Baked Donuts filled with jelly are incredibly soft, airy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Just like our donut holes, this homemade donut recipe is easy and always gets rave reviews!
Donuts are the ultimate comfort food. The aroma from the oven and the little hint of jelly peeking out of the side make these irresistible. I am a sucker for classic home-baked treats like blueberry muffins or chocolate chip banana bread and these baked donuts do not disappoint!
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Baked Donut Recipe:
Baked donuts are cotton-candy soft and fluffy. I remember my Mother making apple piroshki (Russian fried doughnuts) after school and it is one of the food memories I will always treasure. Baked yeast donuts are even easier and is a tradition I’m continuing with my own family.
I’ll take one of these over a Krispy Kreme any day because they are way more satisfying – the perfect balance of fluffy center to sugar coated surface without the greasy mouth feel and my belly is always happier eating a homemade baked donut!
Is it Donuts or Doughnuts?
Which is the correct spelling? This is heated debate because donuts… mmm doughnuts! There’s even a National Donut Day and it’s the first Friday of June. It is the ultimate comfort food. The real question is – when were doughnuts invented? ‘Doughnut’ is the original old-school spelling but ‘donuts’ took off when Dunkin’ Donuts launched in 1950.
Most people will search for “donuts” online and it is the clear winner in popularity. The dictionary now recognizes ‘donut’ as a variant of doughnut so the word doughnut came first but both terms are technically correct.
Here’s our argument – old school doughnuts are deep fried, but these are new school baked donuts so we called them so.
Are Baked Donuts Healthy?
To put it delicately, baked donuts are the healthier option compared to traditional deep-fried donuts. They don’t leave you feeling as guilty about your choices. You only need 1 Tbsp of melted butter to coat all 12 donuts! Are donuts good for you? In the end, they are still sugar covered carbs… glorious carbs! Eat responsibly.
What is the Best Filling for Donuts?
We enjoy changing up the type of jelly in these baked donuts; strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, huckleberry,.. you name it! Whether you are using jam, preserves or jelly, pick one that is:
- Thick – a thick jelly won’t run out of the donut as easily
- Fairly Smooth – so the piping tip doesn’t get clogged
- Your favorite flavor – these are, after all, for you!
How to Make Cream Filled Donuts:
For a cream filling, you will need a stable, thick cream that won’t ooze out. The pastry cream from our eclairs is easy and excellent. Let the cream cool then fill the pastry bag fitted with a sharp tip and generously pipe into each donut.
For Cinnamon Sugar Donuts:
If you choose to omit the jam inside, you can add more flavor with a cinnamon sugar coating. In a small bowl, stir together and roll hot buttered donuts in this mixture:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Love Glazed Donuts?
We enjoy these without glaze but if you desire glazed donuts, you can skip brushing with butter and rolling in sugar. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, dip into this glaze mixture then place on racks until glaze hardens:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk or water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
More Classic Home-Baked Treats:
- Baklava – once you try homemade, there’s no going back
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – soft, moist and perfect
- Snowball Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good
- Russian Tea Cookies – buttery and studded with walnuts
- Italian Cookies a chocolate filled sandwich cookie
How to Ensure Super Fluffy Donuts?
The correct balance of wet to dry ingredients is critical in any dough recipe. Be sure to measure the ingredients correctly. Stir your flour with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup. Pushing a measuring cup into a flour bin can result in 25% more flour than is called for which will result in dense donuts.
Also, be sure to allow your dough to proof in a warm room (never more than 110˚F) or you will deactivate the yeast and the donuts will not rise properly.
Baked Donut Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this easy and super fluffy baked donut recipe. P.S. There’s a guest star in this episode!
I hope this becomes your go-to baked donut recipe! They are irresistibly soft and there is nothing like warm homemade donuts.
Baked Donuts Filled with Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting*
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, quick acting, (1 packet = 7 grams)
- 2/3 cup warm milk, 110˚F - microwave 35 sec.
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup jelly or jam, (no large fruit pieces)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar , to roll donuts
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Add warm milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously to combine well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 10 minutes, until some bubbles form on the surface.
- Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, adding just enough until dough holds together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (Add the last 2 Tbsp of flour only if needed) and knead in the bowl 5 minutes. If dough is really sticking to your hands, dust lightly with flour then continue kneading with clean dry hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 45 min or at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375˚F with rack in the center of the oven.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out to just under 1/2” thick. Cut circles using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps if needed to make 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 20 min or at room temperature 45 min, or until puffed. Bake uncovered in the center of a preheated oven at 375˚F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
- Right out of the oven, brush a hot bun all over with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and roll in a bowl of sugar to coat lightly with sugar. Cut a deep slit in the side of each donut and pipe jam with a pastry bag into each one.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Enjoy your home-baked donuts and “Do-nut Worry, be Happy!” I couldn’t resist! 😉
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I made these with my 10 yr old daughter today. They were fun to make, easy and SO delicious! Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe 🙂
Hi, I am trying this recipe but just realised I only have dry yeast not instant yeast. Do you think it will still work?
I haven’t tested that to advise. I imagine it will work but you need to make some adjustments.
I tried this recipe yet I didn’t have enough dough to make 12 thin ones(less than 1/2”). Im sure its a great recipe, mine just didn’t have enough dough even after rising in heat. How do i fix this?
Hi Raigen, its hard to say what caused that without being there, is it possible it didn’t rise enough? I recommend watching the video and reading through the recipe again to ensure a step wasn’t missed. I wish I could be more helpful.
Beautiful donuts and the texture is light and just delicious!
Thanks for you good comments and feedback!
We really enjoyed this recipe. I really appreciate that they are baked and healthier than deep fried. Wondering how they work out if we freeze them after filling with jam?
Hello Vera! Thanks for the good feedback. I have not tried freezing them to advise.
Hi, my doughnuts didn’t puff during the last rise and I left them for 1.5 hours. Can you tell me what night have gone wrong. Thanks.
Hi Liz! It could be several reasons. Using a different yeast than suggested in the recipe, expired or deactivated yeast by overheating during the rising stage, the room being too cold during the rising time which would take longer. Also, consider if there could have been too much flour added – make sure you measure as we suggest in the post. I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
I have made these twice and both times could not knead in more than another half to three quarters cup flour. The donuts taste great but just wondering what I am doing wrong?
Hi Cathie! Did you make any substitutions or use a different flour? If you’re having trouble kneading the dough, I would double check to make sure you’re measuring the flour correctly or using the right amount called for.
Please watch my tutorial on How to measure ingredients .
I bake all the time and decided to give these a try as I normally only make donuts with a donut pan. The texture was fine but they underwhelming. The recipe was followed, all fresh ingredients, rising was fine, etc. They weren’t very sweet and reminded me more of a glorified sweet bun/roll taste- not like a donut.
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you as my kids love these! You definitely want to make sure you use the glaze or they won’t be very sweet without it. Also, if they were sweet bun/roll in texture, likley too much flour was added which would make the donuts more dense. Check out our article on how to measure ingredients for baking which should be helpful to ensure success with our baking projects.
When do you fill the donuts? Do you need to wait for them to cool completely before filling?
Hi Jessica! They do not have to be completely cooled to fill with jam. If you are using something like a pastry cream or whipped cream, you might want to let them cool just a bit.
If I do the last rise in the oven, is it OK to take them out and then preheat to 375? Or do I have to cook them immediately after the last rise?
Hi Krystle, I bake after the last rise so pull them out of the oven a little earlier to let the oven preheat. You don’t want them to proof too long or you will exhaust the yeast and they will seem dry when baked.
This was a great and simple recipe! Would frying these also work?
Hi Cd! That should work, but we usually use this method since it’s healthier. Also- check out my Glazed donut recipe .
The absolute best recipe for yeast donuts ever!!! If you follow directions to a tea and have fresh yeast, you will end up with an awesome result. I doubled the recipe and still came out perfect…I didn’t quite use the full five cups of flour, if you are familiar with bread making you add enough to get a smooth non sticky dough, do the same with this recipe. If I could give it more stars I would!
Thank you, Bonnie for the wonderful review! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe.