Some days, I just need a donut but I don’t want to make the trek to Dunkin. These air fryer chocolate donut holes are for those days. They’re super easy to make in the air fryer, and they taste just like my favorite munchkins. Coated in a sweet glaze, they’re the perfect breakfast treat!
This recipe is for all my chocolate lovers! These simple air fryer chocolate donut holes are so good, I just know you are going to love them! Cooked in the air fryer and coated in a sweet glaze, every bite is truly delicious! They’re perfect for breakfast with a piping hot coffee or as a fun dessert for the family.
What’s in This Air Fryer Donut Holes Recipe?
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives these donut holes structure.
- Cocoa Powder: Adds chocolatey flavor. While you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder you prefer, I like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder here because there isn’t any baking soda to neutralize the acidity of natural cocoa powder.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the donut holes, while powdered sugar sweetens and thickens the glaze.
- Baking Powder: Helps the donut holes stay light and fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the chocolatey flavor.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter. You can use unsalted, but add in ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for the best flavor.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Keeps the donut holes moist and makes the glaze rich and flavorful.
- Chocolate Chips: Add pops of melty, gooey chocolate.
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How to Store
These air fryer chocolate donut holes are best served soon after they are made, I love them when they are still warm! Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature or 1 week in the refrigerator. They will still be good to eat after that time but will start to dry out a little. Enjoy them at room temperature or easily reheat them in your air fryer at 350°F for 3-4 minutes, then glaze and enjoy.
Tips for Success
- The dough for these donut holes is meant to be quite thick and scoopable. This keeps it from melting into a blob in the air fryer.
- The molds are to help the dough keep a round shape as it cooks, but I recommend mounding the dough into the molds wth a cookie scoop for the roundest shape.
- I tested this recipe without a mold and it still worked, but the donuts lost their cylindrical shape and were flat on the bottom.
- If you don’t have an air fryer, you can deep fry them in hot oil for a few minutes or can oven-bake them at 325°F for around 15 minutes, but air frying is definitely my preferred method.
- If you plan to have leftovers, wait to glaze them until just before serving.
Air Fryer Chocolate Donut Holes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons salted butter (½ stick)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream divided
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Air Fryer
- Silicone Half-Sphere Mold (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and baking powder together.1 cup all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Add the vanilla extract, salted butter, and ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream. Whisk until the batter is smooth.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 4 tablespoons salted butter, 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Fold in the chocolate chips.¼ cup chocolate chips
- Pour the batter to a silicone mold, filling up ¾ of the way. Place into the air fryer and set to 350°F. Cook for 10 minutes.
- While the donut holes are cooking, prepare the glaze. Add the powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream to a small bowl and whisk to combine.½ cup powdered sugar
- Let the donuts cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove donut holes from the mold, toss in the glaze, and place on a wire cooling rack to allow excess glaze to drip off. Let set for 5 minutes and serve.
Notes
- Please note that the dough is meant to be quite thick and scoopable to help it hold its shape in the air fryer.
This recipe didn’t work for me. The batter was so thick there was no pouring it into the molds. I used a cookie scoop to put them in to the molds but they just didn’t cook up right.
We’re sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you! If the batter seems too thick, try adding more heavy cream until it reaches a thick, but pourable consistency!
It doesn’t work, they’re dry and don’t hold a shape
We’re sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you! Baked goods can be finicky! It sounds like your kitchen may have been a bit dry, in which case we would recommend adding more liquid to the batter to help them bind together better! We hope you’ll give this recipe another try!
There is an error in the instructions “add 2/3 cup cream” should be 1 cup…..very confusing and that is why the comments state too dry……
Hi Pam, the remaining heavy cream is used in step 5 to make the glaze! Hope this helps!
I really want to leave a positive review because I know how disappointing it is to get a review that isn’t positive. However, I had the same issue as other people the batter was way too thick. I have owned a dessert company and am known for my baking skills. That’s not too brag, but rather to say that I know how to follow a recipe (baking does tend to be a science) and when trying a recipe for the first time I always follow it precisely. When doing that with this recipe, the batter was so thick that I couldn’t get a whisk through it and even after adding more whipping cream there were still dry bits with no liquid. I ultimately ended up adding a total of about 1 1/3 cup whipping cream and 1/3 cup half and half and a tablespoon of oil just to get it mixed. Even then it was a really thick (not pourable at all). I went ahead and made them and they were okay (not dense, but fell apart) and tasted more like a cake mix cake (which I actually enjoy as cake, but not as a donut). That being said, I really liked the layout of the recipe and how the measurements were included down in the instructions as well as in the ingredients section.
Agreed on the layout. The ingredients with instructions is GREAT!
But same problem of dryness