Not sure what is so addicting about these donuts (perhaps the fact that they’re fried?!), but I promise you they are. Everyone loves these homemade donuts.
Whether it’s for breakfast or just a treat, these homemade donuts are sure to knock off anyone’s socks! Best served warm, these goodies are right up there with our homemade cinnamon rolls!
Grandma’s Famous Donuts
This next recipe is an ALL-TIME family favorite. Whenever it gets cold or rainy, one of us kids is bound to text or call my mom and kindly ask if she’s up for making some Homemade Donuts.
Her donuts are famous in our family, and they are so good, we are constantly craving them!! (When we get lazy, we make our Biscuit Donuts as a backup). š
What’s the difference between store bought and homemade donuts?! You have to try them to know. They’re soft, warm, covered in a delicious glaze and melt in your mouth.
There are several steps to make these donuts, but we promise you they are still quite simple.
How to Make Homemade Donuts
Again – these donuts require yeast, so if you’re familiar with baking with yeast, you shouldn’t have a problem. If you’re a newby, we recommend following the directions to a T to help you out. š
Dissolve yeast in Ā¾ cup luke-warm water. Set aside. Heat 2 cups milk in microwave for 2-3 minutes.
While milk is heating add shortening (room temp) to a large bowl. Pour hot milk over it and whisk until mixed. Add salt, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add 4 eggs and mix well.
Add yeast mixture to batter and mix. Add 2 cups of flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Mix well. Add 2 more cups and mix. Add 2 more cups and mix. At this point, the batter should not be runny. Add 1 more cup of flour, give or take Ā½ cup.
- NOTE: You do not want your dough to be tough. Mix until your dough is smooth.
Sprinkle flour onto a clean surface and pour batter onto it. Gently knead dough batter until the surface is not sticky to the touch.
- NOTE: The dough should be very soft but not sticky that you can’t handle it fairly easily. Place the soft dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let rise for 1 to 1Ā½ hours. Dough should be about double in size when done.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about a 1 inch thickness. Cut the doughnuts out as closely as possible. You can save the middles for doughnut holes. Move donuts and holes to a clean surface. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1Ā½ hours.
Once the donuts and holes are done rising, fry them in a large frying pan with vegetable oil until golden brown. Be sure to fry the holes too, because they’re just as good to eat!
Can you fill donuts?
Yes, you can! To do this, be sure not to punch out the hole of your donut. Make and Fry as directed, and then insert your filling of choice (pudding, jelly, Nutella) into the side of the donut when it has cooled.
The Glaze
While donuts are frying make your donut Glaze.
To make glaze mix 7 cups powdered sugar with ā cup water and 2 tsp. vanilla. Add donuts to glaze as soon as they are done frying and make sure both sides are covered.
Place on a plate or wire rack to let excess glaze drain.
There are different variations of the glaze you can make. For example, you can also add a bit of cocoa powder to this glaze for a chocolate-y version.
You can also add any kinds of sprinkles or toppings. If you want more of a frosting, we recommend using less milk.
DONUT FAQ + TIPS
How do I store homemade donuts? Donuts will dry out if not stored properly. Place donuts in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the refrigerator for 5-6 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Can you make donuts ahead of time? Yes. You can make them up until step 5. Then cover and refrigerate until the next day. When ready to make, let come to room temp and let rise for an hour.
Can you bake donuts? Once donuts are done rising, you can also bake them. To do that, place on a lightly greased cookie tray, brush the tops with melted butter and then bake for 12-14 minutes making sure to rotate donuts half way in between.
Can you air fry homemade donuts? Yes you can, but keep in mind the finished texture may be different from an oil fried donut. Place a few donuts into the basket making sure they are not touching.
Close the air fryer, set to 350 degrees and fry for 5-8 Ā minutes. Length of time will depend on the size of your donuts. For donut holes fry for 3-4 minutes.
Like I mentioned, this recipe takes some time, but the donuts are just too good to not try it out for yourself. Trust us when we say you will LOVE them!!
For more breakfast treats, we love:
Homemade Donut Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp dry yeast
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup shortening room temp
- 2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 6 1/2-7 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in Ā¾ cup luke-warm water. Set aside.
- Heat 2 cups milk in microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- While milk is heating add shortening to a large bowl. Pour hot milk over it and whisk until mixed. Add salt, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add 4 eggs and mix well.
- Add yeast mixture to batter and mix. Add 2 cups of flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Mix well. Add 2 more cups and mix. Add 2 more cups and mix. At this point, the batter should not be runny. Add 1 more cup of flour, give or take Ā½ cup. NOTE: You do not want your dough to be tough. Mix until your dough is smooth.
- Sprinkle flour onto a clean surface and pour batter onto it. Gently knead dough batter until the surface is not sticky to the touch. NOTE: The dough should be very soft but not sticky that you can't handle it fairly easily. Place the soft dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let rise for 1 to 1Ā½ hours. Dough should be about double in size when done.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about a 1 inch thickness. Cut the doughnuts out as closely as possible. You can save the middles for doughnut holes. Move donuts and holes to a clean surface. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1Ā½ hours.
- Once the donuts and holes are done rising, fry them in a large frying pan with vegetable oil until golden brown.
- While donuts are frying make your Glaze. To make glaze mix 7 cups powdered sugar with ā cup water and 2 tsp. vanilla. Add donuts to glaze as soon as they are done frying and make sure both sides are covered. Place on a plate to let excess glaze drain.
Video
I don’t see what temp to fry these at? Am I completely missing it somewhere? I don’t fry very often, so have no clue on my own.
No worries. You can fry them on medium low to medium. If they start browning too fast, you can always lower the temp š Good luck!
Ok, I could eat way more than I should of these! They are so good & soft & that glaze is perfect!
These are the best doughnuts ever!!!
This looks like the saMe recipe my MIL uses and my husband LOVES! Seriously, heāll eat 10! I think ill use all your tips to try them here at home and SURPRISE him. Thanks for posting!
You will love these homemade donuts. They do take a little more time but truly worth the wait. Theres nothing like a fresh homemade donut!
Holy Moly these are good! Thanks for the recipe. Sometimes you just need a good donut!
At first when I mixed together the shortening and milk, the shortening curtled. Is that normal? anyway, when I finished mixing the dough together, It turned out just fine. It is totally worth the wait for these AWESOME doughnuts. I will totally use this recipe again!
Not usually, but I am glad they turned out š Thank you!
What can we use to substitute for the shortening?
I haven’t tried using anything else, but you could try butter or see what google would suggest.
Hi LUNA,
Thanks so sharing your recipe! Looks delicious and would love to try to make it. However, when I watched your video, I didn’t not see that you have added the eggs in your Dough, but there should be ADDED 4 EGGS in your recipe. So, could you please clarify if we need to add eggs or not?
Thank you very much! Hope you and your family stay healthy during the pandemic crisis!
Take care,
Hosuni
Yes, you do..so sorry…add the eggs after the sugar, cinnamon, salt, & nutmeg š Enjoy!!
This recipe was delicious. I made several variations (glazed, raspberry filled, lemon curd filled, brown sugar & Cinnamon bear claw) for different members of the family and all were a hit.
Perfect!! Happy they were a hit! Thank you!
Hi,
Can i make the dough sitting over night nad make the donuts in the morning?
Thanks!
Yes. You can make them up until step 5. Then cover and refrigerate until the next day. When ready to make, let come to room temp and let rise for an hour. Enjoy!!
Love this recipe! I have never made homemade donuts before, but i decided to give it a shot. My family devoured these and they were awesome! i let the dough rise for an extremely long time, as i was busy and wasnāt able to make them exactly after the recommended rise time, but I think that helped. Definitely will be making again!
That makes me so happy to hear! They go fast! Thanks for sharing that!
Made these yesterday with my 12 yr old daugHter. All went well except after cutting into DOUGHNUT shapes and letting rise, the middles of the DouGhnUts rose sO much they closed up and looked like bagels š
The glaze wAs also Pretty thick, following this reCipe to a T, so i would watch that when mixing. It all depends on the humidity and temp and your likIng. š
Great taste and texture and a big hit otherwise! First time using yeast for My daUghter and first time frying anytHing as well!
I am sorry they rose so much..haven’t had that happen before. I would add a tad more water to the glaze recipe, to get it the consistency you like. Glad you tried them! You’ll get it! š
Wow,it came out very well as I tried it at my home. Very delicious recipe, would like to get more recipes like this from here.
I hope you find more to try! Glad you liked them! Thank you!
You say To make glaze mix 7 cups powdered sugar with ā cup water and 2 tsp. vanilla. Then you say if you want more of a frosting we recommend using less milk. But the glaze says to use water…im confused.
It is with water, but if you want more of a frosting use milk, but less than the water amount. It just makes it thicker.
These doughnuts are amazing! It’s true, they take some time, but my kids will tell you it’s worth the wait:) I used coconut oil to fry the doughnuts and added maple syrup to the glaze. Delicious!
Thank you so much for saying that! I am so glad you tried them š They are our favorite fall treat!
Lovely and very helpful
Thank you so much š
really good but i had to make a couple revisions. The glaze was way to thick, more like icing, i added more water until i could dip the donuts easier.
It wasn’t enough flour when making the donuts, i had to add more. Not sure why they came out differsnt for me, but they’re still delicious! And the recipe is so simple and easy to follow, even for someone like me who sucks at cooking!
Lol..you’ll get it! Not sure why that happened either! Glad you liked them! Thank you!
Yayyyyy say my taste buds!!First time making donuts !! love it and so does everyone else!!!( just ate 10 of them)- and I’m a gourmet eater!! 10 stars!!!
LOL..love this!! Thank you so much for trying them š
Love the donuts!!!
Thank you so much!