The Original Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts you know and love and now you can make them at home and eat them fresh!
Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts are the original glazed yeast raised doughnut that made Krispy Kreme famous. I’ve been known to make the detour when the “HOT” sign is on at Krispy Kreme but since I can make them at home I’ve become immune to the pull of the brightly lit signs.
If you’ve ever looked up doughnuts on Pinterest you’ve likely seen many Krispy Kreme copycat recipes. I tried 4 of them off Pinterest and was less than enthusiastic. The dough wasn’t fluffy enough, the glaze didn’t harden to a point where it was thin and shattered upon being bitten into. Those qualities are what make Krispy Kreme so special. So I ditched Pinterest and dug a whole lot further. I found a recipe from the Chicago Tribune that they tested and retested six times until it was the flavor we all know and love.
It works! With just a couple of adjustments, these Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts are a GREAT copycat, not perfect mind you as part of the magic lies in their air pressurized extruders, but if you are looking to make this recipe at home, you need to go no further. These doughnuts are best right after the glaze dries!
To get ahead of the questions:
- Yes I totally made these in vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum), that is authentic to Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts. You can absolutely substitute with canola oil if you prefer. Just know the more you change the less “authentic” to expect it to be.
- I used my trusty cast iron skillet with a frying thermometer to maintain the perfect temperature. If you eyeball it instead of using a thermometer you may end up with burnt/raw donuts or oily ones if your oil is too hot or too cold. If you are going through the process of making these definitely grab the tools to make it right.
- You can make any shape you need. I pictured the classic shape, but I also made bars and experimented with maple bars (I failed on that glaze. Don’t worry I will keep trying, purely for scientific reasons of course 😉 )
- These are glazed when warm and eaten within minutes of the glaze hardening. I am also sometimes guilty of eating them before the glaze even hardens. Messy but DELICIOUS.
Ingredients
- Doughnuts:
- 2 packet yeast ¼ ounce packets
- 1/4 cup warm water 105-115 degrees
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk scalded, then cooled
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 cups vegetable shortening or vegetable oil if you would prefer for frying
- Glaze:
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup I make my homemade corn syrup in my [url:2]Caramel Popcorn recipe[/url]
Instructions
- Add water and yeast together in a your stand mixer and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Add in the milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups of the flour.
- Turn the stand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, then add in the rest of the flour and mix until just combined.
- Take the bowl out of the stand mixer and cover with a clean towel to let it rise for 1 hour.
- When you can push down on the dough and your fingerprint stays you're ready to move on to the next step.
- Working with half the dough at a time, roll it to ½ inch thick on a floured surface.
- Dip your doughnut cutter in flour and cut out a dozen doughnuts with each half of the dough and out onto wax paper.
- Let rise, covered, in a warm spot for 30-45 mins (I did 45)
- In a cast iron pan or other deep saucepan, heat the vegetable shortening to 375 degrees.
- Please use a thermometer to measure the temperature as this is a critical step.
- Fry the doughnuts on each side for 90 seconds.
- Drain on a cooling rack until you finish cooking them all then dip into the glaze.
- To make the glaze, add the powdered sugar, milk and corn syrup to a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Most importantly, eat with reckless abandon.
Nutrition
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Wow I made doughnuts yesterday and they were amazing!!! Thank you for this recipe!!!
Made these today. The dough is AMAZING, you have to follow the recipe perfectly though. I’ve tried a few others with butter or oil instead of shortening and they come out very dense and bread-like. Shortening did the trick and the dough was nice and fluffy! The icing was very confectioners sugar heavy and honestly not my favorite but wasn’t bad overall. I did some of the donuts in cinnamon sugar instead and those were really good! The cooking temp and time were too high for my donuts but I adjusted and ended up around 325 for 50 seconds on each side, so as always, cooking times vary. Will definitely use the dough recipe again!
This recipe is wayyyy better than Krispy Kreme. .. Thank you so much! My family loved every bite.
Im confused by the yeast measurement for your Krispy cream donuts. 2 packet yeast 1/4 oz. Packet? Is that 2 packets that are 1/4 oz each for a total of 1/2 oz or what?
It’s 2 packets of yeast. Each packet is 1/4 ounce. Hope this helps clear up any confusion. Enjoy!
Hey Sabrina.
I just want to ask you something.
What makes the doughnut soft, is it the shortening?
Yes, it definitely makes them tender.
these are so good!
I made them carefully and precisely, and it turned out great!
Yay!! So glad you decided to give them a try.
I was really hoping for these to turn out something like Krispy Kreme but I was highly disappointed. The donuts tasted more like bread and the glaze tasted like watered down confectioners sugar.
Hello ?
Greetings from the UK. Can these doughnuts be made in an air fryer?
I’ve not tried it before. If you decide to give it a shot, I’d love to know how they turn out. Thanks!
I don’t have corn syrup, what can I use instead? Thanks!
You can make your own by dissolving 1 cup sugar in 1/4 cup of water. You can also use honey or light molasses as a substitute. Hope this helps!
Haven’t tried yet. Looks great. Do you have a video making this recipe?
No, I don’t. Sorry
Wow! I can not believe how well they turned out. They are amazing! I followed the recipie very carefully. I’m not sure what the point of scalding the milk then cooling it off does. But I did it and the donuts are fantastic. I’ve never made anything like this and they are a hit. Thank you for this recipie. It’s a keeper for life.
I followed exactly. Except used butter and not shortening. And it tasted like bread. Not light like Krispy Kreme. More like Dunkin’ Donuts
“I followed exactly. Except used butter and not shortening.”
Not meaning too sound literal here but “I did this exactly, except I did this…” is not following exactly; believe it or not, a small change such as butter vs shortening makes a texture difference.
Go off Mike D!
First of all, this is my 19th time making this recipe. Secondly, I can 100% assure you the doughnuts tasted very much like Krispy Kreme. (I did adjust the recipe quite a bit)
Adjustments:
17 grams (1 + 1/2 tbsp) of potato starch should add a little chewiness and more lightness to the doughnuts.
Use 12g of yeast to ensure the same lightness as Krispy Kreme when you let the covered dough rise for 1 hour at room temp, then deflate the dough and retard it in the fridge for 1 + 1/2 hours at 3 degrees Celsius. (You will have to wake up at 5 or 6!) Take it out and let it rise until the yeast is active again. (It will ‘proof’ in the process) Then roll it out and cut out the doughnuts.
Use high protein/enriched protein/bread flour and stick to the amount of flour (625g) used in the recipe. (More will be needed for kneading and rolling)
The dough will be sticky but that is how Krispy Kreme make their doughnuts so light. They start with a sticky dough and let the yeast proof, with the dough becoming more dry as the moisture evaporates.
The doughnuts rise the best when they are on wax paper/baking paper during the final stage of rising a.k.a cutting them out and letting them rise for 45 mins. If your doughnuts deflate, it will be because either you left it to rise in a heated oven, or the doughnuts make sudden contact with colder air. So I suggest letting the cut out doughnuts rise at room temp, uncovered, for 45 mins to 1 hour. (1 hour is always better) When cooking, slide the donuts in or flip the wax paper at a low height, let the doughnuts hit the oil and use a lid to avoid oil splashing.
The doughnuts at Krispy Kreme are fried at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This ensures the golden band (the sexy midriff, I call it) in the middle of the doughnut always form. The doughnuts, after cooking, should be 1/3 of the cooking temp before dipping them in a 120 degrees Fahrenheit glaze. This is how traditional Krispy Kremes have been made since the arrival of their doughnut machines.
The glaze actually consists of confectioner’s sugar, water, vegetable shortening, stabilizers(agar and locust bean gum)*, wheat/soy starch, flavoring.^
Thank you for this recipe, given a few adjustments, I plan to sell these to relatives!
*Replaceable with normal corn syrup but do not use gelatin or other substitutes. I tried multiple different substitutes and wasted like 1/2 of the batches, so only corn syrup works. (Karo is recommended, but then again, corn starch makes an excellent and healthier corn syrup)
^ I used vanilla extract. I have no idea what Krispy Kreme uses. They have not made it public.
And also use cut out squared wax paper for each doughnut during the final rising stage.
I dont get it. The recipe says use 2 cups for the dough and you want me to use the full 5 cups for the dough?
Thanks for this, Anonymous! How much wheat or soy starch did you use in the glaze?
Hi there,
Thanks so much for the adjustments that you made, i’m yet to try it but for the 17g of potato starch, is that adding an EXTRA 17g to the 625g or flour? Or did you only use 612g of flour and added 17g of potato starch to make the 625g.
Thanks
I too would like to know and clarify a few things from your post!
I’m a bit of a nitpicky baker who weighs every single ingredient out to the tenth of a gram.
I’m intrigued because I think your recipe is different enough that it actually isn’t the recipe posted on this site. This of course would yield vastly different results.
To piggy back off of Emily’s question: is the 17g of potato starch added in addition to the flour or do you not use the full amount of flour suggested?
The recipe calls for using 14g yeast (that is the weight of two 1/4oz packages of yeast). You say using to use 12g instead?
Jury’s out on the bread flour for me! However the theory is that more protein structure leads to a lighter donut. My previous experiments with bread flour in donuts resulted in tough, crunchy exterior, dry “treats”. Bakers error perhaps. Some say don’t use bread flour for the aforementioned reasons, others say that can’t tell a difference.
Opposed to the recipe posted, your recipe essentially calls for 3 rises:
1. 1 hour first rise
2. 1 1/2 hour refrigerated + unspecified second rise time out of refrigerator
3. 45 minute to an hour of proofing stage/final rise
Well, anyway, I’ll await your response. In the meantime, happy donut experimentation to everyone!
I added 17g of cornstarch (as an alternative to potato starch) to the amount of flour it says on the recipe and used strong white flour (high protein flour).
I then made a simple glaze with 150g icing sugar + 45g milk + 8.4g vanilla extract and the results were incredible!!
At final rise, make sure to start frying as soon as it hits 45mins as the others will still be proofing in the meanwhile. Past experience with other recipes led to the doughnuts over-proofing and soaking up oil…
… normally the doughnuts would go in a proof box set to around 33-37C, 70% humidity for 30mins then would sit out at room temp for another 10mins to dry but I appreciate that this is a home-made recipe and it can’t always be perfect.
Hi ,
I have noticed for the measurement of the recipe you have used cups and ot actual how much the ingredient weigh. is there any chance you could advise the weights of the ingredients. or if not advise which cup size u used.
Thank You
I don’t have the measurements but I use a standard measuring cup (8 oz) for baking.
Do these freeze?
I don’t recommend freezing them or freezing the dough beforehand. They are an in the moment indulgence 🙂
Although not truly representative of Krispy Kreme in taste nor texture, a great home-made donut nonetheless. Great job.
The light, airiness of original K.K. donuts would be hard to duplicate unless all ingredients used were identical.
Your donut glaze will remain wet and tacky in cities with high humidity and that is why bakers use “Donut Glaze Stabilizer” to help it set up and give it a harden finish.
The mix manufactures for the donuts test the flour used and has to pass certain test for the melt in your mouth texture. If you use just any flour you may get dough that is more bread texture like.
Never use beet sugar for the glaze, only use cane sugar. Beet sugar will turn gray and get gritty.
In all my years I have never known of any donut maker that used a microwave or heat to make the glaze.
Everything went well but after reading comments I only fried the doughnuts in the shortening at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. They fried really well and had a good texture. But, as others mentioned in the comments, the glaze never hardened and remained sticky. I looked up some information about it and I found that corn syrup is the best inhibitor of sugar crystallization which I’m assuming is why the glaze never set up. Next time I think I’ll only use powdered sugar and milk, but otherwise the doughnuts still tasted really good.
Does this make 12 or 24 doughnuts? Just wondered because it says to cut out 12 donuts with each half of dough? Also, I have never made donuts – what size donut cutter do I use? Thank you! Can’t wait to make these!
It makes 24 doughnuts using a 3.5 inch donut cutter. If you don’t want to buy one, you can also use a 2 cookie cutters about one 1-inch and one 3 or 4-inch to cut them out. Good luck!
Shalom! I made this recipe. It was not like krispy kreme at all. Just a very great donut. Krispy kreme has a more doughy texture. I added 1 tbls potato starch for it to hold some gluten and make is lighter and a bit chewy, added more flour because it was way too wet (used weight in grams), a pinch of nutmeg, and fresh bakers yeast for that aroma. The donuts were so good! Amazing! Your timing and rising was on point, and the donuts were super fluffy. Made a chocolate glaze for them. Family loved them. I will be making this recipe only. Thank you.
I tried the recipe and this also happened to me, it was a very sticky dough, i wasnt able to even roll and cut it. I ended up making balls out of the dough, then let it rose. But when it was time to lift them for frying, they instantly deflated. Any luck on finding out what could have been wrong?
It’s tricky to try and figure out what have possibly been the issue. Here’s the link to the original post from the Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-10-17-0110170040-story.html
That might be helpful!
My granny is amazing at dougnuts she says if we let the dough raise for too long then will flap down once touched. Maybe adjust the time you let them rise. That helped in my case. Lots depends on where you are located I’m in Ireland and as yo u all well know it’s pretty humid here. So just check your weather and adjust the timing. Yeast dough is pretty temperamental at the best of times. Patience is a real virtue once it comes to this stuff. A lot of try and error also comes in the package. Good luck
These worked pretty well, my only issue was the temperature for vegetable shortening. It was smoking a lot at just over 350 and very brown in about 2 seconds while being doughy inside. I had to lower the temperature, which was then too low, so I went up a little bit and then had to let them sit in the oil longer, about 2 minutes per side. Some of them ended up really delicious, but I went through several trying to get the temp and the timing since it was way off from the recipe.
I was googling later and the internet says the smoke point of shortening is around 325. Are you doing something special to get the shortening to 375? And how is it not burning them?
It seems since posting this there are differences in the smoke point so to be safe, I would just use vegetable oil. Thanks for pointing that out.
Can i use instant dry yeast ?? It is not specified if to use active dry or instant. Thanks!
The Chicago Tribune article states to use active dry yeast. Enjoy!
Can I use quick rise yeast?
I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure if it would give the same results for this copycat recipe. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
I used instant rise yeast and it worked great for me. Delicious-ness!!
Hi. Can you give by grams and ml for frenchs? Thanks
I’ve updated the recipe card to allow for you to adjust to grams and ml. 🙂 I’m actually in the process of doing that for each recipe.
Had to try this recipe because I LOVE Krispy Kreme!! Although, mine didn’t come close to the original (most likely something I did wrongly), they were still delicious and fluffy and delicious. Did I mention they were delicious?!? I may have messed up the glaze somehow because it never really set. It just kind of hung onto the bottoms of the donuts with a creamy consistency. Also, 90 seconds on each side would’ve toasted mine. They were perfect with about 25 seconds on each side. Yes, I kept the oil temp at 375°. I will definitely make these again as my family went nuts for them!!! Thank you for posting this recipe!!!
Love this recipe…. if you double it does it still work as well… can you freeze these
I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure, sorry.
Hello Sabrina, I want to use your Original Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts recipe to make braided donuts. Do I need to fry them or could I bake them in the oven
Definitely fry. That recipe is not meant to be baked at all and it hasn’t been tested as a baked recipe.
Just tried this recipe today. It turned out pretty well for my first batch of doughnuts ever!
A few notes on my experience:
I only had quick rise yeast, but it seemed to work well!
After I cut out all my circles I had trimmings of dough left and so I kneaded them a bit to form a ball and then rolled and cut that into wedges (no doughnut left behind) I was afraid that the extra kneading might make them tough, but honestly these turned out best of all! They rose well durring the second rise and then they cooked beautifully! They were the fluffiest of the lot!
I reccomend flouring the wax paper when you lay out your cut doughnuts, mine stuck a little and became mishapen as I removed them to fry. They also got knocked down a little in the process. I think they would lift better with a little flour underneath.
The frying was a little tough. On the stovetop maintaining an exact 375 was difficult. I also found they cooked faster than 90sec/side. I got the best results by just eyeballing for colour.
The glaze gave me a little trouble. It never hardened. It came out a little too sticky. Not sure what went wrong there.
As for taste: Great overall!!! I did find they taste a little more yeasty than Krispy Kreme but that might be the quick rise.
The glaze while still sticky tasted exactly liek theirs!!!!
Overall opinion: good easy to follow instructions, great tasting results! Family all gave these the seal of approval! Will make again!
I made this recipe today and LOVED it!!! I even used yeast I had in the fridge for a while and it still worked awesome. I did use butter in the actual donut instead of shortening and it still worked great. And I only had two cups of veg shortening to fry them so I added veg oil to top up the pot. They turned a beautiful golden colour. I will 100% make this my go-to from now on. Thank you!!
Turned out so yummy! Recipe worked great!
Do you think you could freeze this dough? And thaw it/fry it at a later date?
No, you really need to make these immediately.
I’m dying to try this! Although I have a very big pack of active dry yeast. How many tablespoons should I put in?
4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast is the same equivilent of 2 (1/4 oz) packets of yeast.
Thanks! I already made them. My kids loved it!
Do you think I could I use this recipe to make the Krispy Kreme raspberry filled doughnuts? How long would I cook them for? My fiance loves the raspberry filled ones but I can’t find a good recipe for them and the closest Krispy Kreme is like 2+ hours away.
I’ve never tested it before so I’m not really comfortable giving a recommendation, sorry.
This copycat Krispy Kreme recipe is to dye for thank you so much Sabrina for sharing – Easy to make – Easy to cook and the glaze just tops it off YUMMO DELISH can’t stop munchin these. So air light soft doughnut just devine. Thank you so much….
So glad you enjoyed it!
Mine came out perfectly. Followed the recipe, i had no shortening so I used butter, and i fried in canola oil. Had no thermometer so i burnt the first 4 and even those were delicious. Thank yiu for such a great recipe.
Do the doughnuts melt in your mouth? Will they still be good the next day, like Krispy Kreme’s?
They really are best eaten immediately. 🙂
Thanks Sabrina! Awesome recipe!!!
You’re welcome!
I concur with Gwen! I made these donuts for the first time last night. The dough was soft and silky. It was very sticky; I just floured my surface and hands, turned dough out on to same, shaped into a ball and place in oiled bowl to rise. They came out picture perfect!!! Note: I fried donuts in 325- 330 degree oil, not 375 degree as stated. Practice and patience makes Perfect!!! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!!!
I made these for my family, they loved them. I used the thermometer to heat my oil in cast iron pan. So easy to make and stayed soft until the last one was gone next day.
I so glad everyone loved them!
Best recipe ever. First time and it was fantastic. I think the yeast quality makes a huge difference. It’s a keeper.
Yay!!! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
These were delicious! I Made these vegan by subbing the milk with soy milk and the egg with flax seed egg white (boiled flax seeds until gelatinous, then strained). They were a hit. Definitely worth making again as a treat, once my waistline recovers.
Thanks for all the substitution recommendations! So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi I absolutely love this recipe! It’s a definite crowd pleaser! I’m just wondering if there’s any way to make the dough in advance to be able to fry the donuts the next day? Ultimately I’d love to be able to wake up and fry the donuts before midday without having to start the recipe extremely early. Is there any way they can be refrigerated overnight? 🙂
I’m so sorry but this recipe isn’t able to be made in advance. 🙁 I know it’s a labor of love and not exactly fun to wake up extra early for but it’s really the only way it works.
Hi just wondering if you are able to make the donuts in advance the day before frying them? Will they keep in the fridge? I’d like to fry them first thing in the morning but don’t want to have to wake up at 3am to start the recipe! Any tips or suggestions would be great as I love this recipe. They taste sooooo good!!
No, I’m sorry but that won’t work 🙁
I made these, though I fried mine in a deep fryer and cheated by using a bread machine to help me mix them and used it through the first rising. I then rolled them out and cut about 1/2 size because I wound up with 24 doughnuts. They are wonderful !! Thank you so much !
Thank you so much for the 5 star rating Anna! So glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks for the tips to make it easier as well.
I’m a cook & pastry baker. I have made this recipe over & over again. Lost count. People at work & home always requesting them. Some say better than Krispy Kreme & some say best they ever had. Tried others but this is my favorite. After my favorite Krispy Kreme donut store went out of business I went on the copy cat Krispy Kreme donut hunt…. Tried a few including this one but your recipe is the by far the best. I never post comments but after reading all the negative comments…It was a must!!!! Thank you soooo much for this recipe.
Thank you so much Gwen!
Can I use butter flavored shortening instead of original?
The butter flavoring is artificial so you may have a weird aftertaste if you use that. I haven’t tested it with that flavor though.
Awesome recipe Sabrina!
I have a question. How you make the donut so round. Mine after cutting with donut cutter and proofing turn out to be more squarish on sides :(.
Hmmm, it sounds like maybe they were crowded and that’s why they took on a more squarish shape. I made sure to give mine plenty of room.
Great recipe even though I can’t follow instructions. Frying without a thermometer, I ended up with raw dough inside the donuts. Put them back and fried until they were dark brown, making the outside too crispy. In spite of this, they were great.
Half the dough I shaped as flattened, round balls and filled them with jelly. The recipe is so good that I bought a frying thermometer and will making them again tonight. And following instructions.
I made a batch of these and they were so easy and tasted amazing!!
I only had to cook the doughnuts for 60 seconds each side.
I didn’t have a doughnut cutter either so I used a cup and then poked and pulled
a hole into the middle.
Best cooked up fresh, as soon as the dough is ready.
I put half the dough in the fridge and fried some more the next day, not so good.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s a keeper! 😀
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Hello
I would like to first thank you for posting your recipe. I did use it and was happy as it tasted great but the only problem was my donuts didnt come out like yours did. My donuts seemed a lil wrinkley the best i can describe them, they were not so plump as yours were or as all donuts normally are i dont know why that would of happened i would like to give em another try but am worried the same thing will happen which made the donuts look a lil dull. If you could help would be very appriciated.
Hope to hear from you soon.
I’m so sorry they turned out a bit different. If you’d like, I’d be happy to trouble shoot with you. Email me at [email protected] and we’ll try and figure out what might have happened.
Can’t locate your recipe for homemade corn syrup! I have all ingredients here at home except for the syrup! Can you help me find your recipe??? Would love to make these today without going to the store! Thanks so much Joanie
So sorry I’m just now seeing this. I use a homemade thick simple syrup by mixing 8 tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of hot water. This makes a half a cup of homemade corn syrup.