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Margarita Donuts #NationalMargaritaDay

Published: February 22, 2014 / Updated: April 24, 2023 / 28 Comments

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For me, margaritas bring forth thoughts of warm summer weather and good times with friends. And those are all things that I could use more of lately!

So when I was asked to join a group of bloggers in celebrating National Margarita Day, I headed over to the liquor cabinet to get geared up.

Margarita Donuts

There are all sorts of fun flavors of margaritas out there, but I thought it would be fun to do something really different.

Something that would give you an excuse to consume tequila before 9am work as breakfast or dessert. Or both. We’re in a judgement free zone here.

These donuts have lime zest running through them, and they’re glazed with a tequila and orange liqueur-laced icing.

They’re also baked instead of fried, and are made with half whole wheat flour, so they’re essentially health food. Breakfast of champions, without a doubt.

Margarita Donuts

I like my margaritas on the rocks with a salted rim, so I decided to give each of these donuts a “salted rim” by sprinkling a pinch of sea salt on top of the glaze before it set. My husband loved that addition. What can I say, the tequila inspired me.

Be sure not to over-mix your donut batter or they’ll be tough and you’ll end up needing a shot of tequila to wash them down. Now that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? 😉

Check out what everyone else contributed to this holiday celebration in the roundup after my recipe below. Cheers!

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Overhead view of a plate of donuts with lime wedges on a green plate.

Margarita Donuts

  • Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli
  • Yield: 6 Donuts 1x
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Description

These donuts have lime zest running through them, and they’re glazed with a tequila and orange liqueur-laced icing.

Ingredients

Scale

For the donuts:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk

For the glaze:

  • 1 teaspoons tequila
  • 2 teaspoons orange liqueur, such as triple sec
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar (you may need a little more or less)

For garnish:

  • Sea salt

Instructions

For the donuts:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Melt butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and lime zest in a large bowl. Set aside.
  3. Whisk sugar, honey, egg, and vanilla into the cooled butter until well combined. Whisk in buttermilk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
  4. Pour batter into a piping bag (or zip-top plastic bag with a corner snipped off) and pipe evenly into the pan.
  5. Bake donuts for 7 minutes. Allow to cool 1 minute before turning pan over to remove donuts onto a cooling rack. Let them cool completely – about 15-20 minutes.

For the glaze:

  1. Once the donuts are cool, in a flat-bottomed bowl, whisk together tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and zest until evenly combined. Slowly whisk in powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add another splash of tequila. If it is too thin, add in a little more powdered sugar.
  2. Dip the donuts into the glaze, rocking back and forth to evenly coat them on one side, and place back on the cooling rack, iced side up. Repeat if desired, for a thicker coating. Sprinkle the top of each donut with a pinch of sea salt while the glaze is still wet.
  3. Allow glaze to set, about 20 minutes. Serve straight up, down the hatch.
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Need more margarita action? Check out the roundup below to see what the other National Margarita Day participants came up with. I’d like to think of it as a to-do list of sorts. Bottoms up!!

Margaritas:

Margarita Bites:

Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.

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