• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Fantabulosity logo

  • All Recipes
  • Vintage Recipes
  • Holiday
  • Dinner Theme System
  • About
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Theme Night Dinner System
  • Dinner
  • Desserts
  • Holidays
  • Contact
  • About Jessica
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts

    By: Jessica · Posted: Jan 13, 2022 · Updated: Jun 19, 2024 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    • Facebook
    Jump to Recipe 0 comments
    5 from 1 vote
    circus animal donuts stacked

    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts: Cake mix donuts with frosted circus animal cookies inside, it doesn’t get more fun than this! With just 5 simple ingredients you can have these tasty cake donuts ready to go for breakfast or a birthday party in under 20 minutes!

    Move over bunny in the hole cake donuts, I think this circus animal cookie dessert takes the cake (hehe, get it?) for the best dessert this Easter. These bright colors just scream springtime!

    Stacked circus animal Cookie Donuts, next to a glass of milk
    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts

     

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    Have you had circus animal cookies before; you know, the pink and white frosted cookies in the shape of circus animals?

    If you have, then I bet your mouth is watering right now just thinking about them. If you’ve never had them, you’ll just have to trust me that they are SO good!

    These homemade baked donuts are so easy to make, and the crushed circus animal cookies inside add a super fun and flavorful twist!

    You’ll also love these red velvet donuts and these chocolate brownie donuts!

    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients needed for these baked donuts
    • Instructions for this easy baked donut recipe
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Expert Tips and FAQs
    • Related Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments
    Circus Animal Cookie Donut with bite taken out
    Surprise: Circus Animal Cookies Inside!

    Ingredients needed for these baked donuts

    5 ingredients- that’s it, that’s all you need to make this fun baked donut recipe!

    • 1 box yellow cake mix, dry
    • 2 cups mashed ripe bananas*
    • 1 cup crushed frosted animal crackers
    • 1- 16 oz container vanilla or cream cheese frosting
    • Colored sprinkles

    You’ll also need cooking spray and a ziplock bag or pastry bag.

    Ingredients on white table to make donuts
    Ingredients for pink donuts

    Instructions for this easy baked donut recipe

    1. Preheat your oven to 425° F and grease a donut baking pan.
    2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher.
    Bananas mashed in bowl
    Mash the bananas.
    1. Stir in the dry yellow cake mix until just combined. Gently fold in the crushed circus animal crackers.
    Add the cake mix and stir to combine.
    Add cake mix.
    Stir in the crushed circus animal cookies.
    Fold in crushed animal cookies.
    1. Pour the mixture into a large ziplock bag. Cut the tip off of one corner of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity until it’s about ⅔ full.
    Pipe your donut batter into your greased donut pan.
    Put batter in a ziplock bag.
    Fill each donut hole ⅔ full with batter.
    Fill each donut cup ⅔ full.
    1. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the donuts are cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the donut comes out clean.
    2. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
    Bake 7-8 mins at 425°F.
    Bake 7-8 mins.
    Cool 5-10 mins in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.
    Cool 5 mins in pan, transfer to cooling rack.
    1. Add the frosting to a microwave-safe bowl and warm in the microwave for 10-20 seconds until it’s a runny consistency (this makes dipping easier).
    2. Dip each donut upside down into the frosting and return to the cooling rack right-side up. Immediately add colored sprinkles on top of the donuts before the frosting sets. 
    3. Allow to fully cool before serving, enjoy!
    Melt your icing in the microwave so it's a runny consistency.
    Melt icing.
    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts
    Dip donut in icing then add sprinkles.

    Substitutions

    If you are out of bananas, you may try substituting 2 cups of applesauce for the bananas.

    For those of you who eat a gluten-free diet, try using Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Funfetti Mix instead of the yellow cake mix and folding in crushed gluten-free animal cracker-like Kinnikritters.

    We haven’t tried this yet, so if you do please let us know how it goes in the comments below!

    Variations

    I realize that the pink and white circus animal cookies are not available in all countries.

    If you don’t have these cookies where you live, you could experiment with other kinds of cookies! You could also experiment with the icing for the top of the donuts. Chocolate, lemon, cherry…the frosting options are endless!

    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts
    Animal Cookie Donuts

    Equipment

    You’ll need to have a donut pan or two in order to make these baked cake donuts. You can order a donut pan online, but you should also be able to find it at your local Walmart or other similar stores.

    Storage

    Store these oven-baked donuts in an airtight container for up to 1-2 day at room temperature, or 5-7 days in the refrigerator.

    Circus Animal Cookies Donuts
    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts

    Expert Tips and FAQs

    I can’t find circus animal cookies, what else can I use?

    If you don’t have these cookies where you live, you could experiment with other kinds of cookies!

    I think a birthday cake Oreo cookie would be a fun substitute for the circus animal cookies, but you can always walk down the cookie aisle at your local grocery store and find something fun to test out!

    Where can I get a cake donut pan?

    You can order a donut pan online (as mentioned above), but you should also be able to find it at your local Walmart or other similar stores.

    Can I use homemade frosting instead of store-bought?

    Absolutely! If you would prefer, you can make 16 ounces of your favorite frosting and use that to ice your donuts. You will still need to warm it up in the microwave a bit so it is dippable consistency.

    One note here- any buttercream frosting recipe should work for this, but a meringue or marshmallow frosting would most likely not be a good choice.

    Related Recipes

    If you enjoyed these circus animal cookie donuts, you’ll love these birthday cake donuts from my friend Karina, or our other donut recipes like our donut burger recipe and our donut bread pudding!

    Recipe

    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts

    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts

    Jessica Burgess
    Circus Animal Cookie Donuts: Cake mix donuts with frosted circus animal cookies inside, it doesn't get more fun than this! With just 5 simple ingredients you can have these tasty cake donuts ready to go in under 20 minutes!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 8 minutes mins
    Total Time 18 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 donuts
    Calories 280 kcal

    Equipment

    • donut baking pan like this one

    Ingredients

    • 1 box yellow cake mix dry
    • 2 cups ripe bananas* mashed
    • 1 cup frosted animal crackers
    • 1- 16 ounce can vanilla or cream cheese frosting
    • coloured sprinkles
    • cooking spray
    • ziplock bag or piping bag

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat your oven to 425° F and grease a donut baking pan.
    • In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher.
    • Stir in the dry yellow cake mix until just combined. Gently fold in the crushed circus animal crackers.
    • Pour the mixture into a large ziploc bag. Cut the tip off of one corner of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity until it's about ⅔ full.
    • Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the donuts are cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the donut comes out clean.
    • Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
    • Add the frosting to a microwave safe bowl and warm in the microwave for 10-20 seconds until it's a runny consistency (this makes dipping easier).
    • Dip each donut upside down into the frosting and return to the cooling rack right-side up. Immediately add colored sprinkles on top of the donuts before the frosting sets. 
    • Allow to fully cool before serving, enjoy!

    Notes

    *2 cups of applesauce can be substituted for the bananas.
     
    STORAGE: Store in an airtight container for up to 1-2 day at room temperature, or 5-7 days in the refrigerator.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1donut | Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 417mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 33IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords baked donuts, cake donuts, circus animal cookie donuts, circus animal cookies
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Easy Breakfast Recipes

    • Close up of old fashioned sausage gravy poured across biscuits, sitting on a white plate.
      Old Fashioned Sausage Gravy
    • Three crepes on a plate filled with a cream cheese filling.
      Cream Cheese Filling For Crepes
    • Ham and cheese croissant bake serving being lifted out of baking dish.
      Ham and Cheese Croissant Bake
    • Candied bacon pieces on rectangular plate, showing syrup and brown sugar sprinkled on top.
      Smoked Candied Bacon
    Subscription Form

    Get 5 Days of Delicious & Easy Dinner Recipes!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Jessica Burgess of Fantabulosity, slicing an avocado.

    Hi, I'm Jessica! - Owner and Creator of the blog and brand, Fantabulosity.

    I’m here to teach you how to make quick and easy recipes, using simple ingredients, that your family will love.

    More about me →

    Summer Recipes

    • Close-up of pinwheel sandwiches stacked on top of one another.
      Pinwheel Sandwiches
    • Chicken macaroni salad in a bowl.
      The BEST Chicken Macaroni Salad
    • Chicken salad with grapes and apples, sitting on bread.
      Chicken Salad with Grapes and Apples
    • Serving of banana pudding on small plate.
      Quick & Easy Banana Pudding

    Popular Recipes

    • bread pudding in baking dish
      Bread Pudding Recipe: Easy Old Fashioned Recipe (With Video!)
    • Burger baked in the oven, steamed in aluminum foil, and placed on white plate.
      Burgers in the Oven
    • Oven Baked Steak with Butter and a side of potatoes
      How to Cook Steak in the Oven
    • Strawberry brownies on white marble cutting board.
      Strawberry Brownies Recipe
    • Cheeseburger Sliders
      Cheeseburger Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls
    • Baked BBQ Pork Steaks on white plate
      Pork Steaks in the Oven

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Featured In

    About

    • About Jessica
    • Contact
    • Collaborate
    • 5 Days of Delicious Dinners

    Easy Recipes

    • All Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts

    How to Cook

    • Oven-Baked
    • Stove-Top
    • No Bake
    • Slow Cooker

    Privacy Policy |Accessibility Copyright © 2025 Fantabulosity | Terms & Conditions | FTC

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.