I have a mini donut pan that I have only used once or twice.  I am really trying to make an effort to use all of the crazy, one-use baking pans I have.  I thought I would make vanilla donuts for breakfast this morning.  But, then I was thinking, what isn’t made better with the addition of vanilla bean?  Umm…nothing.  So, I threw that in too.  But, I didn’t want to make plain old vanilla donuts.  I wanted to wow my children a bit.  But how? I thought of my daughter Sammie and her favorite color, rainbow.  So, I’ll make rainbow donuts!!

I just love how these turned out.  But let me warn you, they do take a bit of time and lots of dishes.  The batter is super easy to put together, taking only minutes.  The time comes from dividing the batter into 6 colors, dying them, putting them into piping bags, piping them and then baking them.  The big problem I discovered was that I only have one pan.  I put the 12 on table and I thought my children, who usually eat like birds would each have like 2, and my husband would have the other 6.  Nope.  They inhaled them in about 1 minute.  My husband was lucky to grab one out of Sammie’s hand and pop it into his mouth before she knew what was happening.  So, then it took me awhile to get the next pan prepared for the oven and baked.  Meanwhile everyone was waiting, impatiently, and starving.  Two notes to self:  buy 2 more donut pans and do not start a project like this unless you get up way before everyone else.  But, let me say these were delicious donuts.  They were so light and fluffy.  And, the vanilla bean gave them the perfect extra shot of vanilla flavor.  So, while these may take a bit of extra time and effort, these donuts will be a delicious, showstopping breakfast for your children.  And, based on Sammie and Jack’s happy faces, I must say, time well spent.

Mini rainbow vanilla bean donuts

Donut batter:

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. butter, melted
Seeds from one vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In large mixing bowl, sift together all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds and butter and beat until just combined.  I divided the batter into 6 bowls and colored them with Americolor gels – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Scrape each colored batter into a separate small sandwich bag.  I put each bag into a small glass for support.  Cut a small hole from the corner of the red bag and press gently to place a big dot of batter into the well.  Do the same with the orange.  The red will have spread a bit, so place the orange so it overlaps by about 1/2.  Continue around the well with yellow, green, blue and ending with the purple to complete the donut.  They should be about half full.

Bake 4-8 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish doughnuts with vanilla glaze. Doughnuts are best served fresh.

 

In small bowl, stir together sugar, milk (or heavy cream- start with 1Tbsp, and slowly add more until you get the right consistency) and vanilla extract until sugar is completely dissolved.  If using, add food coloring and stir until color is uniform.  Use immediately to glaze doughnuts.  Sprinkle on nonpareils if using.

Source: Sprinkle Bakes