Perfect Sugar Donuts (2024)

Modified: Feb 3, 2021 by Dina

These Perfect Sugar Donuts are light and fluffy, and deliciously chewy. Covered in sugar, they’re a mix of yeasty flavor and melt-in-your-mouth sweetness.

For more yummy donuts, try our glazed air fryer donuts and amazing mochi donuts.

The Very Best Sugar Donuts

These Sugar Donuts are sweet, chewy, and practically dissolve in your mouth. It’s impossible to eat just one. This recipe has quite a few steps, but if you follow it closely, you’ll end up with a plate of some seriously awesome sugar donuts. They have the perfect mix of yeasty flavor, fluffy dough, and crunchy sweet sugar granules on top. These can be eaten as is, or dressed up with your favorite toppings or fillings. You’ll love serving these to guests after dinner or bringing them out for a coffee break.

What you’ll need

These Sugar Donuts are made with Whole milk, Dry active yeast, Granulated sugar, All-purpose flour, Salt, Unsalted butter, Eggs, Vanilla extract, and Corn oil for frying.

Yeast-raised donuts vs. cake donuts

There are two main types of donuts. Cake donuts are made with a special cake batter that is leavened with baking powder. Yeast-raised donuts, like these sugar donuts, use yeast to give them their fluffy, airy texture. Yeast donuts are also more chewy than cake donuts, which are more dense and crumbly.

How to Make Perfect Sugar Donuts

• Froth the yeast. In a large measuring cup, combine the warm milk, dry active yeast, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk them together and let the mixture froth for 5-10 minutes.
• Combine dough ingredients. In a stand mixer, add the flour, rest of the sugar, salt, butter, egg and egg yolks, vanilla, and yeast mixture. Begin mixing the donut dough with the hook attachment at low speed.
• Mix the dough. Once there are no more dry patches of flour, bring the speed up to high and continue mixing for 10-15 minutes. The dough should be a little sticky and tacky to the touch.

• Let the dough rise. Grease a large bowl (I used about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil) and place the dough in it. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or until it doubles or even triples in size.
• Roll out the dough. Once the dough has finished rising, punch it down and place it on a floured surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/2-inch thick.
• Cut out donut circles. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or glass cup, cut out circles in the dough. Once you’ve cut out as many as you can, reshape and roll out the scraps, and then cut out more circles. You should get about 16 sugar donuts in total.
• Let them rise again. Place the cut-out donuts on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover it with a thin kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let them rise for 30 minutes.

• Fry the donuts. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 inches of corn oil to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry each donut for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Then use a large slotted spoon to transfer the donuts to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
• Cover the donuts in sugar. Once the donuts have cooled and are only warm now, roll them in a bowl with 1 cup of granulated sugar. Then serve and enjoy these perfect sugar donuts.

Oil Temperature For Frying Donuts

When frying donuts, you want to use a high smoke point oil like canola, vegetable, or corn oil. Keep the oil at around 340 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. The best way to monitor oil temperature is by using an instant-read thermometer.

Pro Tips for the best donuts

• Use warm milk with the yeast. In order to activate the yeast so it froths and makes the donuts fluffy, you need the milk to be about 108 degrees Fahrenheit. If the yeast doesn’t froth, your milk may not have been the right temperature or the yeast might be expired. Discard and try again.
• Mix the dough for the full 10-15 minutes. I know it’s tempting to rush the dough mixing because it looks combined, but make sure it continues to mix the entire time. This working of the dough is what gives the donuts the right consistency.
• Let the dough rise for more time rather than less. During the first rise, the donut dough should double or even triple in size. The more time you allow it to rise, the fluffier and airier your sugar donuts will be. Allow them to go the full 1-2 hours.
• Use an instant-read thermometer for the frying oil. Keeping the oil temperature at 340 degrees Fahrenheit consistently is important because it ensures that the donuts cook through and also don’t burn. A thermometer can help you check the oil periodically.

Tasty ways to Serve them

These Sugar Donuts can be served just as they are, covered in granulated sugar. But if you want to pretty them up, you could top them with chocolate ganache or raspberry sauce. Or you could fill them with custard or strawberry jam. They are simple enough to complement any flavor combination you like.

How to Store Sugar Donuts

To keep fresh donuts from going stale, the best thing to do is place them in a ziplock bag. You could also place them on a plate and wrap them with plastic wrap. If they are not exposed to air, they can stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature. In the refrigerator, they will last a few extra days.

Can you make these ahead of time?

Yes, you can start making the dough the day before. If you want to save some time the day you plan to serve these Sugar Donuts, follow the recipe up until the donuts are cut out of the dough. Place them on the baking sheet and cover them with plastic wrap. Then leave them in the fridge overnight to rise. In the morning, leave them on the counter for an hour or so to finish rising, then fry, coat with sugar, and serve.

See Also

Cinnabon Copycat RecipeHow To Make PIPEABLE Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (Finally!)Homemade Einkorn Butter CrackersHomemade marshmallow fluff

More Delicious Donut Recipes!

• The Best Chocolate Donuts
• Maple Donut Bars From Scratch
• Air Fryer Donuts
• The BEST Mochi Donuts Recipe (VIDEO)
• Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts

Full Recipe Instructions