This Chocolate Glazed Donut recipe delivers light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet donuts—just how a donut should be! Making this yeast pastry with your family is super fun and makes a very impressive addition to a special breakfast or brunch.
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Few things are as fun as making homemade donuts. You will LOVE this recipe, and you will enjoy making it with your family. If you want something without chocolate, try a vanilla butter icing glazed donut.
While we certainly don’t have donuts frequently for breakfast, I think they’re a fun treat for special occasions like a birthday, a special brunch, or even a holiday breakfast.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Special Treat: Donuts are a really fun treat for a special morning or to make any ordinary morning more exciting!
- Basic Yeast Pastry: This donut recipe is just a basic yeast dough recipe, quick to mix up in a stand mixer with only 1 and a half hours of total rise time needed.
- Other Yummy Donuts: Not a fan of chocolate? Try any of these amazing pastry recipes: Apple Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins, Cinnamon Sugar Malasadas (Hawaiian Donuts), Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts, or Chocolate Caramel Pecan Turtle Donuts.
Chocolate Glazed Donut Recipe Ingredients
- Milk
- Instant Yeast
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Salt
- Flour
- Vegetable Oil
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chocolate Glazed Donuts
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm enough to melt the shortening.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour.
- Combine the ingredients at low speed until flour is incorporated, and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
- Change to the mixer’s dough hook attachment and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out dough and cut out dough using a doughnut cutter. Set on a floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 degrees F. Place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in a baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before glazing.
Chocolate Doughnut Glaze:
- Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted.
- Turn off the heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately.
- Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Should donuts be cooled before glazing?
Yes! Allow donuts to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before glazing or you will end up with a soggy mess for a donut.
What is the best oil to fry donuts in?
I have found that peanut oil or vegetable oil is the best for frying donuts because it will result in a nice outer exterior.
How long should I fry each donut?
I typically fry my donuts for about 1 minute per side.
Expert Tips
- Frying Tips: My experience with donuts made at home is that they are a bit on the greasy side. This was not the case with these donuts. I was careful to bring the oil back to 365º before adding more donuts and they weren’t greasy at all. In fact, they were the best homemade donuts I’ve ever had.
- Cool Before Glazing: Before glazing the donuts, they need to cool for 30 minutes. I knew my boys, and I wouldn’t want to wait that long, so I also made a few cinnamon sugar donuts, and my son rolled all of the fried donut holes in cinnamon and sugar as well. The donut holes were gone within minutes, and the cinnamon sugar donuts only lasted long enough to take a picture!
More Yummy Donut Recipes to Consider
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Chocolate Glazed Donuts
These Chocolate Glazed Yeast Donuts are light, fluffy and taste sweet- just how a donut should.
Servings: 24
Calories: 249kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening or butter
- 2 packages instant yeast about 4.5 teaspoons
- ⅓ cup warm water 95 to 105 degrees F
- 2 eggs beaten
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2-3 quarts Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
- 5 to 5.5 cups all-purpose flour
Chocolate Doughnut Glaze
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup whole milk warmed
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
Instructions
- Place the milk and shortening or butter in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening or butter. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening/butter mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, and half of the flour.
- Using the dough hook attachment, combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined. Add the rest of the flour so that you have used 5 cups, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
- Let the dough knead until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. You can add the additional ½ cup of flour as needed, a few tablespoons at a time if your dough is sticky.
- Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to ⅜-inch thick. Cut out dough using a 2 ½-inch doughnut cutter or pastry ring and using a ⅞-inch ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 degrees F. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until deep golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.
Chocolate Doughnut Glaze:
- Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted.
- Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately.
- Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You’ll want the oil to be a few inches deep in the bottom of your pan/fryer/Dutch oven, so use as much as you need there. I normally use about 2 quarts in my 6-quart Dutch oven.
- I have found that peanut oil or vegetable oil is the best for frying donuts because it will result in a nice outer exterior.
- Allow donuts to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before glazing or you will end up with a soggy mess for a donut.
- If you want something without chocolate, try a vanilla butter icing glazed donut.
Nutrition
Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 169IU | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg
I know you will enjoy these Chocolate Glazed Yeast Donuts that are fluffy, light and fried to perfection. Enjoy!
Blond Duck
My husband is obsessed with donuts!
Renata
Totally tempting, Barbara! They look fantastic! Thanks for your lovely comment on my post!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic)
Mmm, freshly made donuts are incredible…these beauties wouldn’t last long in my house either! 🙂 I love both the cinnamon suar and the chocolate glazed!
Perfecting Pru
These look absolutely wonderful Barbara. I could make some more donuts right now after seeing these!
Jamie
You made these or bought these? OMG they are perfect! You are amazing, Barbara, and I want to order a dozen. With lots of chocolate glaze. Jamie is so impressed!
Beth
I’ve really been enjoying everyone’s doughnut posts this week. They look so gorgeous, and these are right up there with the best. Wow!
zorra
I can see why your doughnuts disappeared so quickly. 😉
Gabriella
Grazie tante del pdf è bellissimo e utilissimo, tu sei fantastica!!!
Cyndy
Um……….my adoption papers are in the mail…………
Krisy Creme Move over. These look so good!
bake in paris
Very solid and glossy donuts, just exactly the same as I always imagine when I am craving for one or three… Beautiful chocolate glaze!
Sawadee from bangkok,
Kris
Megan
I should have made the challenge. These look like killer donuts and I could eat (more then) my fair share! I have your Snickerdoodle bread in the oven right now! I cant wait to cut a (nice thick) slice, it smells sooo good! 🙂
Barbara
I love the snickerdoodle bread. Wish I could share it with you.
deeba
Oh the craving has come right back the minute I opened the page. Perfect and beautiful GF. I thought I would do some chocolate glazing as well, but I think I’ll just nick one of yours! They are wicked tempting! DROOL!!
sameena
Hi Barbara,
The doughnuts look so yumm dear…been a while since i made them…Bookmarked…Thanx for dropping by my blog..:)
Dr.Sameena@
http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com
Sue
Barbara, Your donuts look so good! They turned out great! I wish I had been more adventurous and made some maple glazed donuts:) I see that you too know the “right” way to spell donut-Ha Ha!
lori
Those are some seriously perfect donuts Barbara. The pictures are perfect oo.
The Southern Cookbook
Hi Barbara, I think you read my mind on this one. I was thinking about making donuts, now I see yours I am making them this weekend. They look wonderful 🙂
Bonnie
I had heard that you need the oil at just the right temperature so that they don’t soak up too much oil. I’m impressed. I’ve never fried doughnuts before. We didnt’ make fried doughnuts at our house. My father had an unfortunate experience once when he used a recipe he got from the head cook at the school he worked for. THE RECIPE MADE ENOUGH FOR THE ENTIRE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Unfortunately he didn’t realize it until he started frying them. There were doughnuts all over our house.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Great job mum! And good tip about the oil, I’ve always found home made donuts greasy too which is disappointing but sounds like they’ve cracked it 🙂 xxx
Anna Johnston
Wow., not sure how I’d go living only a little ways from a donut factory…., on a good day the aroma’s would woft through yelling at me I think 🙂 I’ve made donuts at home…, they’re fun to make & Oh…, that smell. Hungry now.
Mags
There’s just something about making doughnuts in the fall. I’d never even think of it the rest of the year, but my mom always made them at Halloween time.
These look fabulous!
Joanne
I’ve wanted to make donuts for a while but the frying factor always holds me back. seeing how delicious these are may just have given me a kick in the butt. Those cinnamon sugar babies have my stomach growling!