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
Filed Under
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! 😉
I made these substituting water for milk, half the flour for whole wheat flour, and smart balance for the butter to make it healthier and also parve. I also included the whole egg for more protein (which of course results in a little more flour to create good consistency dough). They turned out great! I used this healthier version (identical recipe on epicurious) fried earlier this week and now baked them with this recipe and although fried is definitely much more heavenly (the baked one is more biscuit like), it satisfies the cravings.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Ariel! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Outstanding!!! As good or better than deep fried. Definite repeater.
Thank you for an awesome review, Jan. We appreciate it!
Hi Natasha,
What if you’re working with dry yeast instead of instant? Is there a way to incorporate that and how and when would that step fit into your recipe? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Esther, I haven’t tested these with active dry yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it prove first in the warm 105˚F milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute
Made these today using cake flour. They came out perfectly fluffy and soft. We rolled them in cinnamon and sugar and did not end up filling them. The texture was too nice to ruin with a jam. I think I rolled the dough a little thinner as I got closer to 24 donuts but they were perfectly baked.
So great to hear that you got great results with this recipe. Thanks for sharing that with us!
I made it today and they turned out awesome. Instead of jelly I stuffed butter cream and Nutella. Thank you chef, these are the best donuts I have ever had😀
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hello! Just made these in honor of Hanukkah. Everyone devoured them! They were little bites of heaven. Yummy in the tummy deliciousness. I chose to skip stuffing them and instead offered lemon curd, applesauce, or Nutella on the side. A small scoop on the plate for dipping or smearing on was quick and easy. I will definitely make these again. Thanks for the recipe.
So nice to know that, Kimberlee. Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
Just made them today for Hanukkah – absolutely delicious! Everyone in the family raved about them. I’ve always been intimidated by complicated recipes for yeasted donuts. Thanks for this easy recipe and video – it was great to actually see what the dough should look like at each step.
Awesome! I’m so happy to read your good comments and feedback, Ann. Thank you for sharing!
Making these for Hanukkah….filled with lemon curd. Yummy!
Sounds delicious, enjoy!
Hi. I just made these today. and they did not rise. I put them on a baking sheet covered with a tea towel as per the recipe, and it was as if the towel flattened them. I don’t know what I did wrong.
Hi Jane, 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. It sounds like maybe they needed more time to rise. It could also mean that the yeast could have been either expired or gotten deactivated by overheating during the rising stage. 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 find that adding the yeast to the warm milk with the sugar causes the yeast to bloom better. Then, add it to the flour mixture and it rises correctly every time. When I mix the yeast with the flour, sugar and salt, then add the warm liquid, it most often kills, or mostly kills, the yeast due to the salt. Hope this helps.
Can you make the dough a couple of days in advance and then bake them?
Hi Izzy, if stored properly in the fridge, the donuts will be kept well for about 5 days but I have not tried having the dough sit for that long. I worry it won’t have the same outcome.
Okay, I am making them for a Hanukkah party for school, and I should just make them the night before?
Hi Izzy, I haven’t tested them as make-ahead donuts but being a yeast dough, that should technically work if you refrigerate it before baking. If I were to experiment with making them as overnight donuts, I would place the rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, cover them and refrigerate before the last rise. Let them puff/rise the next day at room temperature before baking.
I made this recipe recently and I actually made it with 1 cup substitute of cake flour. It was so soft with just a hint of sweetness in the dough. Will definitely do it again.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I bet our readers will find this helpful!
Is there a substitute for milk as my daughter is lactose intolerant. I will replace the butter with margarine. This recipe looks amazing and I’m very anxious to make it.
You may use water instead of milk. Please let us know how you like that if you give that a try!
I made it with almond milk today – and they came out delicious! I empathize with your daughter… I am also lactose intolerant. Let me know if you find a good substitute for the butter!
Hi Natasha
I was wondering if you can fry them instead?
Hi Cally, you can; we like to bake it since it’s healthier (not deep-fried), the house doesn’t smell like deep frying, and the cleanup is nicer.
can you bake these instead of frying them?
These are baked donuts.
Have you ever tried air frying the donuts?
Hi Ann, I have not tried it in an Air Fryer to advise.
These donuts taste like sweet bread rolls. When you eat these warm, right out of the oven, they are soft and chewy, however, as soon as they cool to room temperature, they are not soft and chewy at all, they are more on the dense bread bun side as far as texture goes. I followed the directions per gram, and I also attempted 3 times with the same results. They tear apart like bread would and a bit dense for a donut. The flavor is actually very tasty though, it is not too sweet. If you plan on eating these fresh, I highly recommend. But, if you plan on baking in advanced, they don’t taste soft after they come to room temperature.
Hi Xithra, donuts are definitely best on the day they are made but we have still enjoyed them even into the second day with them being soft. I wonder if yours needed a little more time to proof? If you start at a colder room temperature, they would need more time.
Do these jelly donuts freeze well or is that not a good idea? Thanks!
Hello Denise, I haven’t tested that to advise one. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe. Someone else also shared this “Due to a mix up in my day I had to freeze the dough after the first rise and cook the next day – truly wonderful.
Thank you!” I hope that helps.
I have been trying to find a choc walnut crunch bar dounut that is bakes do u have any ideas my mom and I have used a lot of ur receipts we just love them
Hi Aimee, thank you for that suggestion, I do not have a recipe like that at this tie.
These are so delicious! They came out perfect for Donut Friyay.
I use margarine all the time, it gives you a slightly different taste ,just use the same amount as if you where to use butter.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha, can you freeze these?
Hi Carol, I haven’t tested that to advise one. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe