The Secret to Making Amish Doughnuts at Home

Is there anything more satisfying than delicious Amish glazed doughnuts? The answer is yes—chocolate-glazed Amish doughnuts. Or powdered doughnuts. Or doughnuts covered in cinnamon sugar!

Okay, so you get where we’re going here—doughnuts are incredible. Amish doughnuts are sweet and delicate, especially when you coat them in a sugary glaze. And when you get that perfectly light and airy batch, it can improve your entire week.

What Are Amish Doughnuts?

The Amish are well-known for their baking skills (and all kinds of amazing baking tips). Amish doughnuts are always made from scratch with the baking basics—sugar, flour, milk, yeast and eggs. What sets them apart from other doughnut recipes is the method, which requires kneading, stirring and patience.

The doughnuts themselves are usually fried in fat, but we’ll use vegetable oil. Traditional Amish doughnuts are glazed, coated in powdered sugar or dusted with cinnamon sugar.

How to Make Amish Doughnuts

Ingredients

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 cup warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Oil for deep-fat frying

Instructions

Step 1: Combine ingredients

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt and 2 cups of flour, then beat until smooth. Continue adding flour in ½ cup increments until you’ve formed a soft dough.

Step 2: Knead and rise

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic (6–8 minutes). Lightly grease a large bowl, then place your dough in the bowl and cover until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Step 3: Shape and rise again

Place the risen dough on a floured surface and roll out (or use your hands to pat down) to ½-in thickness. Using a 2-1/2 in. doughnut cutter like this, shape the doughnuts and place them on a greased baking sheet. Keep the doughnut holes and let them rise, too!

Cover the dough and let it rise again until doubled in size, another hour.

Step 4: Fry!

In a Dutch oven or deep fryer, heat the oil to 375°. Fry the doughnuts in small batches (four to five at a time) until golden brown on both sides, about 45 seconds—1 minute each side. Drain on a paper-towel lined surface.

If you’ve never deep-fried before, you’ll want to check out this guide first.

How to Top Amish Doughnuts

Traditional Amish glazed doughnuts are coated with a sugary syrup that clings to the doughnut. For an easy glaze, combine 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar and 4–6 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. While the doughnuts are warm, dip them in the sugar, then allow them to cool on a wire rack.

To really lean into the farmhouse vibe, create your own cinnamon doughnuts by rolling warm doughnuts in a cinnamon-sugar coating, made from 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Chocolate fanatics (guilty!) can dip warm doughnuts in a chocolate ganache instead—warm ½ cup heavy cream until just bubbling, then pour on 1 cup chocolate chips. Wait 30 seconds, then stir the mixture and dip your doughnuts.

Check out cooking secrets from an Amish kitchen.

How to Store Amish Doughnuts

Want to keep your doughnuts fresh for the week? Storing Amish glazed doughnuts isn’t difficult! After they’ve cooled, store them in an airtight container or large storage bag at room temperature—they should keep for 2–3 days if stored properly.

If you love that warm feeling of a fresh doughnut, microwave in 5-second intervals until it’s been heated to your taste.

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The post The Secret to Making Amish Doughnuts at Home appeared first on Taste of Home.

Kate Ellsworth