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    Home » Recipes » EASY Jelly Donuts

    Published: Jun 9, 2020 · Modified: Feb 24, 2021 by Jessica Robinson · This post may contain affiliate links

    EASY Jelly Donuts

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    Jelly donuts lined up against each other in metal loaf pan.

    Homemade Jelly Donuts filled with raspberry jam is one of my favorite donuts recipe. Light and fluffy homemade donuts coated in granulated sugar and filled with raspberry jam.

    Homemade donuts in a metal loaf pan

    One of my fondest memories growing up on a small farm, was my mom making homemade doughnuts. She would stand in our small kitchen frying doughnuts, while an auburn color Golden Retriever impatiently waited at her feet for donut holes to drop.

    She mostly made an old-fashioned cake-style doughnut. They barely had time to cool before we were popping them into our mouths! Inspired by my mom, I’m sharing my recipe for Homemade Jelly Donuts.

    doughnut dough in a mixing bowl.

    Making homemade donuts isn’t hard, it just takes a good amount of time for the dough to rise.

    To help save time, often times, I’ll make donuts in the afternoon/evening and let them have their final proof in the fridge overnight. Try my Glazed Donuts and Apple Fritters.

    How to make jelly donuts

    Jelly doughnuts lined up against each other in a metal loaf pan, filled with raspberry seedless jam

    Step 1: In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk, sugar, honey and eggs.

    Use the dough hook attachment, and stir in the flour and salt. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.

    Step 2: 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.

    donut dough being rolled out on a piece of white marble and wooden rolling pin with red handles.

    Step 3: 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 1-2 hours.

    Step 4: 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.

    cutting out donuts with a donut cutter.

    Step 5: Roll out the dough to about ¾-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Then cut out doughnuts with a 3 ½-inch round 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 6: Place the doughnuts evenly 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)

    rolling freshly fried donuts in granulated sugar in a bowl.

    Step 7: 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.

    Step 8: Take the donuts out of the fridge and let them warm up while your oil heats up. Place about 3-4 inches deep of canola oil in a 12-inch or 13.5-inch cast iron skillet.

    Heat up the oil over medium heat to 375 degree F canola oil. Use a digital thermometer to maintain 375 degrees at all times while frying doughnuts.

    filling homemade donuts with raspberry jam.

    Cook a few doughnuts at a time for about 1-2 minutes per side. Once fried, place them on a sheet pan lined with plenty of paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil.

    While they are still warm, gently toss in granulated sugar.

    Fill Jelly Donuts with store-bought Raspberry or Strawberry Jam

    Place preserves or jelly into a disposable pastry bag with a pastry tip and insert the tip into the side of a doughnut. Squeeze preserves or jelly into each donut to fill. Enjoy immediately or within a day or so.

    donuts lined up in a metal loaf pan.

    You can also roll them in powdered sugar. But, but sure and wait until the donuts are completely cooled before rolling in powdered sugar. I hope you enjoy these jelly donuts as much as we do!

    two jelly donuts dusted in sugar and filled with raspberry jam sitting on a white plate

    And for more great doughnut recipes, try Apple Cider Donuts, Blueberry Cake Donuts, Homemade Pumpkin Donuts, and Red Velvet Donuts.

    Did you make one of my recipes? Please take a moment to leave a star rating. Also, if you are on Pinterest, please feel free to leave a comment there and a photo if you have one! Follow Farmgirl’s Kitchen on FACEBOOK and PINTEREST and subscribe my mailing list for ALL the latest recipes!

    5 from 5 votes
    jelly donuts lined up against each other in a metal loaf pan lined with parchment paper
    Print Rate this Recipe

    Jelly Donuts

    Prep Time3 hrs
    Cook Time3 mins
    Total Time3 hrs 3 mins
    Light and fluffy doughnut dough made into delicious jelly doughnuts. Simple to make at home.
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Southern
    Servings: 18 donuts
    Calories: 230kcal
    Author: Jessica Robinson

    Equipment

    • Doughnut Cutter (round)

    Ingredients

    Jelly Doughnuts

    • 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
    • ¼ cup lukewarm water
    • 1 ½ cups whole milk warm
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 3 large eggs room temperature
    • 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
    • canola oil for frying
    • sugar to coat doughnuts
    • 1 (18-ounce) jar Raspberry preserves or jelly (seedless jam or preserves)

    Instructions

    Jelly Doughnuts

    • 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.
    • Roll out the dough to about ¾-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Then cut out doughnuts with a 3 ½-inch round 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.
    • Place the doughnuts evenly 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) 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.
    • OR To make doughnuts immediately, let the doughnuts rise on the counter for about 30 minutes. (Cover the tray loosely with plastic wrap or with a clean kitchen cloth)
    • Place about 3-4 inches deep of canola oil in a 12-inch or 13.5-inch cast iron skillet. Heat up the oil over medium heat to 375 degree F canola oil. Use a digital thermometer to maintain 375 degrees at all times while frying doughnuts.
    • Cook a few doughnuts at a time for about 1-2 minutes per side. Flip carefully. Once fried, place them on a sheet pan lined with plenty of paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil. While they are still warm, gently toss in granulated sugar.
    • Place preserves or jelly into a pastry bag with a pastry tip and insert the tip into the side of a doughnut. Squeeze in preserves or jelly to fill. Enjoy immediately with a fresh cup of coffee, if desired.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 230IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @AFarmgirlsKitchen or tag #afarmgirlskitchen!

    Disclosure: As an Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on A Farmgirl’s Kitchen and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you!  I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa Hatfield says

      June 01, 2022 at 10:08 am

      5 stars
      A great jelly donut recipe, it works every single time! Jessica, thanks for sharing your family recipes.

      Reply
    2. Seanna Borrows says

      June 01, 2022 at 9:45 am

      5 stars
      Jessica, your recipes always hit the spot. These jelly donuts are amazing! And your instructions are so easy to follow. Love that you can make these day before and fry in the morning. Bet they’d be super tasty with your raspberry rhubarb jam recipe.

      Reply
    3. Melinda says

      April 04, 2022 at 2:14 am

      Hey Jessica.
      I haven’t tried your donut recipe yet, but would very much like to!

      I’m wondering if I would be able to oven baked them, instead of frying them in oil? I know it’s a very weird request for a donut recipe. Having a get together with my grandmother and she isn’t allowed deep fried/oil coated foods.

      Thank you 🙂 look forward to hearing from you!

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 06, 2022 at 10:56 am

        Hello Melinda,
        This is a traditional yeast style donut that is meant to be fried. If you have your oil hot enough, the dough will not absorb too much oil. We do have several other cake type donut recipes on our website that you could try and bake. But, we fry all of our donuts. Remember, everything in moderation.

        Reply
    4. Lauren says

      March 21, 2021 at 11:30 pm

      If I made these on Monday night would they still be fresh enough to eat Wednesday morning ?

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        March 22, 2021 at 3:21 pm

        Donuts are best when served fresh. I would suggest you make them at night and refrigerate overnight (uncooked) on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper, cover the entire pan loosely with plastic wrap. Then fry up fresh the next morning.

        Reply
    5. Lori says

      January 31, 2021 at 7:36 am

      I’m thinking of making these, but wonder does the butter need to be cold or room temperature?
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        January 31, 2021 at 9:30 am

        Lori,
        Thanks so much for stopping by! The recipe notes “softened” butter. Which usually means room temperature or you can microwave butter for a few seconds until it is properly softened.

        Reply
    6. Cynthia Wandel says

      January 31, 2021 at 1:03 am

      I made the dough for these tonight. I don’t have canola oil, can I use vegetable oil instead?
      Thanks,
      Cindy

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        January 31, 2021 at 9:30 am

        Hi Cynthia,
        You can of course use vegetable oil. We prefer canola oil because it does not give any “off” flavor to things you fry such as donuts, apple fritters or fried apple hand pies.

        Reply
    7. Kandi says

      July 13, 2020 at 11:51 am

      Made with my grand daughter and they turned out perfect

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        July 13, 2020 at 3:00 pm

        Thanks Kandi!! So glad to hear you enjoyed them!

        Reply
      • Lily says

        February 15, 2021 at 12:37 am

        Hi Love,
        Can you share this recipe in grams? Id like to make jus the half of it and it’s difficult. Thank you 🙂

        Reply
        • Jessica Robinson says

          February 15, 2021 at 9:59 am

          Lily,
          Grams is not a measurement we use.

          Reply
    8. Rachael says

      July 12, 2020 at 7:23 am

      Can you do all the kneading in the mixer, instead of the 2nd 1/2 of kneading by hand?

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        July 13, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        Rachael,
        I would NOT recommend kneading in the mixer. You need to just gently knead on a floured work surface, by hand. Otherwise you will overwork the dough!

        Reply
    9. Jo-Anne says

      May 31, 2020 at 7:06 pm

      5 stars
      This was first attempt at making homemade donuts. My husband and I made them together. I didn’t have a donut cutter so I used a large lid. I was able to make 24 donuts. We will be freezing some. 12 were coated with powdered sugar and filled with raspberry jam and 12 were coated with sugar and cinnamon and filled with lemon pudding. My husband has tried them and is very pleased. We will make these over and over again.

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        May 31, 2020 at 7:18 pm

        Jo-Anne!
        So happy to hear you had success with this recipe (even without a doughnut cutter!)

        Thanks for sharing! Be sure and check out my other doughnut recipes- especially the apple cider doughnuts in the fall!

        Reply
    10. June says

      April 20, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      Can I make the dough in my bread machine instead of bowel with dough hook

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 20, 2020 at 1:31 pm

        Hello June,
        To be honest, I have never used a bread machine. Do you have a stand mixer? Because if you don’t have a dough hook, you could certainly use the normal paddle. You just want to be SUPER careful NOT to overwork the dough in something like a bread machine! I would say knead by hand, rather than a machine.

        Reply
    11. Jyothi Kesha says

      April 16, 2020 at 11:39 am

      5 stars
      Can you refrigerate the dough and fry over several days? Or is it better to fry them all at once?

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 16, 2020 at 11:45 am

        Hi Kesha!
        They are best if you fry them ALL up the next day. However, you can cut your recipe in half. I usually make them all- have some for our household and share with a few friends or neighbors.

        Reply
        • Jyothi Kesha says

          April 16, 2020 at 12:01 pm

          Thank you so much for your speedy reply, and btw, they were FABULOUS. Thank you for this wonderful, wonderful forever-recipe!

          Reply
          • Jessica Robinson says

            April 16, 2020 at 12:11 pm

            Not a problem!! Happy to hear that you loved them! If you found the recipe via Pinterest… would you please take a pic and share on the pin? Would love to see how they came out! Thanks again!

            Reply
    12. Michaela says

      April 14, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      Can you just let them rise on the counter after cutting them out and fry same day? If so, how long for the third rise?

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 14, 2020 at 1:51 pm

        Of course! Just let them rise on the counter. Cover the doughnuts with a clean dish cloth or plastic wrap! They just need to rise – probably about 30 minutes.

        Reply
    13. Janet Levy says

      April 04, 2020 at 12:43 pm

      I made 1/3 of the recipe this morning – 7 doughnuts. They were outstanding using Bon Mamon Raspberry Preserves!

      I froze the few that we didn’t eat, although I’m not a big fan of defrosted doughnuts. Tomorrow, I’m going to put them in a 350 F. oven covered with foil for 10-15 minutes to see if they can be brought back to life.

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 04, 2020 at 3:38 pm

        So glad to hear that you loved the doughnuts!!!

        Reply
    14. Janet Levy says

      April 03, 2020 at 2:51 pm

      Jessica – Can you supply the weights of each ingredient?

      Reply
      • Jessica Robinson says

        April 03, 2020 at 4:09 pm

        Janet,
        I would recommend you search online for conversions of cups to weight baking of ingredients. Thanks!

        Reply
    15. Lisa Hatfield says

      June 24, 2019 at 4:30 pm

      5 stars
      These donuts look so AMAZING and professional!!! Wow, I know this will become a family favorite recipe.

      Reply

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