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    Home » All Desserts » By Holiday » Halloween

    Published: Sep 19, 2018 · Modified: Aug 29, 2023 by Claire

    Monster Doughnuts

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★5 from 11 reviews
    doughnuts with royal icing eyes against a black backdrop

    Make your Halloween morning, party or office potluck spooky AND sweet with these easy monster doughnuts!

    doughnuts with royal icing eyes against a black backdrop

    Halloween is just around the corner! And you know what that means: Halloween treats! To celebrate, I'm doing a reboot of some of my favorite recipes and tutorials. First up: doughnuts that are every bit as easy and they are spooky (and delicious).

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to make monster doughnuts
    • Expert tips
    • Storage
    • More Halloween and fall breakfasts
    • Recipe

    Ingredients

    Below are a few recommendations for key ingredients. A full list with measurements is available in the recipe card.

    • Unsalted butter: Melting the butter makes it easier to mix in, reducing the chances you'll overmix the batter.
    • Egg: Provides stability and richness. Start with a room-temperature egg to keep the batter from seizing.
    • Milk: I use whole milk as it's what we tend to have on hand, but 2% or even 1% would work well for both the doughnuts and glaze. I would avoid skim milk.
    • Black sanding sugar: I like to use the sanding sugar because it means I don't have to add as much black food coloring to the glaze and I like the texture it creates. You can omit it if you'd prefer.

    How to make monster doughnuts

    Bowl of royal icing eyes.

    First, whip up some royal icing eyes or buy some at the store.

    I made mine so that I could have a variety of sizes.

    Chocolate batter dripping off of a whisk into a white bowl.

    Second, whip up some doughnuts. Either follow the chocolate doughnut recipe below or whip up another doughnut flavor.

    Overhead view of iced and sugared chocolate doughnuts.

    Third, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan. Heat until warm and a crust forms.

    Dip the doughnuts and dust with sanding sugar.

    Hands piping chocolate onto the back of a royal icing eye.

    Fourth, melt 3-4 squares of chocolate and pour into a piping bag.

    Pipe onto the backs of your icing eyes and press them onto the tops of the doughnuts.

    doughnut with royal icing eyes shot from the side against a black backdrop

    Expert tips

    New to baking and decorating doughnuts? No worries! Here are some tricks and tips to help you make the perfect batch the first time around.

    • Use a piping bag to pipe your doughnut batter into your doughnut pan. This is a lot easier and less messy than trying to pour from the bowl.
    • Doughnuts are easiest to remove from the pan while they’re still warm. The sweet spot seems to be about 2 minutes after they come out of the oven. Simply turn the pan over and gently shake it until the doughnuts come out (hot-pads are a good idea).
    • Did you know you can make your own sanding sugar? If you can't buy black sanding sugar at the store, here's how to make it.
    • Avoid overcooking the glaze, which results in excessive thickening. Cook over low heat, removing once a crust forms. To fix overcooked glaze, add water ½ teaspoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
    • Why we cook the glaze: Cooking it triggers a reaction that results in a fast-hardening glaze. It's perfect for locking in moisture and easy packing.

    Storage

    Baked doughnuts don’t keep well and tend to dry out faster than the fried variety. If you end up with leftovers, the best way to store them is in a paper bag. Whatever you do, don’t refrigerate them or put them in plastic.

    To revive stale doughnuts, microwave them in 5-10 second increments until soft. Just watch out for melting icing.

    More Halloween and fall breakfasts

    • bat doughnuts on a gray background with a bowl of black sanding sugar.
      Halloween Bat Doughnuts
    • bowl of icing, forks, plate of pop tart ghosts and sprinkles are laid out around the frame of the photo
      Pop Tart Ghosts
    • a stack of candy corn doughnuts in front of a jug of milk with doughnuts and pumpkins in the background
      Candy Corn Doughnuts
    • two triangles of waffles on a blue plate topped with a square of butter, a halved fig and granola.
      Fluffy Buttermilk Pumpkin Waffles

    Did you make this recipe? Please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below! I regularly update these posts and feedback from wonderful readers like you helps me improve them.

    Print

    Recipe

    Monster Doughnuts

    doughnuts with royal icing eyes against a black backdrop
    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 11 reviews

    Make your Halloween morning, party or office potluck spooky AND sweet with these easy monster  doughnuts!

    • Author: Claire Coffey
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Total Time: 40 minutes
    • Yield: 6 doughnuts 1x
    • Category: Breakfast
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Units Scale

    For the chocolate doughnuts:

    • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
    • 1 egg
    • ⅔ cup milk
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • 4 tbsp baking cocoa
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp baking soda
    • 1 cup all purpose flour

    For the glaze:

    • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
    • ¼ cup milk
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    For garnishing:

    • Black sanding sugar
    • Royal icing eyes of various sizes (homemade or store bought)
    • 3-4 squares of chocolate

    Instructions

    1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the doughnuts (flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder).
    2. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (melted butter, egg, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree) until just combined. Whisk in dry ingredients.
    3. Use vegetable shortening and a paper towel to grease your doughnut pan. Fill a piping bag with the doughnut batter and pipe it into the doughnut pan until each cavity is about ⅔ full.
    4. Bake the doughnuts at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the doughnuts comes out clean.
    5. Allow to cool in the pan for 1-2 minutes before turning them out onto a baking rack.
    6. In a small saucepan, combine the powdered sugar, water and vanilla extract for the glaze.
    7. Cook over low-medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is warm and starts to form a crust on top. Remove from heat.
    8. Dip each doughnut into the glaze, gently shaking it to allow any excess glaze to drip off. Immediately dip your doughnut into the sanding sugar (it will crust quickly).
    9. Be sure to stir the glaze between each doughnut so it doesn’t form a crust.
    10. Melt 3-4 squares of chocolate (any kind of chocolate will work), and spoon it into a piping bag, or into the corner of a ziploc bag.
    11. Pipe a little chocolate onto the back of your royal icing eyes, and gently press them onto the tops of the doughnuts.
    12. Allow the chocolate to harden completely before packaging the doughnuts.

    Notes

    • Use a piping bag to pipe your doughnut batter into your doughnut pan. This is a lot easier and less messy than trying to pour from the bowl.
    • Doughnuts are easiest to remove from the pan while they’re still warm. The sweet spot seems to be about 2 minutes after they come out of the oven. Simply turn the pan over and gently shake it until the doughnuts come out (hot-pads are a good idea).
    • Did you know you can make your own sanding sugar? If you can't buy black sanding sugar at the store, here's how to make it.
    • Be sure not to over-cook the glaze. Over-cooked glaze loses too much liquid and becomes too hard and thick to work with. The best way to make sure your glaze doesn’t get over-cooked is to cook it over low heat and remove it immediately once a crust starts to form. If your glaze becomes over-cooked, simply add more water in ½ teaspoon increments until the glaze breaks up enough to use.
    • Why we cook the glaze: You may be wondering why we’re cooking the glaze. After all, there are lots of doughnut recipes on the web that don’t require this step. Here’s why: cooking the glaze causes a chemical reaction that results in a glaze that hardens quickly and becomes a shell (rather than a soft glaze). It’s perfect for locking in moisture and making life easier if you need to pack these doughnuts.
    • Leftovers: Baked doughnuts don’t keep well and tend to dry out faster than the fried variety. If you end up with leftovers, the best way to store them is in a paper bag. Whatever you do, don’t refrigerate them or put them in plastic.
    • Reviving stale doughnuts: If you wound up with leftovers and they’ve gotten stale, no worries! You can soften them back up by microwaving them in 5-10 second increments until soft. Just watch out for melting icing.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 doughnut
    • Calories: 388
    • Sugar: 62.2g
    • Sodium: 111mg
    • Fat: 6.1g
    • Saturated Fat: 3.5g
    • Carbohydrates: 81.3g
    • Fiber: 1.8g
    • Protein: 5.2g
    • Cholesterol: 41mg

    Keywords: monster doughnuts, monster donuts

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @thesimplesweetlifeblog on Instagram and hashtag it #thesimplesweetlife

    Update Notes: This post was originally published in October of 2015 but was republished with step-by-step photos and tips in September of 2018.

    More Halloween Treats

    • black cat cupcakes arranged against a white backdrop next to a bowl of sprinkles, a pairing knife with a light wood handle and a bowl of cut up Oreo cookies.
      Black Cat Cupcakes
    • Overhead view of multiple frankenstein rice krispie treats on a white background.
      Frankenstein Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
    • graveyard cupcakes on plates surrounding by sprinkles and off-white pumpkins against a dark green backdrop.
      Graveyard Cupcakes with Meringue Ghosts
    • straight on shot of cake pops in a jar with halloween decorations in the background
      Easy Halloween Monster Cake Pops

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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    1. Maryanne @ the little epicurean says

      October 14, 2015 at 2:52 am

      Love it! These are so cute! 🙂

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        October 22, 2015 at 9:29 pm

        Thank you Maryanne! 😀

        Reply
    2. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says

      October 14, 2015 at 4:54 pm

      Gosh, too cute! Pinning!

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        October 22, 2015 at 9:29 pm

        I'm so glad you like them Pamela! 😀

        Reply
    3. Didi Paterno-Magpali (@didipaterno) says

      October 14, 2015 at 11:14 pm

      So cute!

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        October 22, 2015 at 9:32 pm

        Thank you Didi! 😀

        Reply
    4. Annie @ Annie's Noms says

      October 14, 2015 at 7:48 pm

      These are absolutely awesome!!!! Love them so much, such a fun bake!

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        October 22, 2015 at 9:31 pm

        You're so sweet Annie! 😀

        Reply
    5. Natalie says

      October 16, 2015 at 12:54 am

      What an awesome idea! Definitely filing away for a special Halloween treat this year.

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        October 22, 2015 at 9:32 pm

        I'm so glad you think so Natalie! 😀

        Reply
    6. Matt Kearns says

      September 20, 2016 at 11:22 am

      Ahhh they are staring at me! Cool doughnuts Claire, well done!

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        September 26, 2016 at 9:20 pm

        Awww thank you Matt! I do apologize, they're kind of a rude bunch that haven't seemed to master the art of not staring at strangers. 😉

        Reply
    7. Natasha says

      September 23, 2016 at 1:11 pm

      These are super cute and creative! I have to say that some Halloween treats I've seen on Pinterest/internet so far have been questionable, but I like these haha. Pinning!

      Reply
      • The Simple, Sweet Life says

        September 26, 2016 at 9:28 pm

        I hear ya! Kitty litter cake and zit popping cupcakes?! There are lines people, LINES! <-- And this said by someone who tends to enjoy mildly gross Halloween fair.

        Reply
    8. Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says

      September 25, 2018 at 4:01 am

      These doughnuts are so cute! I had no idea you could make your own sanding sugar, but I am definitely going to check it out

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    9. Gloria says

      September 25, 2018 at 5:34 am

      OMG these are soooo cute. My grandkids would LOVE these. I think I just might have some of those "eyeballs" leftover from another decorating project. I need to get in the kitchen and surprise those kiddos!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    10. Dawn says

      September 25, 2018 at 8:40 am

      These are so freakin' cute! I love fun festive treats like this because they're fun to make too. I bet my niece would love these!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    11. Mimi says

      September 25, 2018 at 9:11 am

      OMG These are so cute!! I love them perfect for halloween

      Reply
    12. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome says

      September 25, 2018 at 9:13 am

      Super spooky, definitely a must try for a halloween party

      Reply
    13. Marta Rivera Diaz says

      September 25, 2018 at 9:42 am

      This first image made me go, "OOOOH!!!" out loud! Great idea and a unique recipe! I love it!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    14. Leigh Suznovich says

      September 25, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      Oh these are so cute and perfect for Halloween!

      Reply
    15. Christa says

      September 25, 2018 at 8:39 pm

      These are so adorable and prefect for Halloween! I love decorating and baking fun Halloween stuff. It’s my favorite holiday!

      Reply
    16. Bernice Hill says

      September 29, 2018 at 7:28 am

      The doughnuts are simply adorable! I love the eyes...very spooky indeed.
      Also, this post is chalk full of some really great doughnut related tips and was very informative!

      Reply
    17. Amanda Mason says

      September 29, 2018 at 3:05 pm

      Such helpful tips to make these!! I love it! They look so much more complicated than you described! I think I can actually pull these off!! I'm going to give them a go!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    18. Kristen Roberts says

      September 29, 2018 at 8:06 pm

      These look INCREDIBLE! You never cease to amaze me with your creativity and gorgeous photography.

      Reply
    19. Eileen Kelly says

      September 30, 2018 at 9:33 am

      I love how creative you are and love these fun Halloween donuts. These look great and I love baked donuts! The decorations on the donuts are fantastic and simple enough that I can have my niece help me too.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    20. Lorie says

      September 30, 2018 at 10:36 am

      I literally just bought eyeball candies for another project and have a bunch leftover. These are happening tomorrow!!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    21. Sharon says

      September 30, 2018 at 2:00 pm

      These are the perfect Halloween treats! Great for upcoming school or office parties for the holiday.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    22. Emily Leary says

      September 30, 2018 at 2:29 pm

      These are so cute! And so fun for halloween. I think we will give them a go!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    23. Anne Murphy says

      September 30, 2018 at 6:53 pm

      Oh, I love all the eyes! The different sizes are so much fun. A wonderful - and slightly different - Halloween treat!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    24. Veronika's Kitchen says

      September 30, 2018 at 6:57 pm

      OMG! These donuts are the cutest and spooky donuts ever! Love the design and the recipe! Making them next week!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    25. Julie says

      October 01, 2018 at 4:04 am

      These are so adorable! (Or am I supposed to say that they're so scary?) My son's preschool class is going to love them for his Halloween party!

      Reply
    26. Jacque Hastert says

      October 01, 2018 at 5:57 am

      These are great for kiddos! I will have to make these for Halloween morning!

      Reply

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