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.
These were not really donut holes for me. They turned out more like hush puppies. Still good but nothing like don’t holes
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Nika.
are these fluffy or dense? Excited to try!
Hi Ellie – These are like cake doughnuts, so denser.
Omg so good!! We rolled them in cinnamon and sugar instead of the glaze. Will definitely be making again :)
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Bailey!
These were super delish!!!
I used avocado oil to fry them and they turned out FANTASTIC!
WOOHOO! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Faith!
Absolutely delicious.. the boys loved them!!!
I’m so thrilled to read this, Robin!
These sound delicious and perfect to make for a road trip snack.
Do they have to be eaten right away or can they be stored to eat the next day?
As in, will they lose their texture and dry out?
Hi Jesseca! They’re definitely best served the same day as they are made. I haven’t tried sampling them on day 2 (we never have leftovers!) so I’m not sure what the texture would be like.
i am planning to make these today or tomorrow. im looking so forward to it. im planning to make both the regular and the chocolate glazed, but as something a little different, i was thinking of injecting some marshmallow fluff and/or nutella into the donut hole as a sweet surprise!!! how do u think that will work? im excited and will def let u know how they turn out!
Hi Kelly! It should be pretty easy to fill the doughnuts after you’ve fried them. Just add your filling to a pastry bag fitted with a tip and pipe it in. Love the idea of filling them with Nutella!
Can I use avocado oil for frying?
That’s the only oil I have! lol
Hi Faith! Avocado oil is absolutely suitable for frying, however, it tends to be on the pricier side. Therefore, I don’t recommend using it unless it’s for shallow-frying.
Okay, tysm!!
I’ll tell you if they turn out ;)
You are so welcome. I look forward to reading your results!
Easy and delicious! A great find to save National Doughnut Day for us at the end of the day!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Melissa!
Oh my gosh… wow!!! These turned out so delicious!!! The glaze is amazing and we rolled some in cinnamon sugar. WOW!!!
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kristin!
My go to donut recipe!
It’s even more tender with bread flour instead. They always get scarfed down at events and are my personal easy recipe since I don’t like waiting on yeast.
This is what I love to read, Dave! I’m so thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe!
Easy and good tasting donuts! Since I’m a chocolate fan, I added one heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons of sugar. I don’t like to eat a lot of fried foods so I baked them in my silicone molds and then topped them with melted chocolate! Nice treat. Will use this recipe again.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
I made this recipe today and tried it in an air fryer. It did not work at all. They came out more like biscuits then donuts. I’m only slightly disappointed as they were excellent biscuits. I didnt have enough oil to cook them in oil so I cannot comment on that side.
Hi Jenna! I don’t recommend making this recipe in an air fryer because the dough is so wet. However, I do have a recipe for Baked Mini Buttermilk Doughnuts that you might be interested in trying next time. Here’s the link to the recipe: https://www.justataste.com/baked-mini-buttermilk-doughnuts-with-nutella-glaze-recipe/ :)
Just made these and I gotta say…they were really Good!! Mine werent round cause I didnt have a scoop but used the spoons and some of them looked a little funky…but the taste was fantastic. Made half with glaze and the other half just rolled in sugar.. They are disappearing as I type this!!
Love, love, LOVE reading this, Cassie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This did not work well, not only did I have to add an extra 2 cups, but they tasted very, just not good. 0/5 Would not recommend.
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe.
We made them, took a long time to do properly! Thermometer is essential . They make so many , just keep coming… enough for a party of 8! We really ( hubby and I) felt they were a success . I used icing sugar , which probably is confectioners sugar . Thanks for sharing! How can I print to keep ?
I’m thrilled you and your husband enjoyed the doughnut holes, Kirsten! And there is a print button on the recipe card above. :)
Best donuts I have EVER had, and they were so easy!! Everything was made, done, and cleaned up within 1 hour. Cannot wait to make these again – so light and fluffy and perfect!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Sarah!
This recipe was horrible…..”Donuts” came out bitter and raw….i even made a second batch to see if I accidentally made a mistake the first time and got the same results…was up all night making “donuts” i couldn’t even eat…. will not be coming back to this site for any of my recipes again….
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Ana. It sounds like your oil wasn’t the right temperature is they were still raw.
You have to make sure your oil is a certain temperature and make sure the oil is not too cold and not too hot because they will either be cooked too fast and the middle will be uncooked and if its not hot enough they wont come out great id probably put the stove on high to heat the oil up then put it on medium so it doesn’t over cook. it should be golden brown after also turn them after a few minutes you can see if its cooked right when they are perfectly golden on both sides.
Awesome!