug of hot cocoa but in solid form. I am a hot cocoa lover, and by including hot cocoa powder in the donut batter, these little gluten free hot chocolate donuts have the same flavors!
- Make them in 20 minutes!
- They freeze really well, so you can enjoy them anytime!
Dip them into melted chocolate and top with mini marshmallows! If you are a donut fanatic like us, you will want to check out all of my Gluten Free Donut Recipes!!
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- Almond Flour - I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- Hot Cocoa Powder - several brands are gluten free. I suggest Hershey's or Swiss Miss for this recipe.
- Unsalted Butter - if you make these dairy-free donuts, you can use vegan butter.
- Cocoa Powder - most brands are gluten free. I like Anthony's, Rodelle, and Ghirardelli's brands best.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl. I used a lot of almond flour in my donut recipe. I like that the protein helps balance out the sugars in these donuts.
Gluten Free Tip: If your gluten free flour blend doesn't include xanthan gum, make sure you add 1 teaspoon!
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients and blend them into a semi-thick batter.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix.
Step 4: Add the donut batter to a BabyCakes Donut Maker. (*Note I have an older model of BabyCakes Donut Maker. The newer ones make 4 donuts at a time.)
Step 5: Allow the gluten free donuts to cool. Once cool, dip each donut in melted dark chocolate. Add your favorite sprinkles and the little marshmallows for decoration!
Donut Maker vs Donut Pan
If you don't have a donut maker, you can easily bake these donuts in a donut pan. I like to use this donut maker because it makes the outsides of the donuts slightly crispy and delicious.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can make these donuts gluten free, but it will take a little work. First, use non-dairy milk that doesn't contain nuts, like rice or coconut milk. Next, omit the almond flour and add an additional ½ cup gluten free flour blend.
You may need to add a little more liquid; try to make sure the batter consistency is similar to my photo below.
I used these dark chocolate melting wafers to dip my donuts in, but you can also melt chocolate chips or shake things up and use white chocolate!
These donuts will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Which Sprinkles Are Gluten Free?
There are many brands of gluten free sprinkles out there, but some, including a very popular brand, use shared equipment. If you are Celiac or very sensitive to gluten, try one of these gluten free sprinkles brands:
- Rainbow Sprinkles by Unpretentious Baker.
- Funfetti star-shaped sprinkles by Supernatural.
- Classic bright sprinkles by Sweetopia.
More Gluten Free Donut Recipes:
- Love ripe bananas? This Gluten Free Banana Donuts recipe is full of yummy banana flavor!
- These special Gluten Free Gingerbread Donuts are perfect for the holidays or year-round!
- You will LOVE this Gluten Free Jelly Donuts recipe (these are fried and filled with jelly!)
- No grain, no refined sugar...no problem with this Paleo Apple Cinnamon Donuts recipe.
This post was updated with more details from an older 1/2020 post.
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ¾ cup almond flour * see note
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- dash of salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup butter * see note
- 1 cup almond milk
- ½ cup hot cocoa powder (Any sweetened brand!)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ cup melting chocolate for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the BabyCakes Donut Maker. (If using an oven, preheat to 350º F.)
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Add eggs, melted butter, and almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add a dollop of donut batter to each section in the donut maker. (If baking in a donut pan, add batter to each donut section.)
- Cook in the donut maker for 3-5 minutes until done. (Bake in oven for 20 minutes.)
- Melt dark chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 45 seconds to melt. Dip each donut into the melted chocolate.
- Optional, add sprinkles.
Video
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Make sure to use a sweetened hot cocoa powder with this recipe.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- Other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- To make these donuts dairy-free, use vegan butter.
- These donuts will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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(*This post was updated from an older 12/2018 post with more pictures and better step by step instructions.)
KV
Yep! These'll do. I've been eyeballing this recipe for a while now and finally bought $12 Wilton donut pans on Amazon. They hold 12 donuts, and the molds are on the smaller side, so I ended up with a little extra batter that I threw into cupcake papers to bake. The donuts are awesome! I struggled a bit with dipping the chocolate but covered them in sprinkles to hide any delicious flaws. Thanks for posting this recipe! Can't wait to try others.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you loved them, Kelly. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Christy
Is there a way to substitute the hot cocoa mix? Maybe adding more cocoa powder & sugar? We don’t have a dairy free mix and I want to try these soon! Thanks.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Christy, I am sure you can use cocoa and sugar, but I haven't tried it so I am not sure what proportions to recommend. If you try it, please do come back and let us know how it turns out. I also have a delicious gluten free chocolate donut recipe on my blog.
Lisa Bynum
These would be a perfect little snack while curled up in front of the Christmas tree!
Sandi Gaertner
I like how you think!