There is no way that we could let National Cereal Day pass without sharing a super fun recipe. Ok, fine, we could have, but why when I've recently whipped up an amazing original recipe for Baked Cereal Milk Donuts. As in, donuts made with cereal milk. I know!
I think this delicious treat is way too good not to share, and will bring a huge smile to your kids' faces, which always makes the effort worth it.
My longtime readers and friends totally know about my breakfast cereal addiction, so it will come as no surprise that I had a great time treating my kids (and, okay, myself) with this recipe that incorporates Fruity Cheerios from our sponsor
General Mills, now that they, along with 75% of all their cereals,
are made without artificial flavors or color from artificial sources.
I used one of my favorite of their cereals, but you can pick your own. This would work great with Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, or Reese's Puffs (mmmm...). So easy and fun. And hey, a little less guilt now, too.
Take a peek.
A quick note before I get to the recipe:
Homemade baked donuts are a thing of beauty because, first of all, they are baked. As in
not fried. Also, since they're made using a very simple batter, you can control exactly what goes into them. You can keep them lower in sugar, use whole wheat pastry flour, and flavor them any way you like. (We do all three.)
Then, serve them plain for breakfast, with a little glaze at snack time, or topped with glaze and your favorite toppings for dessert or a party treat.
(We do all three.)
Baked Cereal Milk Donuts
Baked Cereal Milk Donuts
Makes 1 dozen donuts
For the Cereal Milk:
Makes 1-1 1/4 cup, enough for 1 dozen donuts + glaze
1 1/2 cups milk, skim, 2% or whole (you can also substitute plant-based milk of choice)
1 1/2 cups Fruity Cheerios or cereal of choice
For the Donuts:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, ideally room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon pure, all-natural vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure, all natural lemon extract
1/2 cup cereal milk
Cereal Milk Glaze (optional; see below)
Fruity Cheerios, for garnish (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; coat a non-stick donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2.
To make cereal milk: In a large bowl, combine the milk and Fruity Cheerios. Put a bowl or heavy plate inside the bigger bowl to help keep the cereal submerged for the entire soak time, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard the soaked cereal. Set cereal milk aside.
3.
To make donuts: In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In a small, separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and both vanilla and lemon extracts until smooth. Slowly whisk in oil until well combined, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the reserved cereal milk.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Spoon or pour batter into prepped donut pan, filling each well just 3/4 full.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process until all the batter is gone.
7. Serve plain or coat completely cooled donuts with Cereal Milk Glaze (below) and Fruity Cheerios.
Cereal Milk Glaze
Makes enough for 1 dozen donuts
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2-3 tablespoons cereal milk (see recipe above)
1. Whisk together confectioners sugar and 2 tablespoons of cereal milk until smooth. The thicker the glaze, the more opaque your icing. If you prefer a lighter glaze, add the remaining tablespoon of cereal milk. Either way, be sure that the donuts are fully cooled before dipping them in the glaze, otherwise it will melt into the donut.
You can celebrate National Cereal Day (March 7th) by sharing how you enjoy your favorite cereals using #NationalCerealDay and tagging @generalmillscereal on Instagram.
Thanks to our sponsor General Mills, for giving us more reasons to love cereal again. Thanks for listening to parents about artificial flavors and colors, and making changes that matter to a lot of families.
