Half-Dozen Fried Donuts
I’ve shared a few donut recipes before, and they are good, but…they are baked.
Let’s do this donut thing right. And by that I mean FRIED.
The first time I fried something, I felt like the most domestic girl in the world. I couldn’t believe this skill was in my arsenal. I decided it must be genetic, since my grandmother made the best fried chicken ever.
Ok, so the first time I fried something, it actually didn’t go so well. I caught the cooking bug during college in Waco. After watching the Food Network, I would search every grocery store in that little town looking for the exotic ingredients Giada called for in her recipes. Sorry, Giada, but in the South, we don’t do no prosciutto or Parmesan (or, as you say, Par-MEE-john-o). I’m American. I eat bacon and Velveeta. You should try it sometime.
I put on a low-cut shirt (isn’t this step 1 for all of her recipes?) and tried to sashe around the kitchen as effortlessly as Giada. I was waiting for my olive oil to smoke in my pan so I could sauté some garlic. I saw a wisp of smoke, so I dropped in the garlic. It hit the pan, instantly turned black and bounced around the skillet. I grabbed the pan from the heat, threw it in the sink and turned the faucet on it. Smart, right? Oil and water. The garlic took flight and almost burned my roommate’s boyfriend’s face. If this is Italian, I don’t want to cook like an Italian anymore. Italian food hurts people. (Just kidding, Paula, I love you more than bacon dipped in Velveeta.)
The next time I fried something, it went very well. It was canned biscuits to make donuts. Now here’s where the genes kick in.
I didn’t want you to be dependent on canned biscuits, so I made a homemade version for you to fry. I bet you have all of these ingredients in your pantry already.
I used a 3″ biscuit cutter for donuts, then I used the back of a piping tip to cut out the hole. Neat, huh?
- 3 cups of oil for frying (I use canola)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla (or rum)
- In a large skillet with sides, heat 1″ of clean oil to 370.
- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, melted butter and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together until no streaks of flour remain, but try not to over-mix too.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin to about ¼” thickness. Use a 3″ biscuit cutter to cut out 6 circles. Use a smaller cutter (I use a piping tip) to cut out the middles. Once the oil is hot, carefully slide 3 donuts into the oil. Fry for 15-20 seconds on each side, then flip. Fry the other side for 15 seconds (or until golden brown) and then remove from the oil. Let rest on a paper-towel lined cooling rack so the excess oil drips away. Repeat with the remaining donuts and donut holes.
- While cooling, whisk together all the glaze ingredients. Dip donuts in glaze, then serve.
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Hubba, hubba! These look wonderful!
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Haha love your story about the first frying attempt. Yes, Giada’s recipes do all call for a low-cut shirt to start.
These donuts sound amazing, fried donuts really are a different world from baked!
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I am way too scared of hot oil to attempt frying things. But I really want to make these donuts. I think I’m going to have to be brave aren’t I??
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I’m obsessed with this post. Amazing!
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omg i want i want i need i need!
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I’ve been wanting to fry donuts too. You’ve convinced me.
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These look perfect! Just the kind of donuts I dream about!
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hahaha YES, the first step IS to wear a low cut shirt to make sure you see all that cleav!
these look amazing and I could eat the entire half dozen..i’m obsessed with donuts!
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These are definitely done right. I love you.
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I still haven’t even tried the baked kind and now you’re frying on me?! Frying scares me, not gonna lie. But these look so darn good it might be worth it. Maybe if I put on a low cut shirt instead of the perpetual workout clothes I’m always in, I can channel my inner Giada and her suaveness in the kitchen.
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Mmmmm, I love a good fried donut, these look perfect!
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I love these little gems and your first time frying story! The first time I fried something it was chicken and my oil was too hot so it looked cooked on the outside but was totally raw inside. Dummy me was sooo proud. Waited for it to cool then cut into it and started to cry. It took me a year to get over that episode! : )
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Hahahaha, I notice you didn’t say anything about trying to throw off your head-to-body ratio before attempting a Giada recipe. I think that’s step two…after the cleavage-bearing shirt.
My mother has a similar hot-skillet-to-sink story, only her hot skillet actually took out a piece of the sink from the force with which she threw it. Apparently we are dangerous people to hang out with in the kitchen.
Mmmm, doughnuts.
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Stephie’s right. You are the queen. I need these doughnuts. Well, maybe not NEED, but I sure do want them. All six of them. All by myself. And, seriously, is there anything better in the world than a southern grandmother’s fried chicken? The answer is no. I miss that more than just about anything, except maybe her gumbo.
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I bet these are so good…move over Krispy Kreme!
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I’m wearing a low-cut shirt right now!
Okay I’m totally not. Unless my dingy rob being sort of open counts.
I want your holes.
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Christina! This is awesome! Thank you so much for including my survey in your post, and thank you to you all who are taking it! =)
I may have to make these donuts as soon as I am done with my case study…
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those are some perfectly round donuts
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yum. i have never fried donuts at home! i should change that.
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Hehe, bacon and velveeta! YES! Together they are even better
Anything is better fried than baked!
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You are my hero. Donuts done the right way!
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Wow, these kind of look like a heart attack on a plate…but in a totally worth it kind of way. Plus they’re mini so they must be kind of ok right? Definitely going to give these a try!
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Hi there! This is my first visit to your food page, and I have to say I really like what I see so far! I love the idea of scaling down the portion size of desserts, as I am a huge dessert fiend, but don’t necessarily want tons of leftovers lying around the house tempting me. I have never made donuts, but my mom made them when I was a kid, so your recipe takes me back! Hope you’re having a great weekend and I look forward to seeing more of your small-portioned desserts
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How funny, Giada does love her low cut shirts. Six donuts, yay! just enough for me (smile).
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Ahhh Fried Donuts! The way they are supposed to be
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Who wouldn’t want these?
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If only I weren’t afraid to fry…
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I fried a ton of potato chips last night and I haven’t put the oil away yet. Perhaps it should make donuts before it gets filtered.
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How delish do these look? Love the doughnuts and the doughnut HOLES!
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there is nothing like a good donut especially when you make it yourself! nice work
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You are cracking me up! Yes, putting on a low cut shirt is always step on for Giada’s recipes.
And fried biscuit donuts are a huge childhood memory for me. I love those things but never make them for a variety of reasons: preservative tasting donuts, it’s just Hubster and me and we don’t need that many, and the chance that my thighs will explode. Your paired down recipe takes away two of those fears. So thanks!
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I love it! I’ve been dying to make homemade donuts but my little family can’t (or shouldn’t) eat as many as most make. I’m definitely going to try this!
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Aaahh, you are so right about frying donuts — gotta make some soon. Those are definitely making me hungry at 1am
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[...] The perfect portion for homemade donuts! [...]
LADY. I avoided clicking on this post for as long as I could.
Because I don’t need know how easy these gorgeous doughnuts are.
Because we made a vow before getting married to only ever eat doughnuts on the morning we get our Christmas tree. Never mind that we have tried those foodie doughnut shoppes when on holiday.
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[...] have some extra time, I highly recommend using Dessert For Two’s homemade donut recipe found here, but if not, biscuits are easy (and grandma’s [...]
The way Giada pronounces words cracks me up. Like my dad when he tries to talk Spanish..it’s just English with a Mexican accent…
anyway, fried donuts are the only way.
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Is the amount listed for baking soda correct? It seems high for a such a small amount of flour. I’d like to try these, but I’m thinking that they may taste like soda.
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Thank you, Christina. I am going to try these when I get home from work tonight.
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