These baked cinnamon sugar mochi donuts are so chewy and easy to make. Simply mix the batter in one bowl, transfer to a donut pan, bake, and coat with melted butter and cinnamon sugar! Plus, since they’re made with mochiko (sweet rice flour), they’re gluten-free!
Note: this blog post was updated October 2024 to include a new recipe video, photos, and helpful information!
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The mochi donuts are baked, not fried! No need to heat up a bunch of oil and discard it. The batter is poured into a donut pan and baked right in the oven.
- You can mix the batter by hand. You won’t need a stand mixer, and you won’t even need to knead the dough! I mixed everything with a silicone spatula.
- It’s a crowd favorite! I brought these mochi donuts routinely to my physical therapist’s office, since he is gluten-free. The whole office (and his family) loved them every single time!
Ingredients
To make the cinnamon sugar mochi donuts from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Mochiko, the key ingredient of this recipe, will give the donuts a chewy texture. Since mochiko is made of sweet rice flour, the donuts are gluten-free!
- Brown sugar adds a sweet molasses flavor and moisture to the mochi donut batter. You can use light or dark brown sugar.
- You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
- Instead of table salt, you can use fine sea salt, too.
- Any type of milk works, like whole, 2%, almond, soy, etc.
- After baking, the donuts are brushed with melted unsalted butter and dipped into a cinnamon sugar mixture.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tip
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
How to Make Chewy Mochi Donuts
Step 1: Mix brown sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
Step 2: Stir in milk until fully combined.
Step 3: Stir in all dry ingredients until no dry spots remain.
Step 4: Transfer mochi donut batter to greased donut pan, filling cavities a little over ¾ of the way. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 25-30 minutes, or until donut springs back when poked. Cool donuts in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack.
Step 5: Brush mochi donut with melted butter.
Step 6:Fully coat mochi donut in cinnamon sugar. Repeat for remaining donuts and enjoy!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
“I’ve never had a gluten-free donut this delicious. I can’t even tell!” – my physical therapist 🤗
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Cinnamon Sugar Mochi Donuts (Small-Batch)
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Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing batter
- 1 bowl or plate for dipping donuts in cinnamon sugar
Ingredients
For The Mochi Donuts:
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar packed; light or dark
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled; or neutral oil like canola or vegetable
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla paste or extract
- 1 (1) egg room temperature
- ½ cup (122 g) milk whole, almond, soy, etc.
- 1 cup (150 g) mochiko
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) table salt or fine sea salt
For Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Lightly grease donut pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1 egg until smooth. Mix in ½ cup milk until fully combined.
- Add all dry ingredients: 1 cup mochiko, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon table salt. Stir until no dry spots remain.
- Transfer the donut batter into a container with a spout, like a large measuring cup. Alternatively, you can use a spoon or ladle. Pour or spoon the batter into each cavity, filling each one a little more than ¾ of the way.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until donut springs back when poked. Cool donuts in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack.
For the cinnamon sugar topping:
- In a medium bowl or plate, mix the ½ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Using your pastry brush, lightly brush melted butter all over one mochi donut. Then, dip mochi donut in cinnamon sugar, making sure to coat all sides.
- Repeat with remaining donuts and enjoy!
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
I love how these are baked and not fried! Do you think they could possibly be made egg-free? Thanks!
Hi Huiwen!! <3
Yes, you can definitely make them egg-free. I've tried flax egg, chia egg, and JUSTEgg before, and all turned out great. I even tried omitting the egg completely and just added an extra splash of milk. They were good, too!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try!
Of course!! Yay, I hope you enjoy! <3
Thanks for this recipe…It is my “go to” easy, delicious dessert recipe that my friends enjoy and ask for. I recently made a batch using a different brand (Shirakiku) v. Koda Farms b/c my local HMart didn’t have Koda Farms in stock and was only selling the Shirakiku brand (I suppose due to supply chain issues).
I followed the recipe as always and the batter was unusually runny. I was extremely nervous that it would not turn out right. The donuts came out fine, but they were flat. I will try again using a bit more of the mochiko and maybe even add more baking powder.