Sugar Glazed Doughnuts Recipes

HOMEMADE GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be a little frothy on top after 5 minutes. If not, start over with new yeast.
• Add the eggs, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and 2 cups (245g) flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don't add too much flour, though. You want a slightly sticky dough. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5-2 hours or until double in size. (For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air.Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. If needed, punch down again to release any more air bubbles. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3-3.5 inch doughnut cutter, cut into 12 doughnuts. If you can't quite fit 12, re-roll the scraps and cut more.
• Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place doughnuts and doughnut holes on each. (Feel free to discard doughnut holes if desired.) Loosely cover and allow to rest as you heat the oil. They will rise a bit as they rest. Place a cooling rack over another baking sheet.
• Pour oil into a large heavy-duty pot set over medium heat. Heat oil to 375°F (191°C). Add 2-3 doughnuts at a time and cook for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove with a metal spatula or metal slotted spoon. Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Place fried doughnuts onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts, then turn off heat.* (See note for doughnut holes.)
• Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together. Dip each warm doughnut (don't wait for them to cool!) into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Place back onto prepared rack as excess glaze drips down. After about 20 minutes, the glaze will set + harden.
• Doughnuts are best enjoyed the same day. You can store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 1-2 extra days.

HOMEMADE GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• For the doughnuts: Add the granulated sugar to the warm milk in a medium bowl, and then add the yeast. Allow it to sit until the yeast starts to bubble, 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then pour them into a bowl with the melted butter, whisking constantly. Add the butter/egg mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. Pour in the milk/sugar/yeast mixture. With the hook attachment, turn the mixer to low speed.
• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, and then retrieve 1/2 cup at a time and add it to the mixing bowl, allowing it to slowly incorporate into the liquid mixture.
• Continue mixing for 5 minutes after the flour is combined. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl and then mix about 30 seconds more. Then place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 to 12 hours.
• The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature and rise, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Put the dough in a warm spot, if necessary, to facilitate rising.
• Turn out the dough on to a floured surface and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Use a doughnut cutter (or 2 concentric cutters) to cut out the doughnuts. Remove the holes and transfer the doughnuts to a lightly-floured baking sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment. Then - and this is the vital part - cover the doughnuts lightly with tea towels and place it in a draft-free area, at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It will take that long for them to rise. If they don't seem to be rising much, move the pan to a warm place.
• Melt the shortening in a pot over a medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (Or you can drop one of the doughnut holes in the oil, if it sizzles and immediately rises to the surface, the oil is ready.) The doughnuts should immediately float to the top and puff up. Then use a metal spoon or spatula to carefully flip them over to the other side. Remove them from the oil as soon as they're golden brown on both sides (this should take less than 1 minute in total). At the end, drop in the doughnut holes and fry them until they are golden brown.
• Place the doughnuts on paper-towel-lined-plates to drain. Don't worry if they're a little imperfect; if your fingers leave impressions when you dropped them into the oil, that just means they were extra light and fluffy.
• For the glaze: To glaze the doughnuts, mix the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cold water, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Drop in the doughnuts one at a time. Quickly turn them over then remove them. Place them on a rack so any excess glaze can drip off.
• To make the most of the glaze, set the holes underneath the doughnuts so they can catch the extra good stuff.

CLASSIC GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Heat the milk until it is warm but not hot, about 90 degrees. In a large bowl, combine it with the yeast. Stir lightly, and let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, beat the eggs, butter, sugar and salt into the yeast mixture. Add half of the flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons), and mix until combined, then mix in the rest of the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, if the dough is too wet. If you're using an electric mixer, the dough will probably become too thick to beat; when it does, transfer it to a floured surface, and gently knead it until smooth. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, and cover. Let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts with a doughnut cutter, concentric cookie cutters or a drinking glass and a shot glass (the larger one should be about 3 inches in diameter), flouring the cutters as you go. Reserve the doughnut holes. If you're making filled doughnuts, don't cut out the middle. Knead any scraps together, being careful not to overwork, and let rest for a few minutes before repeating the process.
• Put the doughnuts on two floured baking sheets so that there is plenty of room between each one. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until they are slightly puffed up and delicate, about 45 minutes. If your kitchen isn't warm, heat the oven to 200 at the beginning of this step, then turn off the heat, put the baking sheets in the oven and leave the door ajar.
• About 15 minutes before the doughnuts are done rising, put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and heat it to 375. Meanwhile, line cooling racks, baking sheets or plates with paper towels.
• Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil, a few at a time. If they're too delicate to pick up with your fingers (they may be this way only if you rose them in the oven), use a metal spatula to pick them up and slide them into the oil. It's O.K. if they deflate a bit; they'll puff back up as they fry. When the bottoms are deep golden, after 45 seconds to a minute, use a slotted spoon to flip; cook until they're deep golden all over. Doughnut holes cook faster. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared plates or racks, and repeat with the rest of the dough, adjusting the heat as needed to keep the oil at 375. Glaze or fill as follows, and serve as soon as possible.
• Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, dip into the glaze; if you like, flip them so the tops they're completely covered. Put on racks to let the glaze harden.

CLASSIC GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4 cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (the milk will be room temperature at this point). Add the rested flour mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add 1 cup of flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix on medium until it's incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• Remove the paddle attachment from the mixer, and switch to the dough hook. Start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute. The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that you can't roll it out. (For this step, you may only need to use as little as 1/4 cup flour, so there may be flour leftover.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
• When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. (For filled doughnuts, don't cut out the holes.) Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. To test, use a fingertip to lightly touch one of the doughnuts. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs more time; if it springs back slowly, it's ready; and if the dough doesn't spring back at all, it's over-proofed. You can punch down and reroll over-proofed dough once.
• While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to 360°F between batches. Let the doughnuts cool slightly before glazing with the Basic Sugar Glaze or Chocolate Glaze .

GLUTEN-FREE SUGAR-GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Whisk the dry ingredients: Put the flour, psyllium and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk them together on low speed to aerate the flour.
• Heat the milk: Set a small pot on low heat. Pour in the milk and heat until just warm (75 degrees F if you are using a thermometer). Turn off the heat.
• Make the doughnuts: With the stand mixer running at low speed, add the sugar, salt and warm milk to the flour mixture.
• With the mixer still running at low speed, add 1 egg at a time until all the eggs are fully incorporated into the batter. Dribble in the vanilla extract. Scrape the batter down the sides of the bowl fully. Run the mixer until the batter is airy and light, about 5 minutes.
• Add the butter: Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. With the mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one cube at a time, until fully incorporated into the batter.
• At this point, the dough should gather around the paddle of the stand mixer and gently slump off when you turn the mixer off. If it feels too wet, add a bit more flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Wet your hands lightly.
• Gently pat the dough, which will be sticky. Don't worry. That's why you wet your hands. Gently shape the dough, stretching and pulling as you can, into a large ball. Make a seam with the edges of the dough together. Put the dough, seam-side down, into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place in the kitchen for 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough: With wet hands, gather the dough and plop it onto a lightly-floured piece of parchment paper. Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough just shy of the edges of the parchment paper. (Remember to go slowly. This will not feel like gluten dough.) The dough should be about 1-inch thick. Put the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Cut out the doughnuts: Using a 3-inch doughnut cutter (or biscuit cutter or an empty tin can, if that's all you have), cut out 8 rounds from the dough. Cut holes in the rounds with a much smaller cutter. (You could also use your finger.) Set them aside on a piece of parchment paper.
• You can roll out the remaining dough and cut out more doughnuts, if you want. They won't be quite as light as the first batch, but they are still doughnuts!
• Let the doughnuts rest while you prepare the oil.
• Heat the oil: Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to fill the pot 1/3 of the way. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the doughnuts: Using a slotted spoon, gently lower a doughnut into the hot oil. Add three more doughnuts.
• Fry the doughnuts for 30 seconds on one side, then 45 seconds on the other side, then another 30 to 45 seconds on the first side again, until the doughnuts are a deep golden brown.
• Remove the doughnuts to a baking rack set over a baking sheet. Fry the remaining doughnuts the same way.
• Make the glaze: Whisk together the milk and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Continue whisking as you add the confectioners' sugar. Whisk until all the lumps of sugar have been blended into a smooth glaze.
• Dunk the warm doughnuts into the sugar glaze and return them to the cooling rack.
• Eat immediately. Doughnuts are really only good the day they are made and they're best within an hour of being made.
• Pour all the flours and milk powder into a large container. (Restaurant supply stores sell large plastic containers that fit this purpose well. You could also use a large glass jar.) Shake and shake and shake harder until all the flours have become one color.

DOUGHNUT GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Sift confectioners' sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined. Remove the glaze from the heat and set over a bowl of warm water. Dip doughnuts into the glaze, 1 at a time, and set on a draining rack placed in a half sheet pan for 5 minutes before serving.

GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Place potato in a medium saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain potatoes; return to pan. Mash until very smooth., In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, butter, potato, eggs and, if desired, extract. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Stir down dough. On a well-floured surface, roll out to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. doughnut cutter. Place on greased baking sheets; cover and let rise for 45 minutes. , Meanwhile, for glaze, combine 6 tablespoons milk, coffee and vanilla; stir to dissolve coffee. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add milk mixture; beat until smooth, adding milk to reach a good dipping consistency. , In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden, about 1-1/2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Dip tops in glaze while warm.