Homemade Donuts
Grandma's famous melt-in-your-mouth glazed homemade donuts are utterly addicting and absolutely worth the effort!!
Servings: 30 + donut holes
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast
- ¾ cup lukewarm water, (110-115°F)
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 large eggs
- 7-7½ cups all-purpose flour
- vegetable oil, for frying
Glaze
- 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Set aside.
- Heat milk in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- While milk is heating, place shortening in a large bowl. Pour hot milk over it and whisk until mixed (there will still be a few shortening clumps).
- Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well with a wooden spoon or the mixer whisk attachment. Add eggs and continue to mix, then stir in the yeast mixture.
- Add 2 cups of flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Continue to add flour 1-2 cups at a time until the batter is no longer runny and is smooth.
- Place dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and gently knead dough until the surface is not too sticky to the touch. The dough should be very soft, but not so sticky that you cannot handle it fairly easily. Place the soft dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let rise for 1-1½ hours at room temperature. The dough should be about double in size when it's ready.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 1-inch thickness. Use a 3½-inch donut cutter to cut donuts out, cutting as closely as possible together and saving the middles for doughnut holes. Move donuts and holes to a clean surface, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 1-1½ hours.
- Make the glaze: Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Once the donuts and holes are done rising, fill a large frying pan with 1½ inches of vegetable oil and heat to 365-380°F. Working in batches, fry the donuts and holes until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side for donuts and about 2 minutes per side for donut holes.
- Remove each donut from the oil and immediately transfer to the bowl with the glaze. Turn to make sure both sides are coated, then place on a wire rack over parchment paper to let the excess glaze drain. Repeat to make the remaining donuts.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips.
- When letting the dough rise, proof by sight, not just time. Aim for roughly doubled volume with a bouncy, pillowy feel when pressed lightly.
- Fry a test donut first to confirm timing and color, then adjust the oil temperature or thickness before committing the full batch.
- Glaze while warm, not hot. If the glaze slides right off, let the donuts cool 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Make filled donuts. Instead of using a donut cutter that creates the signature doughnut hole, use a large round cookie cutter. Rise and fry as directed. Once cool, use a piping tool to add your filling of choice (pudding, jelly, Nutella) through the side of the donut.
- You can bake or air fry the donuts, but note the texture will be different:
- Bake. Place on a lightly greased cookie tray and brush the tops with melted butter. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10-12 minutes, rotating donuts halfway in between, and bake until golden brown.
- Air fry. Working in batches, place some donuts into the basket, making sure they are not touching. Close the air fryer, set to 350°F. Fry for 6-10 minutes. The length of time will depend on the size of your donuts. For donut holes, fry for 3-5 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1donut | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Vitamin C: 0.004mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 3mg