Homemade Easy Doughnuts

Homemade easy doughnuts skip the yeast, the proofing time, and the careful cutting that make most doughnut recipes weekend projects. Instead, baking powder leavens a simple drop-style batter that gets dropped by teaspoonful into hot oil for golden, fluffy little balls in just minutes.

This style is sometimes called doughnut drops or fritters. The teaspoonful portions cook through evenly without the dense raw centers that often plague larger homemade doughnuts. Each one ends up crisp on the outside, tender and slightly cake-like inside.

The roll-in-sugar-while-hot step is essential. The residual oil and steam help the granulated sugar cling and slightly melt into a faint glaze, which is why the timing matters more than the technique.

Pro Tips

• Use a thermometer and hold the oil at 365 degrees Fahrenheit (185 degrees Celsius). Too cool and they soak up oil; too hot and the outside burns before the inside cooks.
• Test one or two doughnuts first as the recipe suggests. Crack one open to check the inside is fully cooked before committing the whole batch.
• Don’t crowd the pot. Three to four doughnuts at a time keeps the oil temperature steady and gives each room to puff and turn.

Variations

• Toss the warm doughnuts in cinnamon sugar instead of plain sugar for an old-fashioned cinnamon-doughnut variation.
• Glaze cooled doughnuts with a simple powdered sugar and milk drizzle, or dunk in melted chocolate.
• Add a teaspoon of grated nutmeg or lemon zest to the batter for a more aromatic, old-school doughnut flavor.