Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (2024)

Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (1)

Firstof all… there are doughnuts, and then there are DOUGHNUTS!!! I mean seriously, most doughnutrecipes don’t stand a chance in comparison toGrandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe. These doughnuts are light, fluffy, and absolutely delicious (hence the name)!! I’ll give you fair warning in advance, it’s hard to eat just one!

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Along with Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe, we are delighted to share 5 other amazing recipes that feature beloved recipes from grandma. (Scroll to the very end to find them.)

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When I was growing up, it wasn’t unusual to find mom either in thegarden or in the kitchen busy whipping up a batch of her yummy doughnuts on a Saturday morning. And, as time went on, she also treated her grandchildren to her scrumptious doughnuts. To tell you just how impressive these doughnuts are, my adult children still remember a doughnut-making day in Grandma King’s kitchen!

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Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (6)

You can see the majority of steps involved in making Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe in the picture collage above, however, I will also highlight them for you below.

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Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe:

Dissolve a packet of yeast in warm water until it doubles in size.

Warm milk + sugar + salt + butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter is melted; cool to room temperature.

Add activated yeast to milk mixture; gently stir together.

Next, add the liquid mixture to a slightly beaten egg and stir together. Add flour; mix together until well combined (dough will be slightly sticky). (I used my KitchenAidmixer with a KitchenAid dough hook attachment to mix my dough, although you can use a regular mixing bowl and mix the ingredients together by hand.)

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On a well-floured working surface, knead the dough until it is soft and smooth (like a baby’s bottom).

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Place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. To the dough from drying out, give the top a light coating of melted butter and to help the dough rise quicker, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in a sunny warm spot in your home.

  • Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (10)

Allow the dough to double in size. This process usually takes at least one hour, depending on how warm (and humid) its environment is.

When the dough has risen, use your fist to gently punch the center of the dough. This step helps remove some of the gas bubbles formed by the yeast during the rising process. It also helps the fermenting process the second time the dough rises.

Now flip the dough out ontoa well-floured working surface and knead again until it’s soft and smooth.

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Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness (see the picture at the beginning of this post). You may need to add a light dusting of flour from time to time to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin and/or working surface.

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Cut the dough into doughnut shapes using a doughnut cutter or two different sized (3-inch and 1 1/2-inch) biscuit cutters. Place doughnuts and holes onto two largebaking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchmentpaper.

Again, cover the dough with tea towels and allow it to rise until doubled in size.

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Fill half of a smallstockpotwith melted shortening or canola oil. Heat oil to approximately 375 degrees F. (I suggest you use a deep-fry thermometer to check the temperature.)

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Carefully drop doughnuts into the hot oil (I fry 3 at a time). When golden brown on the bottom, flip the doughnuts over. The frying process only takes approximately45 – 55 seconds on each side. Be careful not to over-fry them!

Using aslotted metal spoon, remove the doughnuts from the hot oil. In order to drain any excess oil, immediately place the doughnuts onto a stack of folded paper towels.

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Repeat the process for frying the doughnut holes (the holes fry even faster so be careful to not over fry them!)

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Place all of the ingredients for the glaze into a wide-mouth mixing bowl. Dip each doughnut into the glaze until it is submerged. Run an extra long handled stainless steel spoonor long-handledsilicone serving spoon through the center of the doughnut. Hold it up and allow any excess glaze to drain off for a few seconds. (If you’d like, go ahead anddip both sides of the doughnut into the glaze, although I personally only dip one side. To obtain thicker glaze, simply double-dip the doughnuts or drizzle any remaining glaze over the top of each doughnut.)

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Place the doughnutson acooling rack(now is the time to add candy sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, etc…), until the glaze hardens.

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Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnuts are always best when served fresh, although they do freeze well up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, thaw the doughnuts, then warm them in a microwave,toaster oven, or on the grill.Serve with a glass of milk or hot beverage.

Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe

Unknown

Yields 8 Large doughnuts + 8 doughnut holes

Grandma's homemade doughnuts that are delicious and truly, light-as-a-feather.

25 minPrep Time

5 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (19)Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

    Doughnuts

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 package yeast (1/4-ounce OR 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 3/4 cup milk (whole)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Glaze

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Knox gelatin (To prevent clumping, stir gelatin into the powdered sugar before adding the wet ingredients. The Knox gelatin helps solidify the glaze and resembles the glaze on Krispy Kreme doughnuts.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup milk (or enough to make the glaze thin enough to drizzle)

Instructions

  1. Place water into a glass measuring cup and warm until it reaches the temperature of a baby's bottle. Add yeast and allow it to activate until it doubles in size. (You can add a pinch of sugar to help "kick start" and speed-up the activation process if you'd like.)
  2. In a medium saucepan heat milk, sugar, salt and butter over low heat just until butter is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
  3. Gently stir yeast into cooled milk mixture. Add slightly beaten egg.
  4. Add flour (one cup at a time); incorporate well.
  5. Sprinkle a light dusting of flour onto dry, flat work surface. Knead dough until it resembles a soft baby's bottom.
  6. Place ball of dough into a large, lightly buttered mixing bowl and add a light coating of butter to the top of the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and set in a sunny warm spot in your home.
  7. When dough has doubled in size, gently punch it in the center with your fist; roll it onto your floured working surface.
  8. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/2" thickness. (You may need to add additional sprinkles of flour to prevent sticking.) Cut doughnut shapes out using a doughnut cutter or two different sized biscuit cutters (3-inch and a 1 1/2-inch).
  9. Place doughnut on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Cover again with tea towel and place back in sunny warm spot.
  10. When doughnuts have doubled in size, remove tea towel.
  11. Fry in oil that has been preheated to 375 degrees F. approximately 45 - 55 seconds per side, or until golden brown. Remove doughnuts from oil and immediately place them onto folded paper towels.
  12. Repeat the frying process for the doughnut holes but shortening the frying time to approx. 30 - 40 seconds.
  13. In a separarte mixing bowl, combine all glaze ingredients; mix well. Dip each doughnut into the glaze, coating as evenly as possible (dip one, or both sides). Run a long handled spoon through the center of each doughnut, hold it up and allow excess glaze to drip for a couple seconds. Place doughnuts onto cooling rack. (Now is the time to add candy sprinkle, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, etc...)
  14. When the glaze has harden, the doughnuts are ready to serve.

Notes

Doughnuts are best served fresh, however, they also freeze well up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, thaw and warm in microwave, toaster oven or on the grill.

7.8.1.2

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Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (20)

In the end, I believe that you’ll also love and cherish Grandma’s Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe as much as we do.

Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (21)

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Grandma's Light-as-a-Feather Doughnut Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make donuts less dense? ›

Add eggs: Eggs add richness and moisture to the dough. Add oil: Oil helps to keep the donuts moist. Don't overmix: Overmixing the dough will make the donuts tough. Let the dough rise: Letting the dough rise will help it to develop flavor and become light and airy.

Why are my mini donuts not fluffy? ›

Underproofed – leads to stiffer (denser) donuts that don't puff up well when fried. Cracked donuts – this may have happened if you used a cutter and it wasn't sharp enough to cut through the dough cleanly. Or the dough is underproofed or too cold.

What makes an old fashioned doughnut? ›

Old-Fashioned Doughnuts are basically cake doughnuts that have been fried. This gives them a slightly crunchy outer shell, that's usually lacquered with glaze or dusted with sugar. The inside tends to be less dense than the cake of your typical powdered doughnut and less airy than a Krispy Kreme-style glazed.

What is a light donut called? ›

Yeast Doughnuts

Also referred to as "raised doughnuts," this doughnut type uses yeast as a leavener, giving it a light and airy interior. Some other types of doughnuts, such as jelly or cream-filled, often have a yeast doughnut base. These are full of air pockets and less likely to leave crumbs.

What makes doughnut soft and fluffy? ›

There's only one way to make doughnuts even softer and fluffier and that is by scalding some of the flour. Scalding is a technique used to not only make bread softer, but also to make it stay soft for longer. You can use it for pretty much any recipe you like.

What makes donuts so airy? ›

The idea here is that the flour can absorb a hot liquid like water much more readily than if it were cold. This creates a dough-like blob that once incorporated into a dough will create lots of steam as the doughnuts are fried. The steam not only leavens the dough, but forms a light and fluffy texture.

Why are Krispy Kreme donuts so light and fluffy? ›

A batch of original glazed starts with Krispy Kreme doughnut mix, water and yeast, the same single-cell fungi used to make bread rise. The yeast is what makes the original glazed so light -- it puffs the dough up with air, so it's not dense like a cake doughnut (more on this later).

What are the airy donuts called? ›

Yeast Doughnut

These doughnuts are also known as "raised doughnuts," as yeast is used as a leavener, which creates the air pockets when frying the batter that results in their signature light and airy texture. They're less likely to be crumbly, due to their spongy consistency, and can be glazed, frosted, or filled.

Are fried or baked donuts better? ›

While many prefer the light and crispy texture of a fried donut, leaving the deep fryer in the cabinet and baking your cake donuts instead makes for healthier, less oily donuts. It's also safer and easier to clean up, given that you don't have to deal with lots of hot oil.

What is the best flour for donuts? ›

Use real cake flour – not DIY cake flour!

DIY substitutions don't really cut it, and AP flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture. Also, bleached cake flour will work best. Unbleached (like King Arthur Baking) won't absorb as much moisture, and you may end up with doughnuts that crumble while frying.

What were donuts called before they were called donuts? ›

England and North America

Dutch settlers brought olykoek ("oil(y) cake") to New York (or New Amsterdam) in the early 18th century. These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring shape.

What is a honeymooners donut? ›

Our honeymooners are made from our donut dough and topped with a generous spoonful of our fruity pie fillings and surrounded by vanilla icing. CHERRY.

What is the hole in a donut called? ›

donut hole (plural donut holes) The empty space in the center of a donut. (US, Canada) A small ball-shaped pastry, made in the same manner as a donut, roughly the size of the hole in a donut.

Why is Krispy Kreme less dense? ›

Yeast-raised: Krispy Kreme donuts are yeast-raised, which gives them a softer and fluffier texture compared to cake donuts, which are denser.

Why is my doughnut thick? ›

If the dough has too much water, the doughnuts appear distorted, produce large holes, and absorb more oil. If the dough is too stiff, it results in thick crust, rough, broken surface on one side and excessive absorption of oil in cracks.

What is a dense donut? ›

Cake Doughnuts

Doughnuts made from a cake-like batter, leavened not with yeast but baking powder or soda. The resulting texture is denser than a yeasted doughnut, and often a bit crustier.

What are the denser donuts called? ›

Cake Donuts

These donuts are denser than yeast donuts and have a more moist, tender texture.

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