7 Recipes to Celebrate National Doughnut Day

Today is National Doughnut Day! A day so special and so worthy of being a real national holiday, yes? Anything celebrating food instantly becomes a holy but because doughnuts are one of life’s true great pleasures, this day deserves something extra special. Everybody has their preferences for foods that they like and don’t like but…does anyone really hate doughnuts? They are pretty well loved. Maybe it’s because you can eat them any time of the day and it can pass as a meal. Maybe it’s because there are virtually endless flavor possibilities. Or maybe it’s because of both of those things put together make for an incredible baked good.

Doughnuts are a food that is often purchased but can be made at home. What better way to celebrate National Doughnut Day then by making doughnuts yourself? Here are some of my favorite doughnut and doughnut related recipes…

Image Credit: ree drummond

Homemade Glazed Doughnuts {via the pioneer woman}
We have to begin with the standard, the classic: The Glazed Doughnut. I love this dough from The Pioneer Woman — it’s so rich and the doughnuts come out of the oil tasting just like ones you can buy from the store or doughnut shoppe. Ree gives very detailed instructions here, so even if you are new to making doughnuts or frying anything in oil, her guide really simplifies the process. And even if some of the doughnuts are misshapen or a little over done…who cares, right? It’s still a hot glazed doughnut and it’s straight from your kitchen!

Strawberry Buttermilk Sprinkle Doughnuts {via how sweet eats}
If there is such thing as a summer doughnut, then it’s got to be these. They are a pink hue, they are covered in sprinkles and they seem light (even if they aren’t), so you won’t feel weighed down. These are a vanilla cake doughnut that’s covered in fresh strawberry glaze. The glaze is what really sells these because it’s made with real (!) strawberries that you are pureeing and mixing with sugar, so the true strawberry flavor really shines through. Since the strawberries provide their own coloring, this means that the pink color is all natural too, no food coloring needed!

Glazed Waffle Doughnuts {via bobby flay}
You read that title right — these doughnuts are exactly what they sound like. They are “glazed. waffle. doughnuts.” aka you make a doughnut batter, press them in the waffle iron, then you fry them. And if that isn’t enough decadence, while they are cooking you whip up two yummy glazes — a vanilla and a chocolate ganache — then pour them over the fried waffled doughnut. What you get is a delicious waffle with lots of crispy ridges to hold the glazes and a glorious inside that melts in your mouth. These are definitely a dessert waffle or a brunch dish and, man, are they worth it.

Coffee & Doughnut Muffins {via brown eyed baker}
Has your Instagram feed been littered with crazy milkshakes stuffed with just about everything you could think of or am I just following the right people? Well, we’re taking a page from their book here and pureeing doughnuts into our coffee ice cream milkshakes. I know that putting baked goods into milkshakes can be off putting but it really shouldn’t be because the doughnuts don’t put a weird texture in the milkshake at all, and if you give this one a shot you’ll see that too. This recipe shows you how to make the coffee ice cream from scratch (which I recommend if you can!) but there’s no reason that you couldn’t just use store bought ice cream in it’s place.

Image Credit: jessica merchant

Doughnut Muffins {via king arthur flour}
Traditional doughnuts, while totally and completely worth it, are time consuming to make. If you have a lot of hours and patience then they are the perfect recipe to tackle, but if you are lacking in one or both of those things, there are shorter and easier ways to get your doughnut fix. These muffins are my absolute favorite way to do so. They really do taste like a cake doughnut in muffin form, which means they are great if you a) don’t want to deal with a huge pot of oil b) don’t have a doughnut pan or c) want a doughnut-like treat as soon as humanly possible. The key here is to NOT skip buttering and sugaring them when they are out of the oven, that is what seals the doughnut deal.

Baked Funfetti Doughnuts {via sally’s baking addiction}
We make and eat funetti cakes and cupcakes so why not funfetti doughnuts too? These are baked, then glazed and super quick to put together — another recipe to file in the “I need a doughnut now!” case. The most time consuming part of these is that you need to glaze them twice to get that nice, thick glaze that you’re used to getting from store bought doughnuts. These doughnuts can also be made in a muffin pan if you don’t own a doughnut pan, so there’s really no excuse for not making them now.

Mini Peanut Butter and Chocolate Baked Doughnuts {via joy the baker}
I find homemade baked chocolate doughnuts to be really difficult to get right. I’ve tried a lot of recipes and most end up either dry or lacking in a serious chocolate flavor. But then I tried this one from Joy The Baker and haven’t needed another one since! The trick here? You’re pretty much making a chocolate cupcake batter in the shape of a doughnut, which keeps them moist and rich in chocolate flavor, then topping them with a peanut butter glaze to finish. These are made as minis in the recipe but I do not have a mini doughnut pan and the full size works just fine.

What’s your favorite kind of doughnut?

Featured image is from by Jill Heyer.