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Homemade Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts are soft, fluffy, and sunshiny sweet! Baked, not fried, this recipe is ready in just 20 minutes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts

Ashley Manila
Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts are baked, not fried, and ready in just 20 minutes!
4.84 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Donuts
Servings 6 baked donuts

Ingredients
 

For the donuts:

  • 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 and 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
  • 2 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1/2 cup milk (whole, reduced fat, skim, or almond should work fine here)

For the glaze:

  • 1 and 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Instructions
 

For the donuts:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Generously grease a doughnut pan; set aside.
  • In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds; set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest; mix together with your fingers until zest is evenly distributed in the sugar. Add in the melted butter and beat until combined. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon extract; beat well. Stir in milk.
  • Add in the dry ingredients and gently fold the mixture together using a rubber spatula, stirring only until mixture is evenly combined.
  • Spoon or pipe the thick batter into the molds of your prepared pan, filling each mold up 2/3 of the way. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until firm and lightly golden on the tops.
  • Remove pan from oven and allow doughnuts to cool for at least 10 minutes in the tray before transferring to a cooling wrack to cool completely.
  • Once cool, dip each doughnut in glaze and serve! The glaze does take a few minutes to set, so you may want to wait about 5 minutes after glazing to dig in... but it's hard!

For the Glaze:

  • In a wide, shallow dish combine the sifted confectioners' sugar and milk; whisk to combine - the mixture will be a little clumpy at this point. Stir in the salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest; whisk smooth. If the glaze appears too thick, add in a little more lemon juice; if the glaze appears too thin, add in a little more confectioners' sugar. Carefully dip cooled doughnuts in the glaze, and let rest for 5 minutes - if you can wait - before serving.
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