What’s more fun than Homemade Buttermilk Donut Holes? They are light and fluffy, and perfect for a quick morning snack or dessert. With simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, you can whip up a batch in no time. Plus, since there's no yeast, you don't have to wait for dough to rise. Just mix, fry, and enjoy a warm donut in minutes!
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Making Homemade Buttermilk Donuts is easier than you might think! With just a few basic ingredients, you can make soft, fluffy donuts at home without using any special tools or fussing with yeast. Just mix the dough, scoop it up, and fry until golden brown. It’s a simple process that even beginners can handle, and you get to enjoy fresh and warm donuts, without leaving the house.
Skip the donut shop! The taste and texture of homemade donuts is amazing. They have a crisp exterior, while the inside stays soft and fluffy. The buttermilk adds a slight tang that goes perfectly with their subtle sweetness. You can keep them simple with a vanilla glaze, or make them extra tasty by rolling them in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. However you flavor them, they’re delicious, and they won’t last long once you serve them!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
I love it when my breakfast or brunch comes together with basic pantry ingredients. I don't need anything fancy, and I get to eat warm donut holes? Sign me up! Let's go over a few of the simple ingredients and how you can make the best donuts with a few adjustments if needed:
- All-purpose flour - I prefer to use regular plain flour in these donuts, but be sure to measure correctly. I was raised using cups, etc, and I include those traditional measurements in my recipe card, but I recommend buying an affordable kitchen scaling and using weight to measure. If you don't have a scale, fluff up your flour with a spoon, spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Buttermilk - I grew up in the South and we used buttermilk in everything from crispy waffles to fluffy pancakes. I like the tanginess and fluffiness it brings to my baked and fried pastries. If you don't have it you can use sour cream, yogurt, or kefir. If you want to use milk, start with ¾ cup and adjust from there to get a batter as thick as the one I show you below.
- Butter - I prefer butter in my muffins and donuts, but you can use vegetable oil in its place and probably not really be able to tell the difference. After frying and dunking in glaze, the butter flavor may get lost.
- Nutmeg - There is something about nutmeg that just screams warm and fluffy donut to me. It might be that the old fashioned donuts of my childhood had a little nutmeg in the glaze, but whatever it is, I like it. You can skip it, but try it once?
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
Step-by-step Instructions
Making this donut recipe is just as simple as making my buttermilk muffins; mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and add melted butter. Boom. Donut batter. And don't be afraid of frying some delicious donuts. It's easier than you think and you can reuse the oil up to 5 times as long as you strain it and store it correctly. So you can make more fluffy donuts!
Let's start by prepping the frying environment:
- Place a wire cooling rack on a cookie sheet lined with a few layers of paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Pour about 2 inches of vegetable oil into dutch oven or large heavy pot. Place over medium heat until the temperature of the oil comes up to 350°F. You may need to adjust the heat level during the frying process to maintain the oil temperature of 350°F. If you have a deep fryer, set it to 350°F.
Step 1: To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small 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 cover bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside while you make the doughnut holes.
Step 2: Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Step 3: In a separate medium bowl, or large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until there are still some dry ingredients peeking through.
Step 5: Add melted butter and continue to stir until mixture forms a thick batter. Allow batter to rest for at least 15 minutes.
Step 6: Use a small (1 tablespoon) cookie scoop, or a spoon, to portion batter and carefully drop into the hot oil. Add 6 to 8 donut holes to the oil.
Step 7: Let cook about 2 minutes, then flip over and cook another 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or wire spider to remove from the oil and place on the rack to cool.
Step 8: Allow the donut holes to cool slightly. Use a couple of forks to dip the doughnut holes into the sweet glaze and roll them around a bit. Lift them out and transfer them to back to the baking sheet to allow the excess glaze to drip off.
Optional: If you want options, and we all love options, roll some of your donuts in sifted powdered sugar...
... or give them a cinnamon sugar coating, or both! Serve warm.
Hint: Place your finished donuts back on the wire rack to cool completely. Do not, absolutely do not, allow your loved one (I'm speaking to my husband right now) to bite into a donut that has only been out of the oil for a few minutes. If they do, and they probably will, roll your eyes and walk away. You can't fix stubborn.
Expert tip
Frying in oil is a delicious, but imprecise technique. Adding cold or room temperature ingredients to hot oil will drop the temperature, and it's almost impossible to know how much. You should use an instant read or deep fry thermometer to continuously monitor your oil's temperature and adjust the heat to keep it as close to 350°F as possible.
Because of the fluctuating temperatures and size of the donuts, I always use one of the donuts from my first batch as a test to know exactly how long I’ll need in the oil. Cut one in half. If it is still has a doughy center, check the temperature and adjust if needed or keep the next ones in the hot oil a bit longer.
Recipe FAQs
Because this is a batter, not a dough, I would not recommend making them in an air fryer. You could try with my old fashioned donuts. I haven't done it myself, but I'm sure someone on the internet has. If you try it let me know!
Yes, you can make this batter the night before and cover with plastic wrap until morning. Take the batter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature while you heat your oil.
I would not. I purposely have you use a 1 tablespoon scoop, or a 1 tablespoon measure, because it will double in size when it fries. If you try to make a larger doughnut, chances are when the outside is golden brown, the inside will still be doughy and raw.
From my own experience, you can keep your donuts loosely covered at room temperature for a day and your loved ones will still eat them and look pretty pleased with themselves.
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-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Homemade Buttermilk Donut Holes (without Yeast)
Ingredients
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons whole milk plus more, if needed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Donuts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- Oil for frying
Instructions
Prep
- Place a wire rack on a large sheet pan lined with a few layers of paper towels.
- Pour about 2 inches of vegetable oil into dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan. Place over medium heat until oil comes up to 350°F. You may need to adjust the heat level during the frying process to maintain the 350°F temperature.
Make the glaze
- Sift the powdered 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 other optional flavorings
- In another bowl mix 1 cup of granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. In a final bowl sift 1 cup of powdered sugar. Set aside.
Make batter
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate mixing bowl, or large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until there are still some dry ingredients peeking through.
- Add melted butter and continue to stir until mixture forms a thick batter. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
Fry donuts
- Once oil has come to temperature, use a small (1 tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion batter and carefully drop into the hot oil. Add 6 to 8 donut holes to the oil. Let cook about 2 minutes, then flip over and cook another 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or wire spider strainer to remove from the oil and place on the rack to cool.
Glaze and enjoy
- Allow the donut holes to cool slightly. use a couple of forks to dip the doughnut holes into the glaze and roll them around a bit. Transfer them to back to the rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off.
- If you want options, and we all love options, roll some of your donuts in cinnamon sugar or sifted powdered sugar, or both! Serve warm.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
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