Easy Chocolate Heart Doughnuts.

Name: Easy Chocolate Heart Doughnuts
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups warm milk; 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more for rolling; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 2 eggs; 4 cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup Nutella; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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February 13, 2018

Posted in American, Breakfast, Cuisine + Inspiration, Desserts, Holidays + Seasonal, Recipes, Type of Meal, Valentine's Day

Your February needs these Easy Chocolate Heart Doughnuts.

Easy Chocolate Heart Doughnuts | halfbakedharvest.com #valentinesday #doughnut #easy #recipes

Valentine’s Day or not, your month needs these easy and fun doughnuts. For one (and most importantly), this is a month of celebration. As a lot of you have already seen, my brother Red won his first Olympic Gold medal in South Korea this past Sunday. I have never been so happy for someone in my entire life. I have said this time and time again, but that kid is truly one of my favorite people, and I could not be happier for him. Watching him compete and take Gold in his final run will be a moment I will never, ever forget. I just cannot express how happy and proud I am. Red is currently on a media whirlwind tour and traveling from South Korea, to LA, then to NYC for press…including Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel (tonight), so be sure to keep an eye out for him. America is about to get to know Red Gerard real well.

I have so much to share about this incredible experience and cannot wait to put it into a post for you all. I’m flying home to Colorado with some of my family tomorrow, and will gather up photos to put a post together for you all on Friday. Be on the look out!

If you’re looking for instant updates, check out Instagram where I’ve been posting plenty about our time here in South Korea.

In the meantime, let’s celebrate both this huge win for my brother and Valentine’s Day with these easy chocolate heart doughnuts. FYI…if Red could have gotten his hands on these, he would have loved them!

I’m not usually that big on making homemade doughnuts (I hate frying things), but on certain occasions I’m all for it. For such a long time I’ve had this heart doughnut in my head and when I finally made them, I fell in love with them! As did my mom…it was actually one of those moments I live for…when she rolls her eyes back, gets this dreamy look and declares how incredibly delicious something is.

Not only are these doughnuts super cute, but they are SO GOOD.

I mean, are you looking at them?

This is a simple doughnut dough, stuffed with a light whipped Nutella filling, and dusted with a little sugar for good measure.

Simple and delicious. Not sure much can beat sinking your teeth into one of these doughnuts. They’re definitely a decadent treat, but so worth it.

As I said, I kept the dough recipe pretty simple and the filling even simpler. The doughnuts can be made and ready in under two hours, shorter if your kitchen happens to be extra toasty and warm (the warmer the kitchen, the faster the doughnuts will rise).

I used small and medium heart-shaped cookie cutters to create a couple different sized doughnuts. I fried the doughnuts and then stuffed them with a whipped Nutella filling for an extra sweet, almost mousse like, filling. It’s unreal how good each and every bite is.

If by chance you don’t love the taste of Nutella, you can use melted semi-sweet chocolate in place.

If there was ever a doughnut to make at home, this is it. Make them for Valentine’s Day, make them to celebrate with my family and I, or make them just because you want a really good homemade doughnut!

Either way make them. Your week needs a good, chocolatey treat, it really does.

4.32 from 58 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Easy Chocolate Heart Doughnuts

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate donuts, easy recipe, homemade donuts

This dough recipe is simple, and the filling even simpler. Fresh made delicious doughnuts made and ready in under two hours.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 doughnuts

Calories 303 kcal

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups warm milk
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup Nutella
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl (I like to use my stand mixer), combine the warm milk, yeast, butter and egg, mix a little to combine and then add 4 cups flour and the salt. Knead the dough, using a dough hook or your hands, until the dough comes together and is smooth, about 3 minutes with a mixer, and 5-10 by hand. If the dough seems too sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour. The dough should come together, but be slightly sticky to touch. Grease a large bowl and place the dough ball inside. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, at least 30 minutes.
2. To fry the doughnuts, line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the hearts. Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap while the oil heats.
3. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. When done, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Make sure to return the oil to 350 degrees F. between batches.
4. To make the glaze, mix together the Nutella, heavy cream, and vanilla until smooth and combined. Spoon the chocolate into a pastry bag fitted with a tip or just use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off. Pierce the base of each cooled doughnut with the piping tube (or us a knife) and pipe a little filling into each doughnut. Generously sprinkle each doughnut sugar. Enjoy!

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