Homemade Glazed Donuts are a light and fluffy yeast doughnut. These delicious glazed donuts are dipped in a simple glaze and so much better than any store-bought glazed doughnuts.
These taste just like Krispy Kreme donuts recipe!
Who doesn’t love things homemade? I know I surely do. And anything cooked or made in a cast iron skillet is sure to be even better. And Homemade Glazed Donuts are no exception!
I have fond memories of my mom making homemade donuts when we were young. They are fairly easy to make and you can even have the kids help! She often made an Old-Fashioned Doughnut (or what they sometimes call a cake doughnut.) Be sure and try my Homemade Jelly Donuts.
You’ll need a doughnut cutter for this glazed donut recipe. Save yourself time and aggravation and order it on Amazon!
How to make Glazed Donuts:
Step 1: Make the apple fritter dough as directed, then roll out to about ¾-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Then cut out doughnuts and holes with a 3 ½-inch doughnut cutter. Rub the doughnut cutter in plenty of flour for each cut you make. Twist the doughnut cutter back and forth a bit and gently bang out the doughnut onto the counter.
Step 2: Place the doughnuts and holes onto a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. You’ll want to give them a little room to rise on the sheet pan. (I generally put 3 doughnuts in each row and you’ll fit about a dozen on each half sheet pan)
Step 3: Cover loosely with plastic wrap and plop in the refrigerator overnight. This way, they’ll proof in the fridge and you’ll have most of the work done in the morning. Just get to frying them up fresh.
I’m frying these babies up in a Lodge 13.5-inch cast iron skillet. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F and maintain that. Use a digital thermometer to monitor your temperature. Canola oil is my personal preference, because it doesn’t add any flavor to your doughnuts. Fry them on each side about 1 minute or so, flipping only once. Use a slotted spoon to lift them out of the hot oil and let drip dry on a half sheet pan lined with paper towels.
How to make Glazed Donut glaze:
Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 4-5 tablespoons whole milk and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. You’ll want your glaze to be fairly thin, so it just coats the doughnuts and drips off. You can add more milk if you need to make it thinner. Glazing doughnuts is simple, just dip the top side and let them air dry on a baking rack set over parchment paper.
If you love this glazed donut recipe, you’ll love my Blueberry Cake Donuts, Apple Cider Donuts, Pumpkin Donuts, and Red Velvet Donuts. For more great breakfast and brunch recipes be sure and try Homemade Apple Pie, Apple Hand Pies, Blackberry Pie Recipe, Apple Fritter Recipe, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
Making Homemade Glazed Donuts:
The dough is quite sticky- don’t add more flour because otherwise you might make them tough. You want the dough to be light and airy. Hence why you let the dough rise twice, even before you cut into doughnuts. Yes, this recipe takes some time. But, make them the day before- I usually make them in the afternoon/evening. Refrigerate overnight, then fry them fresh in the morning.
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Glazed Doughnuts
Ingredients
Glazed Donuts:
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 1 ½ cups milk warm
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
Donut Icing:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-5 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk, sugar, honey and eggs. Add the dough hook attachment, and stir in the flour and salt. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the dough. Scrape the bowl a few times. Beat the dough until it becomes smooth, about 5-7 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5-6 minutes, making a smooth dough. This dough is going to be sticky when you turn it out. After kneading, shape into a round ball and place back into the greased mixing bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and drape with a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes. Turn back into the greased bowl (spray with cooking spray again if needed) and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Whisk together your icing. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. You want it to be fairly thin.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about ½-inch thickness. Lightly flour a doughnut cutter and use it to cut out the doughnuts, then place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Let the doughnuts rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.*
- Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels and set aside. In a large heavy-duty pot, add about 3-inches of canola oil. Heat to a temperature of 375 degrees F. Drop about 4 doughnuts into the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly golden brown. Remove the doughnuts from the oil and allow to drain on the paper towels.
- Let cool slightly before dipping only the tops in the icing. Let drip dry on a cooling rack, placed on a parchment lined half sheet pan. Once the icing is set, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
PREP AHEAD TIP:
You can let the doughnuts proof in the fridge overnight. After you cut the doughnuts with a donut cutter, place them on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover the half sheet pan loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in the fridge overnight. Then fry up fresh in the morning!Nutrition
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Gail says
I just made this recipe yesterday and it’s amazing! My family say they are better than one of our local bakery’s donuts that we all love. This was my first time making donuts on my own and the recipe was easy to follow.
Jessica Robinson says
So happy to hear you had success your first time making them and enjoyed them so much!
Judy says
I haven’t made these yet. 5 to 7 minutes of needing… can’t this be done in your stand mixer with your dough hook?
Jessica Robinson says
Judy,
Thanks for stopping by. This is brioche dough. It’s preferred to hand knead it, otherwise your dough can potentially become overworked and tough.
Alexis says
Hi,
Quick question I wanted to know how would I go about using instant yeast?
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Alexis,
You would skip the second rise and go right into rolling out the dough and cutting donuts if using instant yeast.
Rosie says
Hello! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe I’ve made it a few times now and it’s a big hit with my neighbours who I’ve been treating with goodies during this pandemic 😆
Just wondering do you know if it’s possible to freeze the shaped uncooked doughnuts? Thaw and then fry at a later date or maybe cook and freeze them before icing, just I’d like to be able to have them “on demand” haha! Thank you again! Xx
Jessica Robinson says
Rosie,
Oh thank you so much!! Glad to hear you are enjoying this recipe. I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze them uncooked. We freeze cinnamon rolls with a similar dough and they come out great.
Rollie says
Awesome, and a lot of fun to make…thx.
Jessica Robinson says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Kristin says
I made these today! They were easy & turned out amazing! The glaze is perfect! Will definitely make again!
Jessica Robinson says
Kristin,
So happy to hear that you loved them! Glad they came out great! Thanks for letting me know!
Gina says
I sont know if I’ll get my answer in time…I plan on making these tomorrow night, to fry up saturday morning. My question is, can I leave the cut doughnuts out on the countertop instead of the fridge for the last rise? (not sure I’ll have the fridge space to put them in there overnight) would they spoil if I left them out on the counter, or rise too much and ruin them? Anyway, just wondering. Thank you!
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Gina,
Of course! You can let them do their final rise on the counter, vs. the fridge… But that won’t take too long. (See my notes in the directions) They WILL spoil (and over proof) if you leave them out on the counter overnight. Let me know if you have more questions!
Lorraine says
Hi I’m uncertain about this step, do you put the shaped donuts and holes in the fridge overnight or before they are shaped?
Thank you
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Lorraine,
You cut the doughnuts & holes and place on a parchment lined half sheet pan… possibly two pans, so they are spaced out with a little room so they can rise and not stick to each other. Cover the entire tray loosely with plastic wrap and plop in the fridge overnight. Fry up fresh in the morning. Let me know if you have other questions!
Hannah says
Perfect recipe. The doughnut was light and airy. Such a yummy flavor too.. My husband loved them and kept going on about how good they were. I didn’t have any canola oil so I fried in a mix of coconut oil and butter. Next time I may try the canola. It did take a very long time with all the proving but was totally worth it.
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Hannah!!
Thanks for telling us about the doughnuts! Yes, love to fry in canola oil because it doesn’t flavor the doughnuts. All you taste is delicious, light and fluffy doughnuts!