How to Make Foolproof Fried Donut Holes (2024)

Fried donut holes may have started as the byproduct of plush fried donut rings, but in this recipe they're the star! Golden brown and deep-fried, these bite-sized donut holes are crispy, airy, and coated in a snowfall of powdered sugar. So fun and easy to make, they're great for parties, brunch, breakfast, and more!

This recipe makes about 80-100 donut holes, depending on how close together you cut them out!

This is my foolproof recipe for fried donut holes made using a buttery brioche dough. I've got all the tips you need to make this recipe relatively foolproof — so if you've never made brioche or you're new to deep frying, don't worry. I've got you covered!

About This Recipe

Usually I make these adorable powdered sugar coated donut holes by cutting them out of the scrap dough when I'm making my jelly-filled donuts or from the centers of my brioche crumb cake donuts. But the last time I made these donut holes for a party they were so popular, I wanted to give them their own home on the blog.

You can serve these donut holes plain for dipping in coffee, dusted with powdered sugar as I usually do, or coat them in lots of different flavored glazes and sugar coatings. I really encourage you to get creative with these!

I'll keep things pretty short and sweet here so you can get straight to the recipe because the dough is the same as my brioche bread dough, and the frying process is similar to my other donut recipes. But there are a few things that really make this recipe foolproof that I'll share as I walk you through the recipe.

For what it's worth, a Canadian friend of mine told me these donut holes remind her of Tim Horton's bite-sized Timbits. I haven't personally tried Timbits so can't say how close I've gotten to replicating them here, but if you're looking for a copycat Timbits recipe this might be a good place to start!

Ingredient Notes

Here's what you'll need to make these foolproof fried donut holes with a simple powdered sugar coating! See recipe card (at the end of the post) for ingredient quantities.

• All-Purpose Flour - To make these donut holes, I use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour which has a slightly higher protein content than other brands of flour. If you're using store-brand flour, you may see better results with their bread flour. But regular all-purpose should work just fine!
• Milk - Whole milk works best for donuts;the fat content is an important part of this enriched dough!
• Large Egg - If you use a different size of egg, you may find the dough stickier or drier than it should be. It will still work, you just may need to add more milk or flour in the initial mixing stages!
• Honey - To sweeten the dough.
• Instant Yeast - I use SAF Instant Yeast because it's fast and can be added directly to the dry ingredients without needing to proof it in water first. Instant yeast is also sometimes called "rapid rise" or "quick" yeast. Store yeast in the freezer so you never have to wonder if it's gone bad. See recipe notes for what to do if you only have active dry yeast.
• Vanilla Bean Paste - I like the concentrated flavor of a vanilla bean paste, but vanilla extract or the seeds from one vanilla bean pod will also work!
• Salt - I useDiamond Crystal Kosher Saltwhich is half as salty as other brands and types of salt. As long as you measure your salt by weight, it doesn't matter what brand or type of salt you use. If you're measuring by volume (teaspoons) cut the amount of salt in half.
• Unsalted Butter - Make sure your butter is softened truly to room temperature. The colder and firmer your butter is, the longer it will take to incorporate into the dough. If using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by half.
• Powdered Sugar - For dusting the outside of your donut holes! This is also sometimes called "confectioner's sugar."
• Neutral Oil - For frying the donut holes. You'll want a neutral oil like canola oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, or grapeseed oil.

• Soften the butter - The best way to soften butter to room temperature is to leave it out for 1-3 hours (or overnight if it’s very cold in your kitchen). If you don't remember to do that, you can microwave the wrapped stick of butter for 4-5 seconds per side.
• Warm the Milk - Microwave the milk in 10-15 second bursts in the microwave until it is warm to the touch but not hot (90°F).
• Bring the egg to room temperature - Submerge the egg in very hot water for 5-10 minutes.

How to Make Brioche Dough for Donut Holes

These donut holes are made from a basic brioche dough. Brioche dough is super soft and sweet because it's enriched with fat from butter, whole milk, and eggs, as well as sugar (or honey, in this case).

Psst! I've gone into more detail about brioche dough and how to troubleshoot it in mybrioche bread loafpost, and I recommend going there to read more about it, especially if it's your first time making brioche.

After mixing, before kneading.

After kneading, before adding butter.

After adding butter and kneading.

Finish by shaping the dough into a ball by tucking all the ends under so the top is nice and smooth. Place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it to rise.

Cutting & Frying Donut Holes

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Try to get it all in one piece and un-wrinkled as possible to make it easier to roll. It's okay if you need to scrape a few stuck bits out of the bowl or whatever. It'll just make things a little easier if you can get it out in one clean piece.

Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough. The butter in the dough will warm up as you work it, so dust in more flour (lightly) only if needed to prevent sticking.

Keep rolling until the dough is about a quarter inch thick all the way around, though it's okay if the dough is a little thinner in some spots.

Use a 1" or 1.25" round cutter to cut the donut holes. If you go any bigger than that, you'll end up with oblong, oval-shaped donut holes instead of round donut holes.

Cut as many donut holes out of the dough as possible. I find it easier to start from the middle and work my way out.

As you get to the edges, don't worry if you're cutting some donut holes that aren't perfect circles. They're still good!

Arrange the donut holes on a lined sheet pan, cover and let them rise somewhere warm for 45-60 minutes.

Because these donut holes are so small, it can be hard to tell when they have completed their second rise. You're basically looking for them to appear a little puffy and airy, maybe a little taller than they were when you first cut them.

Towards the end of the rise time, begin heating about 3 inches of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven with a candy thermometer attached. Bring the oil to 350°F.

The oil will cool down each time you add a new batch of donut holes, so adjust the temperature as needed to maintain that temperature.

To check if the oil is ready you may want to fry up a single sacrificial practice donut hole —that will give you a sense of the oil temperature and how long it will take to fry!

Working in batches, use a wire spider to lower about 10-15 donut holes into the oil all at once.

Fry for 2-3 minutes, using the wire spider to keep them moving so they brown evenly.

Wire Spider (6 Inches)

A wire strainer with spiral mesh scoop with a 6-inch diameter. Made from food grade 18/8 stainless steel.

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Remove the donut holes to a sheet pan lined with paper towels and a wire cooling rack set inside it.

This allows any excess oil to drip off, and leaves room for air to circulate around the donut holes so they don't get soggy. No one likes a soggy donut hole!

Let the donut holes cool on the wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

Toss the donut holes in a bowl with powdered sugar until fully coated. Return them to the wire rack to finish cooling.

For a more subtle powdered sugar coating, shake off the excess in a wire mesh strainer.

For a more intense powdered sugar coating, or if the powdered sugar melts into the donut holes more than you want, wait 15-20 minutes, then toss in powdered sugar a second time.

Storage Notes

In general, fried donut holes are best enjoyed while still fresh, within a couple hours of frying.

I don't recommend trying to store donut holes for later, though you can keep them in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for 24-48 hours if you really need to. They just won't be as good as if they were fresh!

12-Piece Set of Round Ring Pastry Cutters

A color coded set of round pastry cutters with the corresponding measurements on the lid. Great for cookies, donuts, biscuits, etc.!

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Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

• Use a stand mixer to make the brioche dough for these donut holes. You cannot use a hand mixer to make brioche dough.
• If you have one of the tilt-head KitchenAid stand mixers, the motor may struggle with this dough; you may need to hold the bowl in place to make sure it doesn’t unscrew or come loose. If you have a bowl-lift stand mixer, you'll still want to keep an eye on it the whole time it's mixing and kneading so it doesn't walk itself off the counter.
• You shouldn't need to go above speed 6 on your KitchenAid mixer the whole time you're making this dough. Most of the time speeds 2-4 are just fine!
• Don't discard the dough scraps! Fry them up exactly as they are as a little snack for you. Or you can divide up the leftover dough, roll it into balls the size of large marbles, let them rise along with the cut-out donut holes and fry them. They'll have more irregular shapes than the cut-out donut holes, but will still be delicious!

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