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Home || Recipes || Dessert || Fried Donuts

Fried Donuts

May 10, 2023 · Leave a Comment

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Indulge in a heavenly treat with this Fried Sugar Donuts recipe! Made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar, and butter, these fluffy and decadent donuts are deep-fried to golden perfection and coated in a generous layer of sweet, crunchy sugar.

A bowl with sugar donuts sitting on the counter. Next to the bowl is a black and white striped towel. The top donut in the bowl has a bite taken out of it.

Fried Donut Recipe

Everyone loves donuts (or at least they should), but have you ever had a warm, freshly made donut? They are next level. Homemade donuts are tender and melt-in-your-mouth good.

I did A LOT of test work with this recipe to ensure it is perfect. And at the risk of sounding arrogant, I’m here to say I succeeded. These homemade fried donuts are an atypical but fun dessert that your family is sure to love. I cannot wait for you to try them!

Two donuts are stacked on each other. The top fried donut has a bite out of it.

What Ingredients will I need for Fried Donuts?

Most of my recipes have some wiggle room, but if you’re looking for a delightfully chewy and tender donut you cannot substitute any of these ingredients. Doing so will lead to a tougher donut and no one wants that! 

  • Milk – Milk adds fat to the dough making it softer. 
  • Dry active yeast 
  • Butter – Melted butter also adds fat to the dough, making it pillowy soft. 
  • Granulated Sugar – The sugar acts as a tenderizer and interferes with the gluten in the flour, leading to a tender crumb and soft texture. That’s why you’ll find more sugar in this dough than a typical bread dough. 
  • Salt 
  • All purpose flour – I specifically developed this recipe to utilize all purpose flour because I know that is what most home chefs have on hand. You’re welcome. 
  • Oil – I like to use an oil with a high smoke point and a neutral flavor profile like peanut oil. Vegetable and canola oil will also work well, but do not try to use olive oil here! 
Dough rolled out with a donut cutter on top.

How to Make Fried Donuts

  1. Warm the cup of milk in the microwave until about 100° F. 
  2. Pour half of the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar.
  3. Stir to combine and allow the yeast/milk mixture to sit for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, the mixture should be frothy and bubbly. 
  4. Once the mixture is frothy, add the remaining milk, melted butter ,granulated sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour.
  5. Knead until fully combined.
  6. Slowly add in the remaining 1/4-1/2 cup of flour until the dough cleans the side of the bowl, is tacky to your finger but doesn’t stick if pulled away quickly.
  7. Knead for an additional 5-7 minutes.
  8. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
  9. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn onto a lightly floured surface.
  10. Gently press the dough out into a rectangle and then use a donut cutter to cut your donuts out of the dough. Cut the leftover dough into small portions for bite sized donuts.
  11. Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and allow to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes.
  12. Once the dough has finished rising, pour 2-3 inches of oil in the bottom of your pan. 
  13. Heat the oil until 350°. The best way to know your oil is hot enough (and not too hot) to fry is by using a thermometer. 
  14. Fry the donuts at 350° for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown on each side. Do not overcrowd the pan to ensure donuts cook evenly. 
  15. When they are golden brown, let the donuts rest on a cookie cooling rack that is placed inside of a cookie sheet to catch the oil run-off. 
  16. Repeat with remaining dough.
  17. When the excess oil has dripped off of the donut, shake your donut in granulated sugar to coat the donut and enjoy!
A pan of granulated sugar with a donut sitting in it.

Why didn’t my donuts cook all the way through?

Make sure your oil isn’t too hot! If your oil is too hot, the outside will fry but the inside will remain doughy.

How should I store leftover donuts?

My first recommendation is to eat the donuts immediately! But if that’s not in the cards for you, donuts can be eaten within 12 hours before losing their softness. Just store your donuts in an airtight container at room temperature. If you really need to, you can also freeze the donuts for up to 2 months.

A plate with a couple of fried donuts. Across the top are the words "soft & fluffy homemade sugar donuts"

In a donut mood? Check out these recipes!

  • Homemade Donuts (Glazed & Iced)
  • Oreo Donuts
A pile of fried donuts sitting on the counter next to a gray and white striped towel. One of the sugar donuts has a bite out of it.

Fried Sugar Donuts

Indulge in a heavenly treat with this Fried Sugar Donuts recipe! Made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar, and butter, these fluffy and decadent donuts are deep-fried to golden perfection and coated in a generous layer of sweet, crunchy sugar.
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: amercian
Keyword: fried donuts
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
resting/rising time: 2 hours hours
Servings: 12 donuts
Calories: 286kcal
Author: Karli Bitner

Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk divided
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dry active yeast
  • 4 tbsp butter melted
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus a little extra, as needed
  • oil to fry in peanut oil, vegetable oil and canola oil are all great options.

Sugar Coating

  • 2 cups granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Warm the cup of milk in the microwave until about 100° F. Pour half of the milk into the Bowl of a stand mixer, along with the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar.
  • Stir to combine and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes, the mixture should be frothy and bubbly.
  • Once the mixture is frothy, add the remaining milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour.
  • Knead until fully combined.
  • Slowly add in the remaining 1/4-1/2 cup until the dough cleans the side of the bowl, is tacky to your finger but doesn’t stick if pulled away quickly.
  • Knead for an additional 5-7 minutes.
  • Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, turn onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Gently press the dough out into a rectangle and then use a donut cutter to cut your donuts out of the dough. Cut the leftover dough into small portions for bite sized donuts.
  • Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and allow to rise for an additional 30-45 minutes.
  • Pour 2-3 inches of oil in the bottom of your pan. Heat the oil until 350°.*
  • Fry the donuts at 350° for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown on each side. Do not over crowd the pan.
  • When they are golden brown, let the donuts rest on a cookie cooling rack that is paced inside of a cookie sheet.
  • Repeat with remaining dough.
  • When the excess oil has dripped off of the donut, shake your donut in granulated sugar to coat the donut and enjoy!

Notes

*Do not heat your oil higher than 350°. This will not speed up the frying process, it will just burn the outside of your donuts while the inside is still doughy. 
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithkarli or tag #cookingwithkarli!

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 65mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

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ABOUT KARLI

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. There isn’t ever a shortage of crazy. I can promise you that! Buckle up, keep your hand and legs inside at all times and enjoy the ride! Read more...

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About Karli

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. If you are Cookie obsessed like I am, check out my Sister Site, Cookies for Days.

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