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.
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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!
Hey! Thanks for sharing your recipe and i really appreciate the video. I think i am going to give these a try. Quick question before i dive in, though… my grocery store only had Fresh (cake) yeast – and the internet tells me a bunch of crazy conversions for fresh to dry, and of course they’re all different and I’m not a SUPER avid baker.
Can this recipe use fresh yeast or would you recommend i go back to find dry? And if i can use fresh, can you tell me what you’ve found to be the best conversion?
THANKS so much – really keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll see this and reply! :)
Amanda, I trust Red Star Yeast for all of my conversions, and based on their table, I would go with 2/3 ounces of cake yeast, whish is one-third of a 2-ouce cake of yeast: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/yeast-conversion-table/
youre awesome thanks so much! you should do more youtube videos! i saw all your videos are about 2 years old! i would LOVE to see more from you. Im making these donuts today – wish me luck!! :)
Great recipe! Could you tell me where you purchased your donut cutter? Thanks!
I got it on Amazon! >> https://amzn.to/2QT9xKr.
Can I freeze them before the second rise?
Hi Rebecca, I think that should work.
I have been trying to make donuts like the small Amish stand at my market. They are closed Sunday’s and I only ever want donuts in a Sunday. However , fresh donuts never taste good the next day. This is the secret recipe. The Krabby Patty formula. Thank you queen. Thank you.
Made these over the weekend, wonderful donuts and easy recipe, fool proof enough even for me. Delicious 🤤
Tried these and they came out GREAT!!! I didn’t leave the dough overnight but fried the donuts soon after the 2hours rising time. Definitely this recipe is a keeper!!
Enjoyed watching video. Can’t wait to try the doughnut recipe.
I made these today, and they were okay. My only complaint is the flavor. Im not a fan of the strong yeasty flavor of bread that has proofed too long. How long should i proof it if i am wanting to avoid that super strong flavor? Maybe not overnight?
I just did the donuts today mmm……..mmmmm… good.
But I have a question, what is the purpose of putting the dough to the refrigerator ? I did with out refrigerating and came out great 😋
Hi there! My issue was in the frying. I made sure the oil was at 350 and 4 seconds after putting them in the oil, they were black. I did use vegetable oil since in didn’t have shortening. But I just don’t understand why they are getting dark brown almost black. I lowered the temp tremendously and it helped but still soooo much darker than they should have been. Is it the oil instead of shortening? Also, would bread flour be a better option?
Hi Alicia, I did use bread flour and I used canola oil. Canola oil is the best for frying donuts. What kind of oil did you used?
Hello, my name is BJ, and I made these wonderful treats, and my grandchildren helped, weekends have become project days and this was totally awesome, thank you
Just wrapped and put into fridge to cook tomorrow ….they smell good!
I’m just curious to know why you put the dough in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight? Does this help them to rise better or make them airy? I haven’t tried this recipe but the other one I made I was able to fry them after 2 hours. They came out great but was more like bready donuts. Next time I will try the shortening. Crisco, right?
It retards the rise so the yeast enzymes have more time to work. This results in a richer flavor as their are more acids that are produced from the fermentation’s process.
awesome, living in china now and wanted some doughnuts. love these
Can you use an Airfryer?
Hi Tracy, I’ve never tried it!
Please help me! I made the glaze for my donuts yesterday, but the glaze was not going to harden yet, they are still liquid!. What’s going on with this? Thank you…
Best Regard, Syahid from Indonesia.
Did you dip the doughnuts in the glaze? It will harden as it sits, but if it doesn’t at all, you may need a little more sugar.
There may be a million copycat Krispy Kreme doughnut recipes out there but this one is the BEST!!!! I make the dough the night before and fry them the next morning before the family gets up or arrives. I use peanut oil to fry in because it has a high flash point, hence whatever you are frying is sealed before your food has a chance to absorb any of the oil. I haven’t used shortening in years except to re-season my cast iron pans when someone else has “helped” me with the dishes….Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
Can we use warm milk instead of warm water?
Hi Liya, You can, but it will affect the texture of the doughnuts since you’ll be adding fat to the recipe.
Thank you for sharing i bake with my grandchildren and we will try these
Why does the doughnuts get harden the next day?
Hi Amy, Most homemade baked goods don’t have a long shelf life, and it is especially true for fried pastries like doughnuts. To keep the freshest, store in an airtight container and microwave for a few seconds before eating after day one.
Hey, I know this is quite a long time after you posted this recipe but I would love if you responded? I was wondering if it was absolutely necessary to mix the yeast and water in a standing mixer, because while I have a handheld mixer, I don’t have a standing one, and am not currently able to buy one, though I would love to make this recipe. Also, is it necessary to use vegetable shortening?
Hi Keenan, You can just put them in a mixing bowl, no problem. The vegetable shortening was a key to the flavor in the research I did, but you could always fry in vegetable oil instead.
i have made this receipe at least 8 times my family love them my grandchildren ask me every time i see them when re you going to make more donughts great sucess
I really wanted to love this recipe as I’m a huge Krispy Kreme fan. Unfortunately these tasted nothing like the KKs I loved… They’re light and airy and that’s about it. I’m a very lazy and impatient person.. So I hate recipes that take forever lol however reading the different reviews I mustered the courage to make this recipe and followed it to a t.. However it wa not worth all the time that goes into it imho😅 one possible explanation is that different KK locations taste different. I grew to love them after first having them in Saudi arabia. However when I tried the US and Canada Krispy Kreme donuts, they were way more greasy and bland. Smh :(
Hi Mona, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy these doughnuts, but it most definitely sounds like a case of regional differences. If the ones you grew to love tasted nothing like the US version, and you didn’t like the US version, and this is a copycat of the US version, I can see why then you didn’t like them as well.
I plan on making these for a Farmers Market I vend at. Just wondering how these would fry up if I used lard? Or would shortening be best? I LOVE playing with yeast!
Hi Anna, I think lard would work fine too.
I like this recipe, I would love to find a recipe for krispy kreme’s cinnamon apple doughnut. I don’t know if it happened to all the stores but my local kk no longer makes them. also their chocolate with sprinkles recipe would be awesome, i know you can just use the glazed recipe but what would the chocolate sauce recipe be?
Hi Rebecca, I’ve never had either, but I’ll add them to my list! :)
I just bought a donut pan to bake doughnuts is there any recipe I can use without using yeast?
Hi Judy, Yes, I would just search Google for “cake doughnuts” and I’m sure you’ll find tons of different recipes!
Thank you Michelle, my beutiful daughter in law and my self are so gonna make these doughnuts, we’ve tried making different kinds but they do t come out as good..ill let u know how they came out. Daisy..
Can I use salted butter ?
Hi Karen, Yes, just omit the salt in the recipe.
does the ring dounuts have to be in the fridge for 8 hours or more
Hi Linda, Yes.
Hi! Thanks for posting this recipe. I am looking for a very soft crumb. Does this recipe provide that texture? I’ve read that yeast or raised doughnuts benefit from higher-protein bread flour, which gives the dough a bit more elasticity, so it can trap more air pockets and create the lightest of pastries. All-purpose flour is better for cake doughnuts, which don’t need the same gluten development, and are prone to getting a bit tough with bread flour. I made some donuts previously with bread flour and they were not bad, but not nearly as soft as I was looking for. Which AP flour or other do you recommend? (King Arthur AP flour has 11.7% protein content). Krispy Kreme donuts are quite soft and a local place by me in even softer. I was wondering if it is possible to achieve this level of soft texture at home without dough conditioners, etc. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Michael, Yes, a very soft crumb. I use King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour. I have not used any dough conditioners. Hope that helps!