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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.
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.
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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Margarita Donuts
- Yield: 6 Donuts 1x
Description
These donuts have lime zest running through them, and they’re glazed with a tequila and orange liqueur-laced icing.
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Zest of 1 lime
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ 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
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar (you may need a little more or less)
For garnish:
- Sea salt
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pour batter into a piping bag (or zip-top plastic bag with a corner snipped off) and pipe evenly into the pan.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Allow glaze to set, about 20 minutes. Serve straight up, down the hatch.
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:
- Blackberry Margarita from Cooking for My Peace of Mind
- Chili Lime Margarita from Curious Cuisiniere
- Frozen Mango Margarita from Noshing with the Nolands
- Lilikoi Margarita with Li Hung Mui from The Little Ferraro Kitchen
- Margaritas Gone Wild from Delaware Girl Eats
- Mixed Berry Margarita from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
- Mom's Wicked Margarita from Desserts Required
- Pomegranate Margarita from Daily Dish Recipes
- Spicy Raspberry Frozen Margarita from The Weekend Gourmet
- Tamarind Margaritas from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
- The Great Grapefruit Margarita from La Cocina de Leslie
- Tim G's Margarita from Sidewalk Shoes
Margarita Bites:
- Baked Margarita Chicken Wings from Healthy. Delicious.
- Margarita Cake with Sugar Cookie Crust from Gotta Get Baked
- Margarita Cheesecake Bars from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Margarita Cupcakes from The Foodie Army Wife
- Margarita Donuts from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
- Strawberry Margarita Sweet Rolls from The Dutch Baker's Daughter
Camilla Mann
Now where did I put that donut pan?! I still have some tequila left from my truffles!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Those truffles looked fabulous, too!!
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere
This is the PERFECT excuse to break out the bottle of tequila for breakfast!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Glad to be an enabler 😉
Tara
What a great idea for the flavors of a margarita!! So clever!! I will join you at 8:00 am!!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Such a great collection of margarita recipes!
Betsy @ Desserts Required
Great post and delicious way to celebrate National Margarita Day! It is always 5:00 p.m. somewhere!
Heather @girlichef.com
Healthy breakfast margaritas - YES! 🙂 Seriously, this was a brilliant idea, and I want a couple right this minute.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
They disappear QUICKLY! Thanks again for getting this group together - it was delicious!
Liz
What a delicious way to start the day! YUMMY!
Danielle Imstuffed
What a great twist!!! I might want to wash them down with a lot of tequila...just because its National Margarita Day of course! 🙂 Cheers!!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
I applaud your holiday spirit 😉
littleredkitchen
Love the addition of the salt! Great looking donuts, I certainly wouldn't mind one or three. 🙂
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thank you! Sweet and salty is always a good idea 🙂
Samantha Ferraro
I like my margaritas on the rocks with salt as well!! 🙂
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
It's the best way! Who wants a watered down margarita?
Pam Armstrong Greer
Oh my gosh you just combined two of my most favorite things in the whole world!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Cheers! 🙂
Joanne (eats well with others)
Starting your day with liquor and in a totally acceptable way! I love it.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
And cake. It's basically booze-soaked cake for breakfast, and I love it!
Nancy
Ermagawd these donuts look ridiculously good! I love seeing the bright flecks of lime zest in the glaze. These donuts plus a few margaritas would make the perfect breakfast!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thank you so much! I figured they'd be a little plain without the green flecks, plus it added lots of flavor. Cheers!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thank you! Love the name of your blog, too 🙂
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Started AND ended a few days with these beauties 😉
Julie
Well, I'm adding this to the very long list of reasons I need to get a doughnut pan!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Donut pans are the best! And they don't take up much room in your cabinets, either 🙂
joni
Love the addition of the salt! Great looking donuts, I certainly wouldn’t mind one or three. thanks for sharing this article with us.
Ashley
Thanks! Yeah this was a fun one for sure. It's been a while since I've made them - I may just need to make another batch 🙂