Soft and tender donuts with fresh blueberries and yummy cinnamon sugar coating. These are incredibly moist and flavorful, making for a delicious breakfast or morning snack!

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This is one of those “oops, not what I meant to bake but still delicious” recipes.

I set out to make a homemade, baked version of one of my favorites—blueberry cake donuts. I’m one of those old-fashioned-or-bust kinda girls when it comes to donuts, except for blueberry cake donuts. There’s something about them that’s just so irresistible and flavorful.

What I discovered was that using applesauce instead of dairy (like sour cream, Greek yogurt, or buttermilk) creates the world’s most tender donut. It’s barely still in the category of donut, just shy of being a ring shaped muffin. But with the cinnamon sugar coating, they still qualify and are delicious.

Why this recipe works

Applesauce works to keep these soft and moist (and almost healthy). Baking powder helps them rise despite how tender they are, so they’re not too dense. Using smaller blueberries keeps these from falling apart, but then provides a burst of flavor. Adding a touch of cinnamon to the batter gives it a pop of flavor that pairs well with the blueberries. And coating it in cinnamon sugar is one of the best parts. It gives a pop of texture and a lovely donut-y taste that seals in the flavor and freshness. Altogether, these donuts are tender and so, so delicious.

Key ingredients

Flour. Be sure to spoon then level, so it’s not packed in, and whisk, so the donuts are soft and fluffy.

Baking powder. Be sure it’s fresh—not opened longer than 6 months ago.

Salt. Sea salt is ideal.

Cinnamon. I like the ground Saigon cinnamon from Costco, but any fresh, high quality cinnamon is good.

Applesauce. Use unsweetened applesauce.

Egg. Use a fresh, large, room temperature egg.

Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract, not imitation.

Butter. I prefer unsalted European style butter, as it is creamier and better for baking.

Sugar. Granulated sugar is used. Brown sugar can be substituted, but it will make these much darker and also a little wetter, meaning they may fall apart.

Blueberries. Try to use smaller blueberries, or cut large ones in half.

How to make blueberry applesauce donuts

1. Sift and whisk dry ingredients. Sifting is key to a fluffy donut.

2. Mix wet ingredients. Leave the butter for last, pouring it in slowly while whisking to avoid scrambling the egg.

3. Fold in dry ingredients. Leave some flour visible—you want to mostly mix it at this point.

4. Fold in blueberries. This should take care of any flour streaks. Don’t worry about any lumps—those will bake out.

5. Pipe or scoop into donut pans. I used a spoon and clean hands to get it into the pan, since piping isn’t as easy with the blueberries.

6. Bake. Bake until a toothpick inserted in a middle donut comes out clean.

7. Brush mostly cooled donuts with melted butter. Letting these cool is best, since they will melt the sugar if you try to coat warm donuts. Be sure to brush the inside and outsides well.

8. Immediately coat in cinnamon sugar. Use a shallow, wide bowl so you can easily coat and toss them in the sugar.

Enjoy!

Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes! It’s best if you thaw and drain frozen blueberries, so the excess water doesn’t alter the texture of the donuts. I also recommend smaller blueberries, like wild mountain variety. If you have larger ones, be sure to either cut them in half or mash them.

Cut up or mash larger blueberries

Large blueberries can end up being half the diameter of the donut, meaning it’s more likely to fall apart. Smaller blueberries are perfect for this recipe, but you can also cut larger blueberries in half or mash them. If you choose to mash them, be sure to gently fold them in so you don’t end up with a purple donut (although that’s certainly an option!).

Double the recipe as needed

This recipe makes about 10-12 donuts, depending on your pan and how full you fill it. If you need a larger batch, you can double or even triple it. A double recipe would literally just be double, but since math loves to trick even the best of us, here’s a double recipe:

For the donuts:

2 1/2 cups (340g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6g) salt
2 teaspoons (6g) ground cinnamon
1 cup (244g) unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (84g) melted unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups (about 200g) blueberries, washed and dried (choose smaller ones or halve larger ones)

For the cinnamon sugar coating (you don’t quite need a double batch):

2/3 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (11g) ground cinnamon

My tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making these donuts. Affiliate links provided.

Donut pan

Pastry brush

Mesh sieve

You might also like:

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Bursting Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Banana Nut Muffins

Apple Cider Donut Muffins

Blueberry Applesauce Donuts

Print

prep time: 5-10 minutes
bake time: 9-11 minutes
total time: 21 minutes

servings: 10-12

Ingredients:

for the donuts

1 ¼ cups (170g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 teaspoon (3g) ground cinnamon
½ cup (122g) unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg, room temperature
½ tablespoon (6g) pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (42g) melted unsalted butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
⅔ cup (about 100g) blueberries, washed and dried (choose smaller ones or halve larger ones)

for the cinnamon sugar coating

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon

Instructions:

If you need to rinse your blueberries, do so ahead of time and let them dry completely, so no extra liquid is added. I like to use organic and not bother rinsing them. Be sure to discard any stems or wrinkled blueberries.
Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Grease 12 wells of your donut pan(s) lightly with butter or baking spray.
First, make the donuts. Melt the butter and set aside. Don’t let it cool enough to solidify, but do let it cool somewhat before using.
Using a large fine mesh sieve, sift then whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, vanilla, and egg until very well combined. Slowly stream in the melted butter while whisking quickly (this prevents scrambling the eggs).
Add the sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk for about 1 minute, until the sugar looks partially dissolved. You can whisk it by hand or, if using a stand or hand mixer, mix on medium.
Add the flour mixture and stir or fold in gently with a rubber spatula until mostly combined. It should be somewhat lumpy and still have somes streaks of flour, which will get stirred in during the next step.
Gently fold in the blueberries. (If you’re unsure what folding means, you basically run a rubber spatula along the edge an entire turn around the bowl the pull the spatula toward the middle once you’ve come fully around the bowl, “folding” the batter on the edge into the middle part.)
Spoon into your prepared donut pans. Fill until roughly level with the center hole thingy (I believe that’s the technical term).
Bake for 9-11 minutes, a toothpick inserted in one of the middle donuts comes out with some moist crumbs. Check early so they don’t over bake–each oven is different. Let cool in pan at least 10-15 minutes.
While the donuts are cooling, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow, wide bowl (at least twice as wide in diameter as the donut–it makes coating them easier). Melt the butter.
Once the donuts are mostly cooled, use a pastry brush to coat both sides with butter, getting the inside and outer edges on both sides.
Immediately place in the sugar bowl and toss to coat, using a spoon or your fingers to coat the sugar on the inside and outer edges. Be sure to coat well, as some will inevitably fall off.

Enjoy with your morning coffee!

These will last, loosely covered, 2-3 days. You can store these in an airtight container to make them last longer, but the cinnamon sugar coating will become a bit soft by the second day due to the moisture in the container.