You won’t believe how fast, easy, and delicious these Biscuit Donuts are! You are only a few ingredients away from homemade donuts that taste like they are made from scratch.
Time to break out the oil to fry some donuts! For more favorites, try these Ricotta Donuts or these Cake Donuts for a few from-scratch recipes.
I am a self proclaimed donut snob. Donuts are one of my favorite things ever, and I refuse to eat sub-par donuts.
So for me to say that these super easy Biscuit Donuts are a favorite, it really means something! But really, I’d take these donuts over most grocery store donuts any day. And even over many bakery donuts!
And the best part is that they are so easy that almost anyone can make them. This is a great recipe to get the kids involved in (with supervision, of course). And they are perfect for whenever a donut craving strikes.
Ingredients
- Oil: You want a neutral oil with a high smoke point that is good for frying. I always go for vegetable oil, but canola, peanut, and sunflower oil will all work. You could also use avocado oil, but it tends to be more expensive and so not always the best choice since there will be so much waste at the end.
- Sugar: I like a traditional granulated sugar. You could do this with brown sugar, but granulated is my preference.
- Cinnamon: I think 1 tablespoon of cinnamon gives this the perfect cinnamon to sugar ratio, but feel free to mess around with it to make it perfect for you.
- Biscuits: My favorite biscuits are the flaky layer grand biscuits. I usually get the buttermilk, but the butter flavor or original work, as well. But really, any canned biscuit dough will work. If you buy the smaller biscuits, you will just have smaller donuts.
How to Make Biscuit Donuts
STEP 1: Start by heating your oil in a large skillet or a Dutch oven. Then combine your sugar and cinnamon and set that aside. You want to make sure it is ready for dipping as soon as your donuts come out of the oil.
STEP 2: Open the biscuits and take each biscuit and flatten it out slightly. You just want to make it a little bit wider and a little bit thinner for now.
STEP 3: Take a small cookie cutter and cut the centers out of the biscuits.
STEP 4: Once the oil is up to about 350ºF, add half of your donuts, depending on how big your skillet is. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan, so this may be less depending on the size. You can also add half of your holes, as well.
STEP 5: Fry the biscuits for about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook the second side.
STEP 6: Take the warm donuts and dip them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Transfer to a cooling rack to let the donuts cool enough to serve.
Tips and Tricks
Don’t have a small, round cookie cutter? You can always just poke a hole in the center, although this won’t give you any donut holes to eat and you won’t have the traditional donut shape. You could also use a sharp paring knife to cut out the centers.
I prefer to cook these biscuit donuts in a large cast iron skillet. You could also use a Dutch oven, but you only need 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil, so I find that you have less oil to discard at the end with the skillet.
You want your oil to be about 350ºF. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, you can test with a donut hole to see if the oil is a good temperature. If the donuts are browning in less that 2 minutes per side, you’ll want to turn the heat down, but if they are taking long, you want to turn it up.
These donuts are definitely best when they are fresh and warm. They will lose some of the texture if they cool down. If you do have leftover donuts, keep them in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave for the best results.
More Topping Ideas
We love to do cinnamon sugar because it is so easy and so tasty, but there are lots more options!
Glazed Donuts: Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1-2 tablespoons of hot water to make your glaze. Let the donuts cool slightly, then dip the tops in the glaze. Or feel free to coat both sides of the donuts with the glaze.
Chocolate Frosted Donuts: Combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Add enough milk to make it a good consistency, about 1-2 tablespoons. Dip or frost slightly cooled donuts with the chocolate frosting.
Powdered Sugared Donuts: Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. You’ll want to add the donuts to the powdered sugar when they are still decently hot sot that the powdered sugar will stick to the donuts. Alternately, you can sift the powdered sugar over the cooled donuts.
More Donut Recipes
Cake Donut Recipe
Apple Cider Donuts
Homemade Funfetti Donuts
Baked Red Velvet Donuts
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Biscuit Donuts
Ingredients
- Oil for frying
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 16.3 oz can refrigerated Jumbo biscuits
Instructions
- Add about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil to a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat to about 350ºF.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or deep plate.
- Open the can of biscuits. Flatten each biscuit slightly, then use a small round cookie cutter to cut out the center.
- When the oil is hot, Add some of the biscuits (you don’t want to overcrowd the pan). Cook until the bottom of the biscuit is golden brown, then flip and cook the second side. This should take about 2 minutes per side. If the donut is browning too quickly, the inside won’t be cooked through, so you’ll want to turn the heat down.
- Once the donut is cooked, transfer the donut straight to the cinnamon sugar, turning the donut to coat in the cinnamon sugar.
- Continue until all of the donuts and the donut holes are cooked.
Monet says
I had been wanting to make donuts for a few weeks now…these were so easy and so fast!
Debbi says
Yum! These were delicious and so easy!
Pam says
Oh my gosh! I would've never thought of making a doughnut that way! They look delicious and I need one right now! Very easy but I'm guessing it doesn't cut any calories! 🙂
Joanne says
Mmm donuts. I'm off to check you out!