This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Post Consumer Brands. All opinions are entirely my own.
Early mornings in our house are busy and slightly stressful – not the way I like my kids to start their days. So, I decided to surprise my kids with a treat that would bring a smile to their faces as they headed out the door for a long day of school and activities. Looking to the pantry for inspiration, I decided to base the treat on their favorite cereal, Malt-O-Meal® Cinnamon Toasters, and I worked up this recipe for Cinnamon Donut Holes with Cream Cheese Filling.
I was excited about incorporating the Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters since they’re made with whole grain wheat and don’t contain high fructose corn syrup. Even though this was going to be a treat, I was happy that it wouldn’t be completely devoid of nutrition.
Baked Cinnamon Donut Holes
Because I’m just as busy as my kids, I tried a quick and easy option first. Instead of standing over a hot stove, I opted to make my donut holes in a mini muffin tin.
📋 Recipe
Baked Cinnamon Donut Holes with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup Cinnamon Toasters cereal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease well with olive oil and a paper towel.
- Grind cereal in a food processor or blender until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine cereal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
- Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk the batter until smooth and free of lumps.
- In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended.
- Spoon a small amount of dough into each muffin cup (just enough to cover the bottom and no more than 1/4 full) and gently tap pan against a flat surface to flatten dough.
- Form cream cheese mixture into small balls (about the size of a marble) and drop one in each muffin cup.
- Top cream cheese balls with just enough dough to cover them (no more than 3/4 full).
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
They tasted AMAZING, but because they looked like mini muffins instead of actual donut holes, I got some criticism from my beloved children. I wish I had a cake pop pan, but I don’t, so I had to figure out how to fry these cinnamon donut holes instead.
Fried Cinnamon Donut Holes
Unfortunately, the dough for the baked cinnamon donut holes was too runny to shape into balls to fry so I had to tweak the recipe and add some more flour.
Even with the added flour, the dough is really sticky so I wasn’t able to shape it into balls around the cream cheese by rolling it between my palms. After much experimentation, I found that the least messy way to shape the donut holes was to drop the cream cheese balls into the dough and use two spoons to fish them out and sculpt the dough around it.
The kids were much happier with this version, not only because they were round, but also because frying gave them a nice, crisp crust.
📋 Recipe
Cinnamon Donut Holes with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
- Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- Dough:
- 1 cup Cinnamon Toasters cereal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cooking oil for frying
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended.
- Form small balls of cream cheese (about a teaspoon) and set them on a plate lined with wax paper.
- Refrigerate cream cheese balls while you prepare the dough.
- Grind cereal in a food processor or blender until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine cereal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
- Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk the batter until smooth and free of lumps.
- Fill a small frying pan halfway with oil. Heat oil to 375°F. While waiting for the oil to heat, line a platter or two large plates with paper towels.
- Remove cream cheese balls from the refrigerator.
- One at a time, drop a cream cheese ball into the dough. Using two spoons, lift the ball out of the dough, coating it with dough in the process. Carefully transfer the dough-covered cream cheese ball to the hot oil. Only fry 2-3 at a time to prevent crowding in the pan.
- Fry the donut holes for one minute then flip over with a slotted spoon and cook for an additional minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove donut holes from the pan and transfer to paper towels.
Nutrition
We normally stock Malt-O-Meal cereals since unlike boxed cereal, they last more than a couple of days in my house full of hungry kids. Along with Cinnamon Toasters, we also love S’Mores and Golden Puff cereals. Plus, the bags reseal so I don’t end up with cereal spills in the pantry. And for those of you who are environmentally conscious, consider the fact that Malt-O-Meal cereal results in substantially less waste than boxed cereal which comes in a bag INSIDE a box. In addition, Malt-O-Meal partners with TerraCycle to recycle the packaging.
If you’re having a hard time finding them, make sure to check the bottom shelf of the cereal aisle (which is where they are in my local Food Lion).
