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). 😉
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. 😉
Dissolve yeast in ¾ 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 ½ 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 1½ 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 1½ 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 ⅔ 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 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
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in ¾ 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 ½ 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 1½ 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 1½ 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 ⅔ 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
Recipe turned out perfect (Besides flour was still way too sticky prolly added a additional3 cups of flour. And I ended up with like 5 dozen donuts lol.I stopped at #5 the night before took it out of the fridge a few hrs in the am to warm up the dough some.Then kneaded a lil more with my hand also to warm it up.Rolled out the donuts. And noticed it has no temperature to cook on so started at med high wasnt hot enough so went to 375 .Fried for 2 minutes then flipped them..Then Made the original glazed ,chocolate glazed,caramel glazed and cinnamon and brown sugar.Will definitely use this recipe again .Thanx
Love all the glazes you made!! Thanks for sharing that!
We are trying this recipe for the first time. It sure makes a lot. Next time I will need to half the recipe. In the meantime, May I use the other half of this recipe to make your mini cinnamon rolls?
I have not tried that, so I can’t say for sure. One way to find out 🙂
Thease donuts were amazing definitely worth my time 💯! I have never made home made donuts before and i am 20 years old and wanted to bake something and this recipe was the right choice i made them for my friends and family and they loved them ! Thank u so much ! This guy is now happy lol i will do this again ! I will try some more of your recipes too 💯😍✨
I’m so glad they turned out so well and that your friends and family loved them so much! Thanks so much for trying it! It makes me happy to hear it was such a success!
This recipe sounds great but way too much.