Copycat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
A copycat recipe for Krispy Kreme doughnuts – they’re light, airy and covered in a barely-there glaze.
We are a house divided when it comes to doughnuts… I’ve never, ever gravitated towards them as a breakfast indulgence or a dessert, never quite being able to stomach the taste of fried dough (the same holds true for funnel cakes, as well – what’s wrong with me?!). My husband, however, loves doughnuts and although we really don’t have them often at all, he’ll sometimes say that he’s craving Krispy Kreme. The problem? The Krispy Kreme shop that was near where we live closed years ago and there are none nearby.
A couple of months ago, he saw that it was national doughnut day and the craving hit… he asked if I would be able to make a copycat version of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at home. I never turn down a challenge, so I started doing my research!
As it turns out, there are approximately eleventy billion recipes for copycat Krispy Kreme doughnut recipes on the Internet. Shocking, right?
I sifted through a ton of them, and the majority had roughly the same ingredients with minor changes here and there. Then, I read the comments and reviews. Almost every single one was split 50/50 between “oh my gosh these taste JUST like Krispy Kreme!” and “oh my gosh these taste NOTHING like Krispy Kreme”. The pressure was on.
Not being a connoisseur myself, I read through tips and suggestions and came up with this recipe… of particular note is that I used instant yeast to keep the dough light and ensure a nice rise, and used water instead of milk to keep a lean dough.
On a Sunday morning when the stars aligned and I woke up early and Joseph slept in, these were gracing our kitchen counter by 8:30am. I waited with bated breath for my husband’s verdict… he loved them! He said they were super, super, super close to Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and was thrilled. Score!
He said that in the past, he would reheat cooled Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the microwave for 8 seconds and it was just perfect, like they were hot from the conveyer belt, and he said the same held true for these. So those are the official reheating instructions :)
If you love doughnuts, this is a must baking project!
Watch How to Make Krispy Kreme Doughnuts:
Copycat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts:
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) instant yeast
- ¾ cup (187.5 ml) warm water
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ to 3 cups (340 to 425 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 to 4 cups (552 to 736 g) vegetable shortening, for frying
For the Glaze:
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (62.5 ml) water
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Doughnuts: Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar, salt, butter, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and 2½ cups of the flour. Knead on low speed until a dough begins to form. If the dough is quite sticky, add more flour a tablespoon at a time until a soft, tacky dough forms. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot for 2 hours.
- Gently press to deflate the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- On a floured work surface, roll the dough out to a ½-inch thickness. Using a doughnut cutter (if you don’t have one, use one larger and one smaller round cutters) dipped in flour, cut out the doughnuts and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (You can roll any leftover dough scraps into balls for more doughnut holes.) Cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and place a wire cooling rack on top.
- When ready to fry, heat the vegetable shortening in a large cast iron skillet (or other wide, heavy-bottomed skillet or pot) to a maintained temperature of 360 to 370 degrees. Gently lower the doughnuts into the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan (I cooked in three batches). Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Carefully remove the doughnuts from the oil and place on the cooling rack. Repeat until all of the doughnuts have been fried.
- Make the Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, water and vanilla extract until smooth. Working one at a time, dip each doughnut into the glaze, flip to coat the other side, and return to the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set for about 15 minutes, then serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
My husband made these on Sunday and they were delicious! I was very sceptical but the texture is quite close to Krispy kreme. Definitely a must save recipe. Thank you.
after you take it out the fridge how long do you wait before you start cutting the dough?
Why do you think the doughnuts came out thicker on one edge than the other?
Hello, do you mean to wrap the dough only in plastic for over night or do you gently deflate it and recover it in the bowl? I assume take it out but I wondered how this impacts its ability to raise. Thanks!
Leave it in the bowl, at least that’s what I do.
These turned out terrific! Thank you for sharing.
I have tried this receipe before ,just love it.
If I could rate this I will give it a 0 star. I was so excepted that I found this recipe and was excited to try it, i followed everything but didn’t get the results i wanted. The doughnut didn’t rise and when fried gave the Dark color. Frying it did not work so i baked it. I was disappointed the doughnuts didn’t turn out like they’re supposed to be
Your yeast went bad.
Sooooo thank
You for this
Can you explain how to make chocolate or strawberry frosting for it?
These were just delicious !
Hi! Wondering if it would be possible to adapt the Krispy Kreme flavor into a cupcake recipe ?
Hi! Is it possible to bake these donuts?
Good
This hands down so yummy i made them for my kids ate them all now i have to make a double batch before the kiddos notice so much f9r loosing weight
I make these with gluten free flour blend! My sons both love them and they disappear quickly!
My son is gf. What brand flour did you use ?
Have used this recipe many times and keep going back to your recipe. They just melt in your mouth.
First time ever rating a recipe but I had to!! These these turned out delicious, light and fluffy! Super easy to make if you plan ahead really not much work and no kneading. I’ve tried other recipes they tuned out tough I never gave up on donut making until I tried this! My hubby and I ate 5 each on the first round🤣😅lol. This is one is for the records, thank you :)
Can you freeze dough after cut with donut cutter?
Can use veg oil for frying?
Can you halve this recipe? Or freeze half the dough after the first rise?
Gosto muito das suas receitas.
Obrigada
I have tried one recipe earlier but it turned out to be a fiasco ☹hope I am able to get the best results in this recipe. Thanks in advance 😘
The recipe sounds like one I will try. My mother will walk anywhere to get a KK donut. My question is where you call for vegetable shortening for frying, are you talking about melting Crisco for frying, or just vegetable oil?
My husband and I have been searching endless doughnut recipes online. We are novice bakers and just wanted a decent homemade doughnut. None of the other recipes ever worked out for us. This recipe is absolute perfection. I followed it almost exactly and the doughnuts are to die for. Perfectly light, airy, crispy outsides, flavor was on point.
I followed some other comment suggestions as well. I ended up added 3 TBSP of flour when mixing to get the right taffy like consistency. For the first prove, I put the bowl of dough in the oven with a pan of hot water underneath. Kept it a nice humid 80 degrees. After cutting the dough, I placed them on individual parchment paper squares so they wouldn’t deflate when it was time to drop them in the oil. Oil was consistently 356 degrees and I only did 2 at a time just to make sure I could time them for a minute on each side. I think next time I might go a smidge hotter and slightly less than a minute because the doughnuts were just slightly too oily. The glaze was also nice and thin but my husband prefers thicker so we’ll sub water for milk. I also put a caramel drizzle on some of them and it was super tasty. I’ll be recommending this recipe to everyone I know!
Fabulous
This recipe was perfect! Thank you.
Living in France now I do miss Krispy Kremes and wanted to surprise my daughter for her birthday with fresh donuts, I found your recipe. I have never made donuts nor fried anything before, it was easy, and sooo tasty.
Ok… here it goes…. This recipe kicks butt! I did 3 rises- 1 for 2hrs- the 2nd overnight in the fridge and the 3rd after cutting them out and YESSS! Success! Also I added 1tsp of butter emulsion and 1 tsp of almond extract to give it a donuty taste and they came out PERFECT! Tank you so much for this recipe- it will become a new family favorite 🤩