Peppermint Chocolate Iced Donuts are the perfect holiday treat! Rich and chocolatey donuts are topped with a sweet peppermint glaze and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Moist, delicious, and so easy to make, these baked donuts make the best breakfast or dessert for Christmas!

a stack of chocolate peppermint donuts

Christmas is my favorite holiday and I just love the hustle and bustle of the season!

Once my house is decorated for the season and the hot chocolate and movies have been on repeat, I’m giddy with excitement. I may be an adult, but I feel like I appreciate Christmas a lot more now than I did when I was younger.

And baking…I love holiday baking! I’ve been testing holiday recipes since the end of the summer and I can’t wait to share my latest (and greatest) recipe with you. It’s chocolatey, pepperminty, and oh-so delicious!

I realize that Chocolate Peppermint Donuts aren’t necessarily a new thing, but for me, it’s been on my holiday recipe bucket list for some time now. And I finally conquered this treat, friends!

The base of the donut is from my Baked Oreo Donuts. You just can’t go wrong with chocolate. Am I right?

And with the hint of peppermint and crushed candy canes on top, it’s a fun and festive way to devour these donuts!

So if you’re on the hunt for that perfect holiday sweet treat, these peppermint chocolate iced donut are sure to please those holiday guests and hungry kiddos!

top down shot of a christmas donut

What Makes Chocolate Peppermint Donuts So Great

  • The donut bakes up tender, moist, and full of rich chocolate flavor.
  • The peppermint glaze is creamy and sweet, with a touch of peppermint, and crushed candy canes on top.
  • These Christmas donuts are a breeze to whip up! Within a half an hour, you can have the donuts made, baked, and ready to be cooled.

Ingredients in Peppermint Chocolate Donuts

To make these festive holiday donuts, you’ll need the following basic ingredients: 

  • All-purpose flour
  • Light brown sugar
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Salt
  • Baking powder & baking soda
  • Egg
  • Milk
  • Coconut Oil
  • Vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar
  • Heavy cream
  • Peppermint extract
  • Candy canes

Can the Coconut Oil Be Substituted? 

If flavor is a concern, rest assured that these Christmas donuts don’t taste remotely like coconut. 

However, if you’re out of coconut oil or have an allergy in your family, feel free to substitute an equal amount of vegetable oil instead. 

a stack of Christmas donuts

How to Make Peppermint Chocolate Iced Donuts

I love how easy these peppermint glazed chocolate cake donuts are to make! Since they’re baked and not fried, you can prepare them the night before and glaze them on Christmas morning!

Here’s a look at how the peppermint chocolate baked donuts are made:  

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  3. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. 
  4. Spoon the mixture into a large ziplock bag and cut the top of the bottom corner. Pipe the mixture into prepared donut pans.
  5. Bake until donuts are slightly firm.
  6. Remove the pans from the oven and cool completely before adding the glaze.

Recipe Variations

  • Replace half of the white flour with whole wheat flour to add a little extra fiber to these donuts!
  • Add half a cup of mini chocolate chips to the donut batter to give a little extra chocolatey goodness to these donuts!
  • Sprinkle crushed spearmint candies to the top to get festive Christmas colors!

two stacked chocolate donuts with others in the background

Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance? 

Yes! You can bake the holiday donuts the night before and glaze them first thing in the morning. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature in the meantime so they don’t dry out. 

Tips for Making Christmas Donuts

  • If you don’t have non-stick cooking spray on hand, you can use oil or butter to grease the donut pans.
  • Add a light dusting of flour onto the non-stick spray to make the donuts even easier to get out.
  • Be careful when dipping the donuts into the glaze as you might lose hold of the donut! If you can’t stick it in halfway without losing it, you can also just spoon a little glaze on top of the donut and spread it around with a butter knife.

subscribe to my youtube channel to see how easy this recipe is to make!

Looking for more peppermint desserts? 

Peppermint is one of my favorite flavors to use when making Christmas recipes! Here are some of my favorite peppermint desserts: 

two stacked peppermint donuts

Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
These Chocolate Peppermint Donuts are the perfect holiday treat! Rich and chocolatey donuts are topped with a sweet peppermint glaze and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Moist, delicious, and so easy to make, these baked donuts make the best breakfast or dessert for Christmas!

Ingredients
 

Chocolate donut

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup packed, light brown sugar
  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup milk, any kind (I used 2%)
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • teaspoons vanilla extract

Peppermint glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup crushed candy canes

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray two 6-count donut pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Batter will be very thick.
  • Spoon mixture into a large ziplock bag and cut tip of bottom corner. Pipe mixture into prepared donut pans.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until donuts are slightly firm.
  • Remove from oven and cool completely before adding glaze.
  • To make the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, whipping cream, peppermint extract, and salt until smooth.
  • Take each donut and dunk halfway into glaze, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

Notes

Adapted from my Baked Oreo Donuts
Calories: 337kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 268mg, Potassium: 164mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 208IU, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 1mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Author: Gayle
Did you make this recipe?Let me know! Mention @pumpkin_n_spice on Instagram or tag #pumpkin_n_spice.