Easy Homemade Donuts that take 20 minutes from start to bite and taste as great, if not greater, than the ones you get from the donut shop! The most amazing homemade donut you’ll ever eat! 

Homemade glazed donuts on a cooling rack over an aluminum sheet pan.

The Best Easy Homemade Donuts

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with a simple and sweet glaze all over. These Easy Homemade Donuts are perfection! These scratch-made donuts take about 20 minutes from start to bite and they’re amazing! They’re some of the best old-fashioned donuts I’ve ever had.

Three glazed homemade donuts stacked on a wooden cutting board.

A Donut a Day

If you know me or have been following me on Instagram, you know I have a serious obsession/addiction/love (whatever you wanna call it!) for donuts. Every single morning, I’m dreaming of donuts and if I didn’t have any self-control, I would eat one (or a few!) every morning for breakfast. I have to remind myself that eating donuts every single morning is probably not the healthiest habit for me or my boys, so I limit us to no more than two mornings a week. Seems reasonable, right?!

7 homemade glazed old fashioned donuts on a white serving dish.

Delicious Homemade Donuts in 20 Minutes

I bake donuts quite a bit here at home, but they’re just not the same as a good ol’ fried donut from the donut shop. I’ve been eager to come up with a recipe for my favorite old-fashioned donut, but I wanted it to be easy. Because honestly, we just aren’t very patient in the morning when the donut cravings are calling.

Most recipes I’ve seen or tried take a few hours as the dough needs to rise or rest before you can cut and fry them. These scratch-made donuts take about 20 minutes from start to bite and they’re amazing!

Accompanied by a hot cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk and I can’t imagine a sweeter way to start the day!

Four glazed donuts and two donut holes on a wire cooling rack.

Homemade Indulgence

I used heavy cream in both the donuts and the glaze for a thicker texture and even more indulgent taste. Cause if you’re gonna go to the effort of frying your own donuts, you want them to be their best!

Like I said, 20 minutes start to bite! Seriously!

I’m pretty sure our trips to the donut shop will be less frequent from now on, but that limit of no more than two mornings a week of eating donuts for breakfast might be tough given how easy these are to make and how great they taste!

You’ve gotta try these! Simple, super sweet (of course!) & oh so scrumptious!! You’ll flip with excitement when you taste them and realize that you can make great donuts in the comfort of your own home in no time!

Four glazed donuts and two donut holes on a wire cooling rack.

What Do I Need to Make Easy Homemade Donuts?

  • Bread flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Heavy cream
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Butter
  • Canola oil
  • Powdered sugar
  • Heavy cream
  • Large pot or deep fryer
  • Large and small round cookie cutters
  • Cooing rack
Flour, sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, heavy cream and canola oil in small glass dishes on a counter next to one brown egg.

How to Make Easy Homemade Donuts

  • Fill a deep fryer or large pot with canola oil to at least 2 inches deep. Using a candy thermometer, heat oil to 350°F.
  • While oil is heating, mix together the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, vanilla and melted butter.
Steps to make homemade donuts.
  • Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and use your hands to knead the dough into a smooth ball.
  • Place the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about ½-inch thickness. Use a donut cutter or two round (one big, one small) cookie cutters to cut out donut shapes, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking to the dough. Gather and reroll remaining dough until all the dough is used. You should have 20 donuts and donut holes.
Steps to make homemade donuts.
  • For the glaze, simply whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until smooth and thin enough to dip the donuts in. Add additional cream if the glaze is too thick or powdered sugar if it seems to thin.
  • Once the oil has reached 350°F, carefully add donuts to the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd them. Let donuts fry for 15-30 seconds on each side, flipping twice, for a total frying time of 2 minutes or until donuts are golden brown. They cook fast so watch them carefully as you don’t want to burn them.
  • Transfer the fried donuts to a wire rack that’s set over a rimmed cookie sheet or paper towels to let excess grease drip off before dipping in glaze. Repeat frying process with remaining donuts.
Steps to make and glaze homemade donuts.
  • While donuts are still hot, dip one side into and out of the glaze a few times.
A hand dipping a donut into a glass bowl of icing.
  • Return to the wire rack with the non-glazed side down. Let glaze set or bite right in while they’re still warm.
12 glazed donuts and six glazed donut holes on an aluminum baking sheet.

More of the Best Donut Recipes

If you love donuts, you’ll go nuts for this collection of The Best Homemade Donut Recipes. They’re so easy and so delicious. And as a bonus, I share some creative ways to enjoy store bought donuts, too!

How to Store Easy Homemade Donuts

Store homemade old fashioned donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Three glazed homemade donuts stacked on a wooden cutting board.

If you make these Easy Homemade Donuts and post a pic to social, be sure to tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!

xoxo,

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Homemade glazed donuts on a cooling rack over an aluminum sheet pan.

Easy Old-Fashioned Donuts

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  • Author: Maegan – The BakerMama
  • Prep Time: 12 mins
  • Cook Time: 8 mins
  • Total Time: 20 mins
  • Yield: 20
  • Category: Breakfast

Description

Easy Old-Fashioned Donuts that take 20 minutes from start to bite and taste as great, if not greater, than the ones you get from the donut shop! The most amazing homemade donut you’ll ever eat!


Ingredients

  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • canola oil, for frying
  • Glaze:
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 11/4 cups heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Fill a deep fryer or large pot with canola oil to at least 2 inches deep. Using a candy thermometer, heat oil to 350°F.
  2. While oil is heating, mix together the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and use your hands to knead the dough into a smooth ball.
  3. Place the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about ½-inch thickness. Use a donut cutter or two round (one big, one small) cookie cutters to cut out donut shapes, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking to the dough. Gather and reroll remaining dough until all the dough is used. You should have 20 donuts and donut holes.
  4. For the glaze, simply whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until smooth and thin enough to dip the donuts in. Add additional cream if the glaze is too thick or powdered sugar if it seems to thin.
  5. Once the oil has reached 350°F, carefully add donuts to the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd them. Let donuts fry for 15-30 seconds on each side, flipping twice, for a total frying time of 2 minutes or until donuts are golden brown. They cook fast so watch them carefully as you don’t want to burn them.
  6. Transfer the fried donuts to a wire rack that’s set over a rimmed cookie sheet or paper towels to let excess grease drip off before dipping in glaze. Repeat frying process with remaining donuts.
  7. While donuts are still hot, dip one side into and out of the glaze a few times and return to the wire rack with the non-glazed side down. Let glaze set or bite right in while they’re still warm.

Notes

Store donuts in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

About The BakerMama

Maegan is the author of her best-selling Beautiful Boards, Spectacular Spreads and Brilliant Bites cookbooks. She started blogging in 2012 and features hundreds of original recipes on The BakerMama. She truly enjoys sharing her easy, family-friendly recipes, creative meal ideas, food board creations, and entertaining spreads to encourage others to get in the kitchen and make something memorable for their loved ones to enjoy together. Learn More

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Comments

  1. Hi! Wondering if after they’re cut into donut shape i can freeze them for frying at a later time? Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Jari! I haven’t tested freezing the dough so I couldn’t say for sure, but I think it’s certainly worth a try. I would recommend letting the dough rest, covered in a damp towel, at room temperature until almost defrosted before frying them. Hope this helps and that they turn out just as great. Enjoy!

  2. Hello, I am Spanish and I do not know if I understand very well what you mean when you say “thick cream” is cream? evaporated milk? I don’t know what name is equivalent to Spanish. Thank you!

    1. Hi Jami! No, but I think they would work great. It might take some testing with the first few donuts for timing. I hope they turn out just as great! Enjoy!

  3. These donuts look so incredibly awesome! That’s mind boggling that they can be ready so quickly! YUM 🙂

  4. Wow! Now, I think I’m the only person in the world to not be a fan of donuts, BUT I love bringing treats to my husband’s employees and I know they’d go crazy over these!! I’ve only ever made donut holes, so I’m super excited to try these 🙂 Happy Friday!!