Baked Vanilla Donuts

Last full week of student teaching. Final evaluations this week — Ms. Reyes sat with me on Wednesday afternoon after the kids left and went through the whole rubric. Meets expectations in everything. Exceeds expectations in student engagement and differentiated instruction. She said, off rubric, "You have good instincts. Trust them." I said I would. I have been saying that to myself in the car on the drive home. Trust them. Trust them. They are good instincts.

I said goodbye to the kids on Friday. I knew I would not be back — this was always temporary, student teaching, a four-month window into what the work feels like. M. did not acknowledge the goodbye directly. He did his wall-touching lap and sat down and started his morning work. Then, as I was putting on my coat, he said "Will you come back?" and I said maybe someday and he went back to his work. E. gave me a hug and her communication device played a sound that her aide said means "good." D. gave me a picture he had drawn of the classroom, labeled with everyone's name. My name was there. In crayon, on construction paper. I have it folded in my wallet.

Made banana pudding this week — from scratch, because this is December and I deserve banana pudding. Vanilla pudding base made from scratch with egg yolks and milk and sugar and cornstarch and vanilla, layered with Nilla wafers and sliced bananas in a big bowl. Let it set overnight. Ate it for breakfast on Friday, which is allowed when you have just finished student teaching.

It is allowed. I allowed it. The pudding was soft and sweet and tasted like my childhood, which is another way of saying it tasted like Patty's kitchen, which is another way of saying it tasted like being loved and fed and safe. Three more weeks. I am almost a teacher. I am already a teacher. I cannot figure out which one is true so I am just going to say both.

The banana pudding carried me through Friday morning, but the truth is I’d been thinking about baking something celebratory all week — something that felt like a reward you give yourself, not one you wait for someone else to hand you. These baked vanilla donuts have that same quality the pudding did: soft, sweet, deeply familiar, the kind of thing that tastes like being safe somewhere. Ms. Reyes told me to trust my instincts, and my instincts said: you finished something hard, now make something good.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 27 minutes | Servings: 12 donuts

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the vanilla glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2–3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sprinkles, optional

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a standard donut pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar until evenly combined.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — do not overmix. A few small lumps are fine.
Fill the pan. Spoon the batter into a zip-top bag, snip a corner, and pipe the batter evenly into the prepared donut cavities, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the donuts spring back lightly when touched and the edges are just golden. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and pourable. Add milk a little at a time to reach a dippable consistency.
Glaze and finish. Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze, letting the excess drip off. Return to the wire rack and top with sprinkles if desired. Let the glaze set for about 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Baked Vanilla Donuts — The Sweetest Way to Say You Made It