How to Celebrate Any Occasion with Doughnuts

Coffee's humble sidekick finds new expression in these festive doughnut treats.

By: Jen Wood

Related To:

5 Trendy Takes on America's Favorite Pastry

Simple, comforting and oh-so-cute to look at, these doughnut-inspired desserts hit right on that sweet spot between classic comfort food and newfangled, eye-catching dessert trends.

Coffee & Doughnut Mini Milkshakes

We've been serving doughnuts with coffee for eons, so why not pair the sweet breakfast pastry with something a little more indulgent ... like a frothy coffee milkshake? To start, prepare the milkshake by blending 2 scoops of coffee ice cream with 1 cup of milk (you can add ice, too, if you like it extra frosty). Coat three shooter glasses with chocolate syrup, then pour in the coffee shake. Add the straws, then slide a mini doughnut onto each. It's the perfect after-school reward.

Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwiches

This one couldn't be any simpler: Just cut your favorite glazed doughnuts in half and fill them with different-flavored scoops of your favorite ice cream. Voila — the ultimate shortcut dessert.

Doughnuts on Sticks

This festive party snack combines two of the most-popular food trends of the moment: doughnuts (of course) and food on a stick. The next time you host a birthday party, graduation party or any other celebratory gathering, skip your usual assortment of gift-bag candy and slide mini doughnuts (homemade or store-bought) onto wooden ice-pop sticks as a sweet parting gift for your guests to grab on the way out.

Doughnut in a Mug

Move over, mug cakes. The mug doughnut is the microwave's new sweetheart. To create this comforting sweet, you'll need the following ingredients:

3 tablespoons flour + 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 2 tablespoons brown sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar + 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg + 1 egg (beaten) + 1 1/2 tablespoons milk + 1 tablespoon oil

To start, combine the ingredients in a 6-ounce mug, stir, and microwave for 1 minute. Check to see if the dough is cooked through. If it needs more time, microwave it for another 30 seconds. Allow the doughnut to cool. For the glaze, melt down your favorite chocolate, then drizzle it on your mug doughnut. Top it off with some colorful sprinkles for an authentic doughnut presentation.

Doughnut Cookies

Why, yes, these are sugar cookies masquerading as doughnuts — but you'll still want to dunk them in a hot cup of coffee come dessert time. To create the doughnut-ring shape, use a small cookie cutter to cut out the center hole. Then, once the cookies are baked and cooled, ice and decorate them until they're worthy of the front-window rack at any bake shop.