When I first attempted to make these donuts, I thought it would be crazy difficult. To be honest it’s one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made.

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest from the website letthebakingbegin.com back in 2020 amid the COVID-19 insanity. Even though it does take a little while to complete these sugar donuts, it’s very therapeutic.

To start, combine 2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast, 2 tbsp. of warm water and 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar into a glass bowl and let it “proof”, which means to let it rise and foam up for about 5-10 minutes.

To make the dough, I suggest using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, it will make your life so much easier when it comes to this recipe. In the said stand mixer, combine 3 1/4 cups of flour, 1 cup warm milk, 3 egg yolks (not the whole egg), 2 tbsp. sugar and the proofed yeast on a low mixing speed for about 2 minutes until the dough starts to form.

After you see the dough forming, put the mixer on a slightly higher speed and kneed for about 15-20 minutes or until the dough is “tacky to touch”. If you kneed the dough past this point, it will lead to doughy donuts and won’t reach their full delicious potential.

Next, you might get your hands a little messy but trust the process, it will be worth it. You’ll need to butter a large bowl, pick up the dough and form it into a ball then place inside the bowl. Next you need to cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, or you can cover it with clear plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1-2 hours, or until you’ve noticed the dough has doubled in size.

Now for my favorite part, punch the dough to get the air out. Coat a clean surface and your rolling pin with a small amount of flour so the dough doesn’t stick. Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it out until it’s about 1/2 an inch thick.

Then you’ll want to use a cookie cutter that’s about 3 inches, but the top of a cup works the same if you don’t have a cookie cutter. Once it’s cut out place them on a sheet of parchment paper.

When all the dough is used up, cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rise for about 45 minutes to an hour or until it has doubled in size.

After a long rime coming, you’re almost done!

Fill a pot with about an 1 1/2 inches of the oil of your choice, I’ve noticed vegetable oil works best, but any other oils work too.

When the oil starts to boil or bubble, carefully place the dough “disk” into the pot. When you see the edges of your donut start to brown, flip it and repeat with the rest of the disks.

After all the donuts are fully cooked, coat them in sugar to your liking and enjoy!