How to Make Filled Baked Donuts

Your family and friends will be delighted with these lower fat, absolutely delightful baked donuts.  Give them a try.

How to Make Filled Baked Donuts
You will need a donut mix and bag of pastry filling, the kind that you clip the corner and press the filling into a donut or cupcake.  
If you make dinner rolls, this will be a breeze.

1.    Mix the dough and let it rise according to package instructions.  
2.    Instead of cutting the dough into donut shapes, shape dough pieces into round pieces about 1 ½-inches in diameter.  (See yield note below.) Form them into tight balls just as you would dinner rolls.  Place them on a baking sheet spaced apart so that they have room to expand without touching.  Cover the pan with a plastic sheeting or place the pan in a proofing bag.  
3.    Let the rolls rise until very puffy.  The dough is very elastic and will expand until more than doubled.  Be patient.  How fast they rise will depend on the room temperature.  If they start to blister, just poke the blisters with toothpick and get the pan in the oven.
4.    Bake at 375 degrees for ten minutes or until the rolls are a golden brown.  When done, gently remove the rolls to a cooling rack.  The rolls will be very soft.
5.    Immediately brush the rolls with melted butter using a pastry brush. The butter not only adds flavor but helps the sugar to adhere.  Roll the warm rolls through granulated sugar placed in a bowl.
6.    Gently take a paring knife a poke a slit in the side of each roll.  Snip a ¼-inch corner off the pastry filling bag.  Stick the open corner in your cut slits and squeeze filling into each roll.

They are now ready to serve.  

Yield:  We recommend cutting your dough pieces into 1.3 to 1.4 ounces pieces to yield 34 to 36 nice-sized donuts.  If that is more donuts than you want to make, you can refrigerate your remaining dough for three to five days.  You can also divide the mix in half and only make half now.   
Instead of rolling your donuts in sugar, you may also glaze them.  In a large mixing bowl, mix 3 cups powdered sugar with 1/2 cup warm water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.

Note: You will have leftover filling.  Fold the open corner over, put a clip on it, and store the bag in the refrigerator for up to six months.  Do not freeze.
Leftover filling can be used in cupcakes, between cake layers, for stuffed French toast, between waffles, in thumbprint cookies, and in other pastries.