759 shares







Bailey’s and Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts are the perfect treat! These fluffy doughnuts are easy to make and topped with a Bailey’s Irish Cream ganache.

We all have our guilty pleasures in life. Guilty pleasure are those foods we know contain more calories than we’d like to consume but we just sort of ‘look the other way’ and eat them anyway. They’re the ‘sorry, not sorry’ foods.

There are a number of food items on my ‘guilty pleasure’ list – french fries, chicken wings, and anything with a dough-y crust – but none ranks higher than the doughnut. Especially if said doughnut contains chocolate.

I think this love for doughnuts comes from my local hometown bakery. This place makes the best doughnuts. And it’s one of those places that never changes. There’s a Formica counter where old-timers sit and read the paper while sipping 25 cent cups of coffee while The Price Is Right plays on the TV. It looks the same today as it did when I walked in there at the age of 6.

In homage to my hometown bakery and my Irish heritage I celebrate with these Bailey’s and Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts.

Prepare The Batter

I always thought doughnuts were a complicated affair but I was wrong. Doughnuts are incredibly easy to make. And this is coming from the world’s ‘not greatest baker’. Doughnuts are definitely fun to eat and I was happy to discover that they are also fun to make.

Start out by heating the oven to 350 degrees. Gather 2 mixing bowls – One for dry ingredients and one for wet. In one bowl add 1 cup of AP flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, a pinch of salt, and 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg (I highly recommend using whole nutmeg if you can find it). Mix these ingredients together with a fork.

In a separate bowl combine 1 egg, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Melt 2 Tbsp. of unsalted butter in the microwave and drizzle it into the wet ingredients (make sure the butter is not too hot or it will cook the egg). Mix the butter into the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold them together. Stir just until combined. Try not to over-mix the batter or the doughnuts may become tough.

The batter will be pretty thick and very sticky.

The tool that makes these doughnuts so easy is a doughnut pan. I don’t get too into ‘kitchen gadgets’ but this thing is really amazing. It makes the whole process so easy. There’s no rolling or cutting of the dough and no frying in super hot oil.

To prevent the doughnuts from sticking as they bake I recommend spraying the pan with cooking oil or grease the pan with some butter.

You can spoon the dough into the molds but I recommend piping the dough using a pastry bag or a durable sandwich bag.

I learned a great tip last week that easily gets the dough into the piping bag! Simply open the sandwich bag and place it into a wide mouth glass or mason jar.

Spread the opening of the sandwich bag around the mouth of the glass and spoon the dough into the bag.

Then remove the bag, seal it, snip one of the corners with a scissors, and pipe the dough into the molds.

There should be enough dough for 6 doughnuts.

Bake The Doughnuts

Place the pan in the oven and bake the doughnuts for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Feel free to check them around the 10 minute mark but I found that 12 minutes was perfect. The tops will get nice and golden as they bake. The doughnuts should feel ‘springy’ to the touch.

Remove from the oven when they are finished baking and allow them to cool completely.

How To Make Chocolate Ganache

The next step is to make the glaze. The glaze is basically a chocolate ganache but it’s even better because it’s Bailey’s chocolate ganache. That’s right – There’s Bailey’s in the dough and in the glaze!

To make the ganache simply heat 2 Tbsp. butter and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. Once the chocolate and butter are melted slowly drizzle 1/4-1/3 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream into the pan. The Bailey’s is taking the place of heavy whipping cream in this ganache. Stir until the mixture is combined and the ganache is silky smooth.

If you love chocolate you’ve got to check out these Coconut Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, No Churn Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, and Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake Cups!

To finish the doughnuts simply remove them from the pan and dip them into the warm ganache and move them around a bit so the entire top is coated.

Place them on a cooling rack or just on the counter to cool. I like to sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top of the chocolate. The salt balances the sweetness.

The flavor of the Bailey’s comes through in both the doughnut and the glaze. It’s just what you need to get you ready for St. Patrick’s Day. This and maybe a Guinness (or two).

Pottery by Bill Gossman.

Looking For More Recipes To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Don’t Miss These!