Delicious Homemade Donuts Recipes

SUPER EASY DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Stir the vinegar into the milk, and let stand for a few minutes until thick.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture alternating with the vinegar and milk. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/3 inch thickness. Cut into doughnuts using a donut cutter. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry doughnuts in the hot oil until golden, turning over once. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar while they are still warm, and serve immediately.

DELICIOUS HOMEMADE DONUTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix the yeast with the milk and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour and salt. When yeast is ready, add that to the mixing bowl.
• Add the egg and butter. Begin to mix the ingredients into a soft, but not sticky, dough. (Add a little extra milk or extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed). Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds. With a lightly floured rolling pin, gradually roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. (When rolling dough, let it rest periodically to relax). Cut out into 3" rounds with a lightly floured biscuit cutter. Re-roll the scraps to make more rounds.
• Place the doughnuts on lightly floured baking sheets, spacing them apart, and cover lightly with a dry towel. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
• Using a deep fryer (or fill a heavy pot with 3" vegetable oil) and heat to 325°F Fry the doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden and puffed, 4-5 minutes, turning frequently using a slotted spoon.
• Lift the doughnuts from the oil and place onto a cooling rack. Once cooled, fill a pastry bag using your filling of choice. Insert the tip into the end of each doughnut and pipe approximately 1-2 tsp filling into them. Dust with confectioners' sugar, coat with chocolate icing, or dip in glaze. Best eaten the same day.

THE BEST OLD-FASHIONED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt and the nutmeg in a large bowl until completely combined. Whisk together 2/3 cup of the buttermilk, the sour cream, eggs, yolks, 1 tablespoon of the vanilla paste and the oil in a medium bowl until completely combined. Fold the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until a soft and sticky dough comes together (do not overwork).
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally dust with flour (about 1/3 cup).
• Scrape the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Dust your hands and the top of the dough with more flour, then gently pat the dough to 3/4-inch thick.
• Working on the baking sheet, punch out as many rounds as you can with a 3 1/4-inch cutter. Then use a 1 1/4-inch cutter to punch out the center of each round. Dip the cutters in flour before each cut to avoid sticking. Gather the dough scraps and gently re-roll without overworking the dough. Repeat cutting until all the dough has been used (you should have 8 doughnuts).
• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and line a second rimmed baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Fit a large heavy pot with a deep-fry thermometer and pour in oil to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium-high until the thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
• Fry the doughnuts in batches until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the wire rack and let cool slightly. Fry the doughnut holes until deep golden brown, about 90 seconds per side. Transfer to the wire rack and let drain for 1 minute. Then transfer to the paper-towel lined baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes before glazing. (This two-step process gets a lot more oil out of the doughnuts than using only one method.) Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure the oil returns to temperature between batches.
• Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, the remaining 6 tablespoons buttermilk, the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla paste and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until the glaze is smooth and the consistency of honey; add more confectioners' sugar or buttermilk if necessary.
• Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side (we like the craggy side, it has more texture for an appetizing appearance), letting the excess drip back into the bowl, then return it to the wire rack. Toss the doughnut holes in the glaze to coat completely and return to the wire rack. Let the glaze set for 10 minutes before serving.