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These EASY Donut Holes are made completely without yeast, so you can have a classic donut hole without spending your whole day making them. They’re crunchy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside and dusted with cinnamon sugar or a delicious glaze – they basically melt in your mouth!
These are the best doughnut holes you will ever have. They can be coated in many things like a classic cinnamon sugar or a sweet warm glaze. And since they have no yeast they’re done in minutes! You do have to fry them, but it’s way easier to do that then you think.
The secret to these donut balls is using my sweet cream biscuit recipe (with a couple variations) to make a soft and fluffy dough that’s perfect for frying – no rising time or fussy steps!
Ingredient in Homemade Donut Holes
- Granulated sugar sweetens the dough and for the cinnamon sugar topping. Powdered Sugar (confectioners’ sugar) will be used in the glaze.
- Heavy Whipping Cream gives that fluffy airy texture when mixed with milk so they’re not too rich, plus baking powder as leavener.
- Vegetable Oil will be what you fry the donuts in – you can also use canola oil. Neutral oils are best for frying because they can reach 350°F without smoking or adding unwanted flavor into the donuts.
Coatings
Plain: I actually love these plain – they’re so good!
Cinnamon Sugar: mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Cool the donut holes until you can easily touch them, then roll in the mixture.
Glaze: You can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk or heavy cream. You could even use lemon juice for a lemon glaze.
Use the chocolate glaze from my chocolate donuts recipe.
Make lemon sugar by mixing some zest with granulated sugar to roll the donut holes in.
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Dorothy’s Expert Tips
- When frying you want to be sure to have at least 2 inches of oil in your saucepan. A thermometer is very important – and monitor the heat of your stove consistently so you can see if the oil is getting too hot (or not heating back up after each batch).
- The ideal temperature for frying donut holes is 350°F. If the oil is too cold the donuts will absorb excess grease and become heavy, while oil that is too hot will brown the exterior before the center is fully cooked, creating a raw center.
- For the best results do not crowd the pot when frying. Adding too many donut holes at once will cause the oil temperature to drop rapidly, resulting in soggy and oily donuts.
- While this recipe was designed for frying, you can bake them in a mini muffin pan or doughnut pan. They’ll be more like a biscuit than a donut.
Easy Donut Holes Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 5 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (298g) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons (11g) baking powder
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (237ml) heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (119ml) whole milk
- Toppings – see notes.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and milk and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the dough comes together. It will be a gooey dough.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of dough with a cookie scoop. You can scoop these direct into the hot oil (see next step) or place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and chill until oil is ready.
- Bring oil to 350°F in a 3Q saucepan. It’s important to use a thermometer to tell the temperature of the oil. Place a cookie sheet lined with paper towels near the pan.
- Fry 3-4 donut holes at a time (depending on the diameter of your pan). Don’t overcrowd or the oil temperature will drop too much. Monitor the oil temperature and turn the heat down on the burner if it continues rising too far above 350°F. Fry each donut hole for approximately 3-5 minutes. They will turn dark golden brown. Be sure to flip them halfway through frying.
- Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined baking sheet. Let cool slightly before rolling in cinnamon sugar or glazing.
Notes
- Cinnamon Sugar Coating: Stir 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons
ground cinnamon. Toss warm donut holes in mixture. - Glaze: Whisk 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy whipping cream, adding more liquid to get a thick but drippy consistency. You don’t want it so thin it drips right off, but not so thick it just looks like icing.
- Stir 1 tablespoon lemon zest with ½ cup granulated or powdered sugar and coat warm donut holes.
- Coat with simple powdered sugar.
- Swap lemon juice for the milk in the glaze for a lemon glaze.
- Make a chocolate glaze by adding 2 tablespoons cocoa to the glaze recipe.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Make Donut Holes
- The dough will be gooey and soft to the touch once mixed.
- It’s best to scoop all the balls before frying because things go fast. 1 tablespoon balls of dough make handling easier.
- Always use paper towels to drain your fried donuts.
- Don’t overcrowd or the oil temperature will drop too much.
- The glaze will be wet but will dry hard. The cinnamon sugar will stick without butter since the balls are hot from the oil.
What what? Are all the perfumes discontinued? I was at gap a couple of weeks ago and bought Dream More because I couldn’t find Dream…and ended up liking it more. Maybe because its just a tad different. You know…baby steps. Ugh, I’m going to be bummed if it’s gone too!
She said it was gone, and it’s no longer on their website. *sad face* but they still have it on Amazon!
Might I suggest a dab of Meyer lemon behind your ears?
You might be onto something Bryn!
Nailed this one girl! And yes, hop on over to Amazon ASAP and buy it ALL!!!
Got two bottles. Then I went broke. 😉 Phew!
I don’t like Meyer lemons (my parents had a Meyer lemon tree when I was a teenager, much to my chagrin ); would this be as good with regular lemons?
Yes! It would be fine, I just had the Meyers. You may need a few extra lemons because Meyers tend to be bigger than regular ones. 🙂
I am not a huge fan of dount holes, but these lemon ones look craaaaazy good! I need a lemon tree for all the lemon donut hole baking that my kitchen is going to experience. Haha, every day I have an ugly-first-world-problem-gasp … it was my jeans being in the dryer a little too long this morning … aaaand my eye liner smudging this evening 😉
I only like them when I get a hankering, you know? Fried stuff isn’t usually my thing but once in awhile… And when I get to needing lemon, these satisfied that perfectly!
My jaw is DROPPING at how easy these sweet little lemony treats are!! My kiddos and I will LOVE them! Thank you so much for linking to my Lemon Coffee Cake!! 🙂
Thanks Renee!
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