Homemade Doughnuts take me straight back to my childhood. Tender cake wrapped with the sweetness of the sugar coating.
When I was a kid, I remember a commercial with a weary baker heading off to work. Each morning he would say “It’s time to make the doughnuts.” It was a memorable commercial and I always felt sorry for the poor baker.
Doughnuts were a rare treat when I was a kid. Every so often my dad would come home with a couple “long johns” or kruellers. Once in a blue moon, we would go to the actual doughnut shop and get to pick out one ourselves. There were so many to choose from… sprinkles, coconut, glazed, filled, and more. It could almost be overwhelming to a kid.
But on really special occasions, my mother would make homemade doughnuts right there in our kitchen. These were such a treat and we would always get excited when she made them.
Every so often, my own family is treated to the homemade variety as well. The recipe I use is very similar to the one my mother made for us.
Homemade doughnuts aren’t that difficult to make. They take basic ingredients and your family will taste the love that goes into them. Give them a try!
To Make Homemade Doughnuts You Will Need:
- sugar
- vegetable shortening
- eggs
- self-rising flour
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- milk
- doughnut cutter
- kitchen spider
- vegetable oil
- Dutch oven
- paper towels & platter
- paper bag
You Can See Me Making These Doughnuts in the video below.
Cut 3 or 4 at a time. Carefully place the doughnuts and holes into the hot oil.
Cook them for about a minute and a half on each side, until they are golden.
As they finish cooking, transfer them to a platter that is lined with several layers of paper towels. These are delicious already, but how you finish them is up to you.
Serve the doughnuts plain or shake them, one or two at a time, in a paper bag with granulated or powdered sugar. Cinnamon sugar is my favorite.
You could also coat them with a glaze. Store the doughnuts in an airtight container. They will keep for about 48 hours.
Enjoy!
From a Reader:
The family loved them! Your directions were easy to follow. I made a memory with my grandsons.
Karen
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Homemade Doughnuts
Ingredients
Instructions
- To begin, pour 2-3 inches of vegetable oil into a Dutch oven or heavy pot. Start heating the oil. This will take a while, so you can prepare the dough while it is heating. Your target temperature is 375 degrees (F).
- In your mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, shortening, and eggs. Add in 2 cups of the self-rising flour, the cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Pour in the milk and mix again. Add in another 1 1/2 cups of self-rising flour. Mix until smooth.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough, adding additional flour as needed until you have a soft, yet manageable dough. Pat the dough out to 3/4 inch thick.
- About now, your oil should be heated. You will need to monitor this closely and adjust the stove as needed to keep the temperature steadily at 375 (F). IF the oil gets too hot, the doughnuts will cook too quickly and be browned before they are cooked all the way through. If the oil is too cool, it will soak into the doughnuts and they will be greasy. Neither of those would be very appealing. The oil temperature can vary between 370-380, but don’t let it get outside of that range. Again, shoot for 375.
- Cut the dough with a floured doughnut cutter. (If you don’t have a doughnut cutter, you can use a biscuit cutter or a glass. Simply poke your finger through the middle to make a hole in the center.)
- Cut 3 or 4 at a time. With a wide spatula, slide the doughnuts and holes into the hot oil. Cook them for about a minute and a half on each side, until they are golden.
- As they finish cooking, transfer them to a platter that is lined with several layers of paper towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Serve the doughnuts plain or shake them, one at a time, in a paper bag with granulated or powdered sugar. You could also coat them with a glaze. Store the doughnuts in an airtight container. They will keep for about 48 hours. Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
Can I use buttermilk in place of the regular milk? Would it make much of a difference?
I don’t see why not!
When do you add the milk??
You can see where the milk is added in part 2 of the recipe instructions :)
These are a great cake donut, but I ended up having to add at least a cup and probably closer to cup and a half of flour to get the dough to a dough consistency. It looked more like cake batter after the 3.5 cups. They tasted great though and I’m going to chocolate glaze some of them and freeze some for later because it made about 18.
Hi Jean! That is odd. Normally the dough is soft, but not wet.
I’ve never tried making my own douhnuts before, sounds like fun. Thanks for sharing.
Simon
I love this! I definitely agree with you that doughnuts are not nearly as intimidating as they look to make and fry up at home. These look so inviting and wonderful.
Haha I do remember that commercial :) I would sure love a dozen of your donuts right now!!
I love that you have the pic of the “donut guy” ~ “gotta make the donuts” in here! Perfect! I love that your donuts look rustic and “homemade” they are wonderful! Great recipe!
These look fantastic. Nothing beats homemade donuts.
These look fantastic! I’ve tried making baked donuts a few times, but nothing compares to the real deal!
When I worked in a bakery/donut shop I avoided making them at home for years. Homemade donuts are the best though. It is time to “make the donuts” again!
We never made homemade doughnuts at home, but my dad would bring home fresh doughnuts from the local bakery every Sunday morning as a special treat. These look fantastic and I do remember that DD commercial and every once in a while the verse comes out of my mouth and my teenage girls look at me like I have 3 heads! Great recipe, can’t wait to try it myself!
Love these donuts, we used to get them every Saturday morning!
These look perfect for the occasional breakfastime indulgence!
I’ll take some cinnamon sugar donuts, please!
That’s the great thing about this theme….all the wonderful memories we can share.
Yum, those look delicious!
I have always wanted to make doughnuts! You make it sound so easy and your results are fantastic.
Ah…yes, the life of a baker. I used to do the 3am thing, but that didn’t last long :-) What a great recipe. and beautiful presentation!
Donuts! As a kid, the church we went to always had this annual summer fair, they made homemade donuts. We look forward to those yummy sweet dough creations :)
I both love and hate that you posted these incredible doughnuts as I am on a diet but have been seriously craving doughnuts like these. Just a few more pounds till my first goal and then I think I deserve a little treat. :)
We made doughnuts back when I was a kid, but I’m pretty sure they were never from scratch! This is definitely a recipe worth revisiting—your doughnuts look scrumptious!
These look delicious! I’ve only ever baked donuts, I’ve never fried them but now I want to try them!
Those doughnuts look so good! And I remember that commercial so very well.