Homemade Donuts

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4.98 from 71 votes

Grandma's famous melt-in-your-mouth glazed homemade donuts are utterly addicting and absolutely worth the effort!!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Rise3

Total Time3 50

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: + donut holes

Author: Kristyn Merkley

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

Prep ahead. Shape the dough into donuts, cover, and refrigerate until the next day. When ready to fry, let them come to room temperature and rise for an hour.

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.

Store loosely covered at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the refrigerator for 5-6 days, or in a freezer Ziploc and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition