It’s no secret that I have a lil’ thing for doughnuts. And by “lil’ thing,” I mean “extreme obsession.” There were the Glazed Sour Cream Doughnuts, the Baked Mini Buttermilk Doughnuts, and, oh yes, who could forget the Just a Taste Doughnuthon? (One day. Five Miles. Nine doughnuts.)
But woah, baby. These Easy Homemade Glazed Doughnut Holes are the cat’s pajamas. The bee’s knees. The llama’s … mama. Anyways. They pretty much encompass everything you want in a doughnut hole: soft, doughy center, slightly crisp exterior and sticky sweet glaze. Best of all, there’s no yeast involved. And when there’s no yeast involved, there’s no rising or rolling required. Win, win and win.
Long story short: A few simple ingredients plus 30 minutes of your time yields homemade glazed doughnuts holes. And a big congratulations to you, because you’ve just been appointed president of the No Sharing Club.
And a quick update! Ask and ye shall receive. Chocolate lovers won’t want to miss my Glazed Homemade Chocolate Doughnut Holes.
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Find more inspiration for sticky sweets with additional doughnut recipes and reviews.
Homemade Glazed Chocolate Doughnut Holes: Get the Recipe
Baked Mini Buttermilk Doughnuts with Nutella Glaze: Get the Recipe
The Just a Taste Doughnuthon: See the Results
Ingredients
For the glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the doughnut holes:
- 5 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
Equipment:
- Deep-fry thermometer; Small ice cream scoop
Instructions
Make the glaze:
- Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. If the glaze isn't thin enough, stir in 1 additional tablespoon of milk. Cover the glaze with plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the doughnut holes.
Make the doughnut holes:
- Add the vegetable oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. (There should be at least 2 inches of oil in the pot and at least 2 inches between the top of the oil and the top of the pot.) Attach the deep-fry thermometer to the pot and begin heating the oil over medium heat to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir the milk-egg mixture into the dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter, mixing until a soft dough forms.
- Once the oil has reached 350ºF, use a small ice cream scoop to drop about 1 tablespoon scoops of dough into the oil, careful not to overcrowd the pan. (See Kelly's Notes.) Fry the doughnut holes, flipping them in the oil, for about 2 minutes or until they're golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnut holes to the paper towel-lined baking sheet.
- Allow the doughnut holes to cool slightly. Place a cooling rack atop a baking sheet, then one by one, dip the doughnut holes into the glaze and transfer them to the rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. Serve immediately.
Kelly's Notes:
- The dough expands when fried, so 1 tablespoon of batter will yield about a 2-inch doughnut hole. If you prefer smaller doughnut holes, drop about 1 teaspoon of batter into the oil. This recipe yields about 2 dozen of the larger doughnut holes or 4 dozen of the smaller variety.
- The roundness of the doughnut holes depends on how clean of a scoop of batter you drop into the hot oil. If you don't have a small ice cream scoop, you can use two small spoons to form the batter into mounds, however your doughnut holes will not be as uniformly round in shape.
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Doughnut batter recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Fabulous recipe! Thanks! My little boy asked for donuts this morning but his Dad said he didn’t want them (he thought), so it wasn’t worth ordering them in. I made these and became another level of hero Mom and wife! I substituted buttermilk for the whole milk because I had it on hand and I like the richness it imparts. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg to the dry ingredients, which gave them additional dimension. Next time, I’ll be less conservative and really spice them up and/or add mini chocolate chips or apple or blueberries…lots of options with this versatile recipe.
LOVE this! I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the doughnuts!
Delicious
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Donna!
Is there something I can use or do to omit the butter? I don’t buy or use it unless I absolutely have to same with salt. The oil is bad enough as well as the sugar but hey I try to watch these curves as much as possible so they don’t get to outta control lol
Hi Nichole! I haven’t tried this recipe with a butter substitute so I can’t say with certainty what the results would be.
I have been making these for over a year now. They are so easy to make and delicious to eat! I usually double or triple the recipe and use whatever milk I have on hand. I then roll them in cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar and the powdered sugar and milk glaze. Thank you for providing this great donut recipe!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Marie!
Have not tried it yet but sounds easy and quick. One quesrion I have is can this be adapted for air fryers to reduce the oil?
Hi John – I’ve never tried that so I’m not sure!
I did not care for this recipe was not light and airy like a doughnut should be
Hi Jessica – I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. Because there is no yeast in this recipe, these will be more like cake doughnuts than yeast doughnuts.
can you use low fat milk in stead of whole
Hi Lydia – Whole milk really is best for this recipe :)
I just made these but changed the normal flour for 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour, and exchanged the milk for almond milk. They turned out great! Will be keeping this recipe for sure!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Kelli!
Just made this donut recipe with my 10 & 8 yr old granddaughters. My mom had a delicious recipe but I am absolutely in love with your recipe!!!!! We just tossed the warm balls in powdered sugar , the sugar melted like a glaze!! These were soooo tender& light!! This recipe is a keeper!! Will be hanging it on the inside of my cabinet door!!! Thanks
I’m so thrilled to read this, Janice!
Can you use this recipe to make in air fryer?
Hi Katty – I’ve never tried that so I’m not sure!
I just found your recipe, and I noticed I had all the ingredients so I decided to whip some up. It was super easy and I finished the whole thing in under an hour!!!! So yummy!!!! I have a recipe book that I write all the recipes we love in so one day I can pass them down to our kids (when we finally have some), and I’m definitely writing this one in there! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Elizabeth!
I’m making these tomorrow for coworkers and there birthdays, but I’m wondering if I can also use different coatings also, I was gonna do some with the glaze recipe but also powdered sugar and also a sugar and a cinnamon sugar? Can this be done with this recipe as well?
Hi Jo! Absolutely! You can roll them in cinnamon-sugar while they’re still warm (to make sure it sticks) or you can dust them with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
How many days do they stay fresh?
Hi Amar! These really are best fresh :)
Absolutely! All of those toppings would be delicious, Jo!
These donut holes are delicious! A crunchy outside and a soft, pillowy inside. The glaze accompanies them perfectly. They are super quick and easy to make!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Maddie!
I had a craving for donut holes, found this super easy recipe and it was delicious! Will definitely be saving it to make again.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Lisha!
Recipes was easy to follow. Overall they came out well despite not having a thermometer or scoop. Some came out perfectly round and cooked thoroughly and some under cooked because my oil was too hot. My family enjoyed them. Thx for the recipe.
I’m so glad your family enjoyed the doughnut holes, Jenny!
Can you freeze these?
I’ve never tried freezing these doughnut holes so I’m not certain how the texture/taste would be once thawed.
Do you ever do anything with the Instant Pot?
Hi Larry! I have a couple of Instant Pot recipes. Here’s a link to them: https://www.justataste.com/?s=instant+pot :)
hi um i am a new baker and can you tell me what confectioners’ sugar is?
Hi Nina! Confectioners’ sugar is another name for powdered sugar and can be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store. :)