Make your own old fashioned, bakery style donuts at home with readily available pantry ingredients. Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack!
I think I’ve only made donuts once before in my life and it was only last fall when I made homemade apple cider fritters, but that wasn’t going to stop me from trying to make classic Old Fashioned Donuts for National Donut Day.
What is National Donut Day?
National Donut Day was instituted in 1938 to commemorate Salvation Army workers who surprised soldiers with donut deliveries. Today, visit one of your favorite donut shops as many participate and offer free donuts with a beverage purchase.
In general, I’m not a huge donut eater. I do stop by my local donut shop every now and then for a hot cup of tea while I’m running the roads. However, I generally don’t like anything with a gooey center or topped with icings that make my teeth hurt.
Most of the time I’m happy with a plain cruller or donut hole; just the simple plain or chocolate kind.
What do you need to make Old Fashioned Donuts?
When I decided to make a treat in honor of this day, I opted to make Old Fashioned Donuts. The recipe contains standard pantry ingredients like granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, butter and flour. All of which I had in the house without having to make a special trip.
You’ll also need oil for frying. I used a combination of coconut and canola oils just because I had a little of each to use up; however, you can use any light oil for frying like canola, safflower, sunflower, coconut, or vegetable oil.
I opted to sprinkle these with a little powdered sugar; however, you can make a glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with a bit of cold water or sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar too.
How do you make donuts?
Start by combining the sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix well; then stir in the flour.
Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour; then roll out the dough to 1/2″ thick. Cut out circles using a donut cutter or if you don’t have that make the circle with a juice glass and then use a smaller circle (I used the cap from the vanilla extract) to cut out the center circle.
Heat the oil in a deep pot on top of the stove over high heat; then fry donuts 2-3 minutes per side and drain on paper towels. Cool slightly on a rack then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
I almost wish these Old Fashioned Donuts weren’t so easy to make because now that my kids know that I know how to make them, they’ve already been asking me to make them again. A.K.A. “Mom, we want something sweet at 8pm, can you whip us up some donuts?” 🙂
These donuts won’t last long, but I do recommend freezing the ones you won’t be eating right away as they do get stale quickly. Just make sure to wrap them tightly in an airtight container. This batch made a little shy of 2 dozen due to the size glass I was using.
These Old Fashioned Donuts were fabulous! Simple. Cooked perfectly with just that little hint of nutmeg and vanilla. They reminded me of going to our local bakery (Nees Bakery for my local friends who may also still remember!) with my dad when I was a little girl back in the early 70’s on a Sunday morning and sampling the donut pieces on the counter. ~Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 1 c . Granulated Sugar
- 4 tsp . Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 tsp . Salt
- 1/2 tsp . Nutmeg
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 c . Milk
- 1 tsp . Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 c . Melted Butter
- 4 c . All Purpose Flour
- Oil, for frying (I used 1/2 coconut oil & 1/2 canola oil)
- Confectioners Sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix well; then stir in the flour. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/2" thick. Cut out circles using a donut cutter or if you don't have that (which I didn't) make the circle with a juice glass and then use a smaller circle (I used the cap from the vanilla extract) to cut out the center circle.
- Heat enough oil for the donuts to submerge (using a fryer or Dutch oven) ; then fry donuts in batches 2-3 minutes per side and drain on paper towels. Cool slightly on a rack then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
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mmm, ottime, buonissima ricetta!
I bet these babies didn’t last very long…
No they didn’t Beverley! Though I made my daughter take them into work with her so I wouldn’t pick at them!
Made your donuts this morning. Love them. I saw in your blog you wrote about Nees bakery is that the same bakery as the Nees bakery in Butler, NJ
Thanks
I’m so glad you liked the recipe Phyllis and yes, it is the same bakery! I used to love going there as a kid to get those freshly baked donuts. 🙂