Beth’s Famous Glazed Yeast Donutsare light, fluffy, easy to make, and done in just a few hours with a rich and creamy glaze to go on top.

[I’m updating this post from 2009. You GUYS I have been at this a very long time.]

This recipe is from my sister-in-law Beth who is a fabulous cook (she’s a professionally trained chef actually!).I remember her and my brother coming down from Idaho at Christmastime to visit us in our tiny 600 square foot apartment in Provo, Utah. They were newlyweds and I didn’t know Beth well. They came down to ice skate and she made these amazing donuts for us. I took a picture and wrote up the recipe and have made it time and time again for years and years after.

Fast forward almost 10 years, I’m lucky enough to call Beth my neighbor as well as my friend. She doesn’t like to fry things very much, so we have this deal now that she makes the dough and cuts the donuts and then she shows up at my house and I fry them up. We make this recipe by our joint effort a few times a year and it’s so special to me.

I have other homemade donut recipes for you too:Apple Cider Donuts,Light and Fluffy Glazed Sourdough Donuts, andPumpkin Donuts. Give them a try!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s made from a standardyeast breaddough.
It is made from simple ingredients.
The glaze adds the perfect finish to the fluffy goodness.

Ingredients

For the dough

Instant Yeast
Water
Lukewarm Milk
Sugar
Salt
Eggs
Shortening or Melted Butter
All-Purpose Flour
Canola or Vegetable Oil for frying

For the glaze

Butter
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla
Hot Water

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to Make Beth’s Famous Homemade Donuts

Step #1.Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening or butter, and 2 cups flour. Beat until combined, then mix in remaining flour.

Step #3.Place cut donuts on a lined baking sheet. Let rise 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make glaze.

Step #2.Cover and let rise til doubled. Pour onto floured surface and roll out to 1/2″ thick. Cut with a floured donut cutter.

Step #4.Heat vegetable in a cast iron skillet. Slide donuts into oil, cook to golden then flip to other side. Remove from oil. Dip into glaze, then place on a cooling rack in a baking sheet.

Recipe FAQs

How do you make glazed donut icing?

Beth and I use a mixture of melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a liquid to thin it out (in this case water, milk and cream also work well). I think the butter really makes the icing great instead of just a milk and powdered sugar icing. You can make a chocolate glaze by adding 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa to the powdered sugar and adjusting the water or milk as needed.

Do I have to glaze the donuts?

These donuts are also great tossed in powdered sugar or a cinnamon and sugar mixture. If we are frying them up for a party I’ll often make chocolate and vanilla glaze AND powdered sugar and sugar cinnamon donuts so that people have a lot of choices.

Expert Tips

The dough should be very soft but not overly sticky.It’s ok if it’s a bit tacky, but if it’s sticking to your hands and won’t come off, you need a bit more flour.
To scald the milk I just stick it in the microwave and get it nice and hot.But be sure to let it come down to around 110 degrees F. If you add the milk to your yeast mixture while the milk is too hot you can kill your yeast which will ruin the recipe.
Don’t have a donut cutter?I LOVE thesebiscuit cuttersand the largest one with the smallest one as the hole works great for this recipe.