Pretzels get a sweet update with cocoa powder, a light glaze and a donut shape
Today is an extra special, donut filled day 😉 It’s baby shower day for Cate from Chez Catey Lou!
Cate always creates the most gorgeous treats. Some of my favorites include:
- Red Velvet Donuts with Cream Cheese Icing
- Mango Coconut Donuts
- Pumpkin Yeast Bread – This is seriously one of my favorite bread recipes! It’s so moist and flavorful & makes the best “Thanksgiving” Sandwiches 🙂
Cate, I know you must be so excited to meet your little girl. Enjoy every moment. Sending you and your family lots of love 🙂
When Zainab contacted me about participating in this baby shower I was thrilled – especially with the donut theme. I’ve always wanted to make a traditional donut. I’ve only made baked donuts. This time I was intent on frying up a batch. But – I was low on canola oil. Let’s be honest, this was probably for the best. Knowing me I would’ve caught the kitchen on fire – eek!
So, I settled for an old favorite – pretzels! I took my favorite pretzel recipe and revamped it to be more donut-ty! These were so delicious. They were a great treat without being overly sweet.
What’s your favorite type of donut to make?
Ingredients
- 2.25 tsp active dry yeast
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- 10 cups boiling water
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp boiling water
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine yeast, water and sugar. Allow to sit five minutes.
- In a measuring cup, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add to liquids.
- Once combined, add oil. Knead for five minutes.
- Transfer to an oiled bowl and allow to rise one hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll into balls and use finger to make a hole in the middle. Allow to rise 30 minutes.
- Towards the end of rising time, bring water and baking soda to boil.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly coat with oil.
- Boil donuts one at a time for 30 seconds each. Place on prepared baking sheet and top with oil and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake 10 minutes.
- Combine powdered sugar and boiling water. Drizzle on hot donuts and top with sprinkles if desired.
Check out all the other awesome Donut Treats:
Baked Dark Chocolate Strawberry Donuts – Club Narwhal
Baked Lemon Donuts – What Jessica Baked Next
Biscoff Donuts – Baking a Moment
Chai Donuts – Fresh April Flours
Chocolate Cake S’mores Donuts – Jessica in the Kitchen
Chocolate Pretzel Donuts – The Emotional Baker
Coconut Matcha Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze – Blahnik Baker
Coffee and Donuts Breakfast Bake – The Cookie Rookie
GF Lemon Donuts with Raspberry Glaze – Thoroughly Nourished Life
Maple Glazed Donut Holes – Hall Nesting
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cake Donuts – American Heritage Cooking
Paleo Chocolate Frosted Donuts – A Clean Bake
Raspberry Jam Filled Cupcakes – gotta get baked
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Donut Breakfast Sandwich – Shared Appetite
Strawberry Margarita Oreo Donuts – Life Made Sweeter
Baked Mini Samoa Donuts – Culinary Couture
Donut Holes with Sweet Strawberry Dipping Sauce – Twin Stripe
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
How fun are these donuts? I love the chocolate and pretzel combo, Megan! Perfect to celebrate a baby shower and for Monday. I would love to eat one (or five) of these for breakfast!
The Emotional Baker says
Thank you, Gayle! They would be delicious for breakfast 🙂
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
All the best to Cate! These donuts sound delish Megan! I’d have a hard time just eating one!
The Emotional Baker says
I know, Mary Ann! I had two and still wanted another 😉
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
Aww, showers are the best!! And I love love love the donut theme – yours are so delectable and unusual. As for my favorite kind…I gotta go with cinnamon. 🙂
The Emotional Baker says
Oooh – cinnamon sounds delicious! Thanks Kate!
Puja Darshan says
My best wishes to Cate and the baby girl. 🙂 🙂
And Megan I really liked the Donuts Theme!!!
The Emotional Baker says
Me too. Thanks Puja!
Eva @ Eva Bakes says
Such beautiful chocolate-y donuts!! WANT!!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thank you, Eva 🙂
Katie @The Semisweet Sisters says
Your donuts turned out perfect! They look so delicious! I’m with you…I’m a little terrified to deep fry things of fear of causing a disaster in my kitchen.
The Emotional Baker says
Ha ha! Glad I’m not the only one, Katie! Thank you!
Cate | Chez CateyLou says
Thank you so much for the baby shower and all the love!! I am so happy, and what a perfect theme for me 🙂 Your chocolate pretzel donuts are such a fun idea – I can’t wait to try these! My husband would go crazy for them!
The Emotional Baker says
You are so welcome, Cate! If you do get a chance to try these, let me know how they turn out 🙂
Rahul @samosastreet.com says
Pretzel donuts! Mind blown! These look fantastic!!! Pass me a batch!
The Emotional Baker says
Wish I could, Rahul! Thank you 🙂
Jess @ Sweetest Menu says
SO pretty! LOVE just LOVE those pretty pink sprinkles too.
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Jess! I actually had to separate these from a mixture of sprinkles – ha ha 🙂
Melanie @ Melanie Cooks says
I never made donuts myself, but you make it sound easy enough for me to attempt 🙂 These donuts look delicious – they rival any donut shop!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thank you, Melanie! These aren’t traditional donuts, but they’re still delicious 🙂
Liz says
These are so cute and sound amazing! What a good idea to use your pretzel recipe! I’ve never made pretzels, but I know I’ll be trying yours.
The Emotional Baker says
Pretzels are so fun and delicious! If you try these, let me know how you like them 🙂
Lynn @ Fresh April Flours says
YUM!! I love the idea of a chocolate pretzel, Megan! How creative! And definitely would be much too tasty for me to share with anyone else 🙂
The Emotional Baker says
Ha ha! I know, Lynn – no sharing 🙂
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says
What a wonderfully creative idea! And a great alternative to a fried donut! Oh the possibilities are endless. I cannot wait to try these out!
The Emotional Baker says
You are right, Amy – there are so many flavor combo options. Thank you!
Zainab says
Oh this is genius!! A pretzel donut? I am in LOVE! Thank you so much for joining the party.
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Zainab 🙂
Meriem @ Culinary Couture says
How creative!! I love this!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thank you, Meriem 🙂
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
What an interesting idea! Love the chocolate pretzel combo!
The Emotional Baker says
Me too 🙂 Thanks Lindsey!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
This is such an awesome idea! Combining my two favorite carbs – pretzels and doughnuts.
The Emotional Baker says
Ha ha! Mine too 🙂 Thanks Nicole!
Denise @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Oh my gosh, did you just combine my 2 favorite things?! These look ah-mazing!!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thank you, Denise 🙂
Ashley@CookNourishBliss says
Gah I love the idea of chocolate + pretzels in a donut!! These sound soooo good! How about we skip dinner and go straight to dessert! 😉
The Emotional Baker says
Sounds like a plan to me 😉 Thanks Ashley!
Kelly says
These are SO fun and creative, Megan! I love the idea of a pretzel donut! With the glaze and the festive sprinkles – these are perfect for celebrating!
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Kelly 🙂
demeter | beaming baker says
Megan, this is such a creative idea! I love that you made a pretzel/donut hybrid. 🙂 Congrats to Cate and congrats to you for a lovely post. P.S. My fave type of donut to make is sourdough with glaze. YUM!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thank you 🙂 I’ve never had a sourdough donut – must fix ASAP!
Liz says
What a fun blend of pretzel and donut! And making them chocolate makes them even more enticing!
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Liz! Chocolate is the best 😉
Jessica @ Jessica in the Kitchen says
Whoa. Super cool that you made these by hand!! They look PHENOM and pretzel donuts?! Yes please!
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Jessica! Since I was using a pretzel dough, it wasn’t too hard to shape these 🙂
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says
These doughnuts look absolutely scrumptious!
The Emotional Baker says
Thank you, Marsha 🙂
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
These chocolate pretzel donuts are amazing! Great creativity and perfect for the virtual baby shower. I love the pink sprinkles and big congratulations to Cate on her bundle of joy!
The Emotional Baker says
Aww – thanks so much, Allie 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh wow, LOVE LOVE LOVE the donut spin on pretzels.. or pretzel spin on donuts. Whichever – these are all sorts of amazing!! Plus you added sprinkles, which just make my heart sing! Genius, my dear! Cheers!
The Emotional Baker says
ha ha – thanks Cheyanne!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
yayyy for Cate’s baby shower!!! <3 her! And these donuts look AMAZING–like…choc and pretzel donuts never have even occurred to me and now I feel like I'll die without them!
The Emotional Baker says
They were pretty amazing 😉 Thanks Kayle!
Melissa @ vegan does it says
Such a super fun idea! And chocolate makes them look even more delicious!
The Emotional Baker says
I agree! Thanks so much, Melissa 🙂
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Lol, I totally wanted to deep fry donuts for Cate too but I totally chickened out at the last minute! I love that you adapted your pretzel recipe for these gorgeous chocolate donuts. So cool and brilliant!
The Emotional Baker says
Maybe we’ll get around to frying donuts one day 😉 Until then, we’ll just have to enjoy all the other donut varieties. Thanks Nancy!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
I’m loving this baby shower doughnut party! Your pretzel doughnuts look so pretty and tasty!
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks so much, Rachelle!
Jessica - The Novice Chef says
You are so speaking my language! Chocolate – Pretzel – Donut. Perfection.
The Emotional Baker says
Thanks Jessica 🙂
Pamela @ BFG says
It’s official. You win my heart. I am in love with donuts, but even more so when pretzels are involved!
The Emotional Baker says
ha ha! Thanks Pamela 🙂
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
Doughnuts are a great theme!
The Emotional Baker says
I agree, Thanks Laura 🙂