Okay donut feens, today is your day. Remember those white and green boxes of donuts from your childhood?
Krispie Kremes stacked up like little angels, sticky and sweet, with the infamous sugar coating that crunched when you sank your teeth in? Actual perfection and there wasn’t a harder thing than stopping yourself from eating them all. EVERY LAST ONE.
So that urge is still there apparently, because I have a hard time stopping myself from eating an entire batch of these. OMG they are so good!! The donut itself it light and golden. The glaze is perfect, thick and sugary, but not too sweet, and when it cools it creates a thin sugar crust that gives just that little crunch that makes the name Krispie.
Letting these donuts cool is, I promise you, the hardest part about making them. The whole process takes 2 hours, and you can make them in advance! So if you have a Channukah party coming up and you want to get the dirty work done before, but still serve up fresh, hot donuts, these are for you. You can make the dough, cut out your shapes, and simply place the trays in the fridge until you are ready to go. Pop them straight into hot oil to fry, dip in glaze, and platter um up!
If I wanted to serve these and not just keep them to myself, I would have set them up in a stacked tower on my favorite black ceramic cake stand from 1220 Ceramics, handmade in Israel! You can get yourself one [right here], they make really lovely gifts!! And doesn’t everything just look better on black? yes, it does.
This recipe is tested with both butter and oil, so if you have a butter shortage like the country of Israel, who for some reason has stopped producing butter, you can go ahead and sub it with no worries. (what country stops producing butter during the holiday season?! Do they not know we have cheesecakes to make?!)
So let’s get to it- I just want to warn you, make these when there are other people around who can pull you away. Happy Channukah, and Happy Eating!
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Krispie Kreme Copycat Donuts
Ingredients
Donut Dough
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/2 tsp White sugar
- 2 3/4 cup sifted white flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup White sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbs melted butter OR canola oil
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
The Best and Simplest Glaze Ever
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Donut Dough
- Place yeast, warm water, and and 1/2 tsp sugar in a bowl to proof. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until frothy and bubbly. (I do this in a stand mixer but you can mix by hand as well).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups of flour and salt until combined. To the yeast mix, add milk, the rest of the sugar, egg, butter OR oil(I've tried it with both and they tasted the same), and vanilla extract. Add flour mix and stir to combine. The dough will be shaggy. Gradually, add the 3/4 cup of flour and mix until the dough comes together.
- Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and turn the dough out. Knead for a couple of minutes, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Transfer to an oiled bowl(or a bowl sprayed with cooking spray), cover with a towel, and let rise for an hour.
- Sprinkle your work surface again with flour(so the doughnuts don't stick to the counter), pop out the dough, and sprinkle the top with flour as well. Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter or the lid of a jar, cut out doughnut shapes, pressing firmly into the dough to cut all the way around the edges. Using a smaller jar or cutter, make a hole in the center, and keep those middles holes!! Place all doughnuts and holes on a parchment lined baking tray, cover with a towel, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- If you want to make these in advance, stop now. Place the tray of covered donuts into the fridge. They can stay there for up to TWO DAYS. When you are ready to fry them, simply pop the donuts directly into hot oil and continue.
Frying
- Heat up a pot of oil(I personally use canola). Once the oil is hot, gently place donuts in to fry, making sure not to crowd the oil. They generally take about one minute on each side(for the full donuts), but you can flip when they turn a nice golden color. Don't over-fry. Place donuts onto a paper towel to drain, and dip hot into glaze. It helps to have another hand- one fryer and one dipper.
Best Glaze
- Place powdered sugar into a bowl. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix to combine. Place donuts one by one into the glaze. Flip with a fork to coat the second side. Let excess glaze drip off, and place on parchment paper(or a cooling rack).Let cool. I repeat LET COOL. Once cooled for a few minutes the glaze will harden and get that crunchy texture we love. I
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These are, hands’ down, the BEST donuts ever! Thanks for such a fabulous, easy to make recipe!
YAY so happy to hear that!
These donuts are calling my name. I think I have to go straight to the kitchen to make some!
YOU DO.
These donuts are incredible! I can’t believe they are homemade. Next weekend baking project!
Yes, for sure! Perfect baking project for the holidays:)
OH, so tempting. I tasted a Krispie Kreme donut during my visit to US and loved it. Now I can make them at home following your recipe. Love the golden colour and the light coating of icing.
They are the very best of the best! Hope you enjoy making them at home:)
Oh I totally want to make these. They sound amazing.
I hope you do, they are quite the treat.
Omg that glaze is seriously to die for! So easy and yet so delicious looking. I love this donut recipe. Can’t wait
the glaze is EVERYTHING! Soooo easy but perfect!
These were perfection on a plate! Thanks for sharing!
Yay! I love hearing that! Thank you for the comment!
Going to give these a try! Would this work by not cutting a middle hole out but instead leaving whole and inserting a jam filling? Thanks!
Yes, for sure! You can do an assortment, the dough works the same way no matter the shape:)
Can the glaze be made with almond milk?
YES! Someone recently told me she used almond milk and they came out great.
These came out amazing! My whole family thanks you! Happy Chanukah!
So happy you enjoyed them, Channukah Sameach!
how many donuts does this recipe make?
12-15 normal size plus donut holes..
Thank you for the recipe! Do you have any additional detail as to the approximate diameter that each round should cut to? I don’t have a cookie cutter and want to make sure i’m in the right ballpark. Thank you!
Thoughts on not cutting out the whole & filling instead (after frying & glazing)?
That is totally possible! I’ve made them whole with mascarpone cream and others have filled them with Boston cream and topped with chocolate glaze! Anything is possible 😉
I made these last night for New Year’s and they came out perfection. My only advice is, if you shape them and put them into the fridge to fry later, do NOT cover them bc it will stick to it and ruin it. Instead, spray it with oil so it doesn’t get dry (or not – I tried both it didn’t seem to make much of difference) and then slowly pick them up off the parchment paper as not to deflate them and fry those bad boys up! Cane out insanely delicious!
How lovely! I’m so happy you enjoyed! (good advice- I cover mine with a kitchen towel and haven’t had a sticking problem but if you do, cooking spray is, I agree, amazing!)
I can’t wait to try these! Would they work with Soy milk instead of regular milk?? Thanks!
yes you can use soy milk instead! Last year for channukah quite a few people made them with dairy free milk and reported great results!
Can these be made into filled doughnuts?
This is the best donut recipe I have ever made! Everybody loved them including someone who doesn’t eat donuts! Thank you so much for posting this. We will be using it yearly. The glaze is to die for I think that’s really what makes the recipe!
Thee donuts are amazing! Literally everybody loved them!!