Semi-Homemade Donuts

Jul 30th, 2008 by Marie

This recipe for semi-homemade donuts starts from a can, but comes out baked hot and fresh. Using ready-to-use biscuit dough, these donuts are easy and fast to make.

homemade donuts

Supplies for Donuts:

biscuit dough - ready to use or from scratch
small circle cutter - I used a medicine cup that came from children’s Tylenol
1/4 - 1/2 cup cooking oil - vegetable or canola
tongs
paper towels
cinnamon and sugar mix

Open the biscuit can and spread all the rolls out. Then using a small circle cutter, press out a donut hole right in the middle.

Then get your pan on medium heat with 1/4 - 1/2 cup oil. Depending on how many you make, you will need more oil. You want enough oil to cover half of the donut when cooking. Place 3-4 doughy donuts into the pan and leave until the bottom is golden brown. Don’t do anything else but watch these, as they cook fast and don’t want them to burn. Then turn them over and cook another minute or so. Using tongs, place the cooked donut on paper towels to drain and cool slightly.

Now place the donuts on a plate and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. I use a shaker I bought for $1 at Walmart and it’s the best for pre-mixing cinnamon and sugar or for powder sugar too. You could also top your donuts with a powdered sugar/milk glaze. Even a chocolate frosting with sprinkles would be yummy.

Now you’re ready to eat. The donut holes are my favorite, but I don’t realize how many I end up eating, they’re deliciously bite-sized.

Posted in Recipes | 51 Comments

51 Responses to “Semi-Homemade Donuts”

on 30 Jul 2008 at 4:55 am1 KJ

YUM!! These look delicious. I also love the last pic of you little one licking her lips as she tastes it. A picture truly says a thousand words. I gotta try these since donuts are not as easy to find in Korea. I hope the commisary has biscuits tomorrow.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 5:38 am2 kim

it’s that easy??!! that’s not “a good thing”.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 6:38 am3 Bridget

What a great idea! Yum! :)
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:12 am4 Emily

We make these every Sunday after church. I can vouch for their yummy-ness and ease. We skip the cutter and just poke a hole in the center w/ our finger and stretch the hole out a bit. We also shake them in a big ziplock bag to coat w/ sugar & cinnamon.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:20 am5 Rebecca

Oh I’ve been wanting to make my own donuts for so long! Thanks for the recipe!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:37 am6 Amy

That is such a GREAT idea, a quick and easy snack for the kids.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:55 am7 Marie

KJ - Good luck making these in Korea. I hope you find your biscuits too.

Kim - They are just that easy! I know!

Bridget - Yes, Yum!

Emily - That is a great after church snack. And poking the hole is a good idea too. Although, I do love to eat the holes!

Rebecca - These semi donuts make it easy to have the real thing. And they taste great.

Amy - It’s almost too quick and easy. I made them for all the neighbor kids and they loved them.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:11 am8 Heidi

Oh YUM!! I am definitely going to be trying these out soon!! They are making my mouth water right now!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:15 am9 Kim M

These are the best! We used to make these all the time when I was growing up. I will be sure to grab some biscuits at the store today.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:25 am10 Monica

We had these for breakfast and they were yummy! Mine aren’t as pretty as yours, but they still taste good.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 10:45 am11 Tonya

These look absolutely delish. I’ve saved this post for when I return from vacation. I MUST
on 30 Jul 2008 at 10:47 am12 Tonya

okay, yep, gotta love a child bouncing on your lap as you are typing so you accidentally send a comment before it’s finished ha ha.

What I was trying to say is I absolutely must make these. I have a serious donut fetish but have never made them. I just frequent donut shops.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 11:02 am13 Laurin

This will save me from being dragged out of the house to the donut shop on weekend mornings. Those look exactly like donut shop donuts.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 11:08 am14 OccasionalGenius

You’ve got the luckiest kids! My kids would be thrilled if I’d clear my laundry project off the counter so they have room to pour a bowl of cereal. What a mom!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 11:49 am15 Jamie

This is much easier than the donuts we made from scratch as a youth. Thanks! There a simple recipe for making Cinnamon Biscuits that I posted on my blog back in the spring. My 12 yr. old daughter made them. Here’s the link:

Cinammon Rolls

I should clarify something about the recipe, we usually only use about 2 Tablespoons of margarine and melt it in the microwave in a bowl, then just put some cinnamon sugar in another bowl. These biscuits really do turn out to task like cinnamon rolls and they go fast.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 12:07 pm16 Janel

Thank you for a great idea for today’s after nap activity. I am only worried that as easy as those look, they may become somewhat of a regular treat… But they’re a lot cheaper than driving to Krispy Kreme’s!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 1:45 pm17 vanessa

Mmmm we made these when we did the letter D :) So so yummy :) They are way easy! But the sick thing is how many I can eat!!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 2:07 pm18 Heidi Boos

This brings back memories of my childhood. We used to make these all the time! Thanks for refreshing my memory and now I can’t wait to try these with MY kids.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 2:28 pm19 Ashley

We used to do this all the time growing up too. We did the poke a hole with our finger thing, I think next time I will try your doughnut hole way. They look delicious. We usually used a powder sugar & milk glaze.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 3:49 pm20 Madeline

I can see myself getting into BIG trouble with these!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 4:06 pm21 Shana

Oh Goodness! Where in the world do you find these recipes…..Sunday breakfast here we come! MMMMMM…..
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:04 pm22 care-in

So glad you shared this. I have been doing the donut hole recipe from food network (saw it on Guy’s Big Bite) and it used canned biscuits too. This will be fun to actually make a real donut.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 8:24 pm23 kj

When my mom was a young girl her mom made homemade doughnuts for them for a treat when they could. They were so poor growing up and so this was a very special tradition for them. When I was a girl my mom started making them with the bisquits and now I make them with my kids. This is a great memory and tradition now for three generations in my family! Thanks for the reminder!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:01 pm24 lizzy

i grew up with these and now make them with my family every general conference.
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:43 pm25 Marie

I love hearing how Homemade Donuts have been a tradition with so many of you. I’m going to have to pick an occasion or holiday to serve these at each year!
on 30 Jul 2008 at 9:58 pm26 [eatingclub] vancouver || js

This is a dangerous recipe, very dangerous. . .;)
on 31 Jul 2008 at 12:18 am27 kimberly

My Mom used to make these for me when I was a little girl. I’ve been thinking about making them lately. Now I’ve gotta do it! I have a feeling my daughter will love them as much as I did.
on 31 Jul 2008 at 11:25 am28 Stephanie

What a great idea!! I’m already dreaming of eating one of these warm covering in glaze… mmmmm
on 31 Jul 2008 at 11:47 am29 Katie

These look great! And so easy too. I could go for a few or 100!
on 31 Jul 2008 at 12:39 pm30 Nate

Very cool. How do you think they compare to Krispy Kremes?
on 31 Jul 2008 at 3:45 pm31 Angie

Too bad we’re moving across the country in a couple days. Everything is packed up. We will definately make these when we get to Utah. Are you thinking of having another craft play day? We’ll be there in a week and I’d love to meet you and your cute kids. :)
on 31 Jul 2008 at 5:39 pm32 Teresa

These donuts look delicious. My mouth is watering just looking at the pics!

We make something similar called monkey bread, with canned biscuits, butter, and cinnamon sugar! Yum!
on 31 Jul 2008 at 7:26 pm33 ester

we just tried these and they are SO easy and SO very good! thanks!
on 31 Jul 2008 at 8:22 pm34 Hilary

We made these on Saturday mornings when I was growing up. My mom made sprinkled with granulated sugar. My grandma made them with powdered sugar glaze. Both are yummy. Now I need to make these!!
on 01 Aug 2008 at 7:28 am35 Jerry

UMMM YUM!
on 02 Aug 2008 at 2:38 am36 paresh

delicious, i’ll try it. thanks for sharing.
on 03 Aug 2008 at 2:09 pm37 lisa

I forgot about these! My mom used to make these from time to time when we were kids. Thanks for the reminder.
on 06 Aug 2008 at 2:14 pm38 Jessica

Thanks for the great idea! My boys and I are making these right now. I’m waiting for the oil to heat up as I type this.

Yummmm!!!!

Jessica
http://www.momshots.com
on 06 Aug 2008 at 4:37 pm39 Jessica

I just wanted to follow up and tell you that they turned out great. I posted them on my family blog (stier-family.blogspot.com). We’ll doing this pretty frequently, I’m sure.

~Jessica
http://www.momshots.com
on 08 Aug 2008 at 4:38 pm40 beccaf

We just made these to go along with “brown day” and they were definately the hit of the day. Better than tree climbing or making a fort.
on 07 Sep 2008 at 9:40 am41 SRonni

A COMMENT…

Yum these look so good. (:

Are they really that easy to do!?

YUM…

That was nice of you Marie to kind of reply to everyone!

Hope everyone has a great feast on these doughnuts.

They are great snacks for the kids, well done and thanks for putting the recipe on the internet!
on 07 Sep 2008 at 9:43 am42 SRonni

That little girl in the last picture is so cute!

:D
on 22 Sep 2008 at 5:39 pm43 Baking Mondays « Anywho

[...] For the recipe click here [...]
on 24 Sep 2008 at 6:53 pm44 militarywife01

I just finished making these for my daughter’s preschool multicultural luncheon. Although I found the recipe elsewhere, and made approx. 40 of them, I just wanted to add that they are fantastic! Also, I am sending them with a shaker of powdered sugar as suggested in the other recipe and that is delicious too. I was curious to see who knows of a good way to preserve them over night, I am just taking a risk on a rubbermaid container. Thanks!
on 26 Sep 2008 at 9:38 am45 Super Yummy and Quick doughnuts « What Is Shelly Cooking?

[...] they were super quick and very tasty! I saw the recipe here and she apparently got the idea here. I will post how I made them though. The quickest way would be to use refrigerated [...]
on 01 Oct 2008 at 5:04 am46 Fry Up Some Scones for Dinner | Make and Takes

[...] this post is another deep fried recipe (I know, it’s not helping my love handles either!) It’s also another yummy breakfast [...]
on 02 Oct 2008 at 10:02 am47 ingrid

Aaaa, your babygirl is so cute! I see like me you’re a lover of fried dough. I’ve heard about making donuts this way but have yet to try it! Need to give this a try, asap, especially as my babies are usually asking for something tasty to snack on right about 9.
~ingrid
on 13 Oct 2008 at 2:43 pm48 Kellie

I ran across this same recipe elsewhere, and the doughnuts are wonderful.

Since my son (age 5) was diagonsed with a nut allergy a year ago, he has had to stay away from store/bakery items. So, he was absolutely thrilled that there is now a doughnut he can make and eat!
on 28 Oct 2008 at 12:54 pm49 Sasha

HOW DO YUW MAKE THE GLAZE FOR DOUGHNUTS??
on 28 Oct 2008 at 3:18 pm50 Marie

Sasha - For a Doughnut glaze, mix powdered sugar with water and a little lemon juice. I’m not sure of the exact measurements, I usually just start pouring. But start with about 1-2 T water and 1/4 tsp lemon juice. Then add powdered sugar until you have a smooth glaze.
on 06 Dec 2008 at 2:05 pm51 lola

This is not just a winter idea! We always do this while camping. First you take a bisquit and twist it around your used hot dog stick, put it carefully over the fire, keep it turning or it may burn. When it is golden brown you rub it over a cube of butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mix. I put mine in a zip lock bag to have easier packing.