For the Donuts: Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare mini donut pan with butter and a dusting of flour. 

In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm milk. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. Stir in the salt, egg and sugar until combined. Blend in melted butter and vanilla. Let the batter rest in a warm area for an hour and a half. The batter should become bubbly. 

For easy clean up, place batter in pastry bag and pipe batter evenly into prepared pan or spoon in donut batter. 

Bake 10 -11 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of donuts. Immediately invert donuts onto a cooling rack. While hot, using tongs or chop sticks roll donuts in gingerbread sugar or dunk them in sticky gingerbread glaze. 

Makes 12 mini donuts. Eat these babies fresh. Best while warm. 

Gingerbread Sugar:

In a small bowl mix the sugar and spice together until blended. For best results roll the donuts in sugar while warm.  

Glaze:

In a small bowl add maple syrup, melted butter, powdered sugar, water and gingerbread spice. Whisk until smooth. Dunk the donuts in glaze or drizzle on top while donuts are on baking rack. 

Notes:

If you lack a mini donut pan, a mini muffin pan will work just fine. Everyone loves a donut hole.