Root Beer Float Mini Donuts

Well, summer is over and school has started for my oldest. I am hoping to get the little one in pre-school this year also. The house is so quiet and peaceful now. I have more free time to get back into my hobbies. Baking, of course, being one of them. I had a package of Root Beer Float Oreos in the pantry screaming to be used. I am surprised that I had not eaten them all. I love root beer and so does my daughter. I know it’s a bit on the sweet side, but once in a while I like to have a few sips. That’s why I love these Root Beer Float Mini Donuts I made with the Oreos, because they taste like root beer, but they aren’t super sweet.

If you like root beer, you have got to try these Root Beer Float Oreos. I know not all the crazy Oreo flavors are good, but I can vouch for these. These do taste like a Root Beer Float.

I used the same recipe to make these as I did for the Birthday Cake Oreo Mini Donuts I made for my daughter’s birthday party. Just crush up the Oreos and mix them in the batter. I baked them in my Babycakes machine but you can use the oven also. The donuts had a light hint of root beer flavor, just enough to make them tasty. I knew I was going to be adding more root beer flavor in the frosting, so it was perfect.

You can just frost them and skip the glaze, but I wanted jazz these babies up a little. So I dipped them in a chocolate coating and scooped the frosting on like a scoop of ice cream. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a mini scoop, so I just used a regular cookie scoop and filled it only half way.

I added more crushed Oreos to the frosting. Then I froze the frosting to be able to make my scoops. Then I put those scoops back into the freezer until it was time to assemble the donuts. That way they didn’t fall apart. After all the pieces are assembled you can just keep them in the fridge.

These would have been so cute for my daughter’s Donut Birthday Party. I love how creamy the frosting is and how well it goes with the chocolate glaze. Two perfect toppings for these Root Beer Float Mini Donuts. You’ve gotta try them!
Root Beer Float Mini Donuts
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3-4 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack marshmallow fluff Root Beer Float Oreos cocoa donuts American summer
Ingredients (36 mini donuts)
For the donuts
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cup crushed Root Beer Float Oreo cookies (about 15-17 cookies)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute, see note below)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- 2-2 1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
For the frosting
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups marshmallow fluff
- 10 Root Beer Float Oreos, crushed
Instructions
For the donuts
Preheat your Babycakes Mini Donut Maker.
Using a food processor, crush the Oreo cookies until you yield 1 1/2 cup of mixture.
In a medium bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and crushed Oreo cookies.
Next add the egg, buttermilk, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla. Using a hand mixer, blend until mixture is smooth.
Fill a piping bag or a Ziplock bag (with tip cut off), with the batter and fill each donut reservoir of your donut maker with about 2 tbsp of batter.
Bake for about 3-4 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of donut comes out clean.
Place hot donuts on cooling rack and cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze
In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, and vegetable shortening until smooth. You want the glaze to be a bit on the thick side.
Dip the tops of each cooled off donut in the mixture ,then place back on the cooling rack until the glaze is dry.
For the frosting
In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the powdered sugar.
Then add the marshmallow fluff and mix on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the crushed Oreo cookies and mix until well blended.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time and place frosting in the freezer for about a half hour.
Once hardened, use a cookie scoop to make frosting balls. (I used a regular cookie scoop and only filled it half way or you can use a mini cookie scoop.)
Place scoops on a waxed sheet of paper lined container and place back in the freezer until you are ready to assemble the final product and the glaze on the donuts has set.
Once glaze has set, remove frosting scoops from the freezer and carefully place on top of the donuts.
Feel free to add crushed Oreo bits, and/or sprinkles to the tops.
Notes:
If you are using a mini donut pan, bake your donuts in the oven at 425ºF for 3-4 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of donut comes out clean.
As a substitute for buttermilk, I used 1 tablespoon vinegar (white or rice) plus enough milk to equal 1 cup.
If you are going to skip the glaze and just frost the donuts, then half the frosting recipe. It will be enough. You can just drizzle some chocolate syrup over the frosting if you like.
I made the frosting before the glaze, so it was ready when the glaze had set.
Tomato Soup
Yesterday, I was working at Starbucks (Freelancers Central) when a lady standing by the doors tipped over into a drug-induced trance.
The baristas immediately called 9-1-1, but the woman sitting next to me, the one who’d seen the whole incident go down because she’d been standing outside making a phone call when it happened, just shook her head and informed me that the lady was ‘as high as a kite.’
Now that’s a feeling I can relate to. That world-weariness. After all, I had gone to school in the most psychedelic college town in the country (Berkeley), and lived in what is probably the most homeless-friendly big city in the WORLD (San Francisco). I’ve seen it all—so what if I’m only 26?—all the different variations of drug-induced catatonia and rants and everything in between.
This old man with white hair, he’s a regular who just hangs out in the cafe all day chatting with other regulars (except me, because I avoid eye contact with strangers, much in the style of Amelie Poulain), leapt up from his seat and raced outside, wanting to take charge of the situation. He reminded me of one of those alert guard dogs, the kind that’s been bred to inspect signs of disorder, and cleared aside the small crowd that had gathered around the woman to get a closer look.
He re-entered the cafe a few minutes later. “She’s on drugs,” he said disgustedly.
A few minutes later, the lady dizzily pushed herself up and teetered away. “She’s only on drugs,” Mr. Regular repeated, shaking his head.
This was when the firemen rushed onto the scene. They pulled up in their shiny truck with their sirens blaring, and parked gracefully into the empty space in front of the building that just happened to be big enough for one regular-sized fire truck.
“Did they need to bring so many men?” the woman beside me asked. Sure enough, five firemen stepped out, clad in their heavy protective gear. Men who meant business. Men who looked like they were ready to put out a fire.
“She doesn’t need firemen,” said Regular Man. “She needs to be slapped in the face and drenched with tomato soup!”
Tomato soup, now that’s an idea.

Did he mean what he said sadistically? Was he implying that the lady should be burned with a hot, acidic liquid as a sort of punishment? Or maybe he thought it would revivify her, the equivalent of pushing her into a molten pool. Or maybe he just wanted tomato soup for dinner and had made a Freudian slip.
Whatever the case, guessing does not change the fact: these are the kinds of moments that can inspire meals. I’m very easily persuaded, and I happen to really like tomato soup.

This recipe is one I’ve been making since my student days, so you can be sure that it’s low-maintenance. And it came in handy during my time in San Francisco, a city whose 365-days-per-year fog and gloom is enough to drive a person mad. You see, you need a soup as heartening as this to keep your spirits up, lest you succumb to drastic measures. Like quitting your job and chasing summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Well, that latter part was unintentional.
I don’t remember how I came upon this recipe anymore. I copied it long ago into a little pocket notebook that I have on me at all times—we all have one of these, I suspect—and have been faithfully following the same set of directions for a long time. I’m sure its source is not as obscure as I make it seem, but I prefer to keep it a mystery, for the sake of having a “family recipe” that I can pass down for generations. Or not. I don’t think that far ahead. (But it would be cool nonetheless.)
TOMATO SOUP
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & ground pepper to taste
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 small carrots, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped basil
- 1/4 cup cream or milk, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Strain tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with about 1 Tbsp olive oil. Roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat the rest of the oil on medium-low heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved juices, chicken broth, and bay leaves. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream if using. Puree with an immersion blender.
