Melt In Your Mouth Doughnuts, Made At Home! (Foolproof and GREAT For Beginners!)
Look at that photo. Is your mouth watering yet? How about if I told you that you could make these amazing treats, serving them warm and golden to your family, with no knowledge whatsoever of yeast or dough, no special equipment other than what you likely have on hand, and have them done start to finish in under ten minutes, including prep time?
I sound like an infomercial, don’t I? I bet you’re half expecting me to cock one eye
“ShamWOW! You’ll just say, WOW!”
Seriously though, we Southerners (and humans in general), love our doughnuts. Mama says you always need to drink a diet coke with doughnuts because it cancels out the calories. This is what she and Aunt Sue did the time they were in Gatlinburg, and stopped by the Krispy Kreme. They got one dozen hot doughnuts (the ultimate in luxury!) and two diet cokes. By the time they got back to the hotel, they had eaten the entire dozen! They had the good sense to throw away the doughnut box (hiding the evidence) before they got to the room but then discovered their husbands were waiting on them so they could go out to eat. Still, by then there were stuffed (and feeling slightly ill) and couldn’t stand eat!
Now one of the great things about these is that you don’t have to run to Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ and you don’t have any evidence to hide! The most important thing though is that they begin with CANNED BISCUITS! Seriously!! No, they do NOT taste anything like a biscuit when you are done. They taste every bit as melt in your mouth good as they look!
Ingredients For Canned Biscuit Doughnuts
The ingredients are simple and as I said before, you likely have them on hand. You’ll need vegetable oil and canned biscuits for the doughnuts and margarine, cinnamon, and sugar for the coating.
For the biscuits, I get cheapie generic Texas style, but any style at all will do, just don’t get the flaky layers because they will absorb the oil whereas normal biscuits won’t if we get our oil hot enough before frying them. When I was done, you couldn’t tell a difference in my oil level from when I started! 
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
In a bowl, stir together cinnamon and sugar.
Melt a stick of margarine and place the margarine and cinnamon sugar bowls side by side so we’ll be able to use them as soon as the doughnuts are done.
Cutting out centers of canned biscuits to make doughnuts
Now you can go buy a doughnut cutter or some other fancy finagled device (which I actually have tucked away in the dark recesses of my kitchen drawers) but I like to show y’all how to do things the simple way. I’m a big fan of not over complicating a simple matter. For that very reason, we are going to just use a plain old bottle cap to cut the centers of our doughnuts out. I love y’all so much that I drank a Diet Dr Pepper just to have this for you. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my Southern Plate family!!
Cut out the holes in every doughnut, reserving them to cook along with the doughnuts.
Voila, our doughnuts are done!
These are my every day dishes, which I love. You always remember the dishes you ate on growing up. Ours had little green flowers going around the outside of the plates and my grandmother’s had little blue flowers. When I chose these dishes, I wanted my kids to remember a colorful rainbow. They just seemed happy and reminded me of what a childhood should be like, don’t you think?
Pour your oil in a skillet. You need a little less than a half inch. Heat your oil on medium to medium high for several minutes. We want it to be hot so that our doughnuts are instantly seared when they enter it. This prevents them from absorbing too much of the oil and being soggy.
Doughnut Hole sizzling
To test my oil, I put a doughnut hole in it. It should sizzle and bubble around the edges and then you know its hot enough.
Now I put all of my doughnuts in at once. If your skillet isn’t big enough you may have to do them in batches. By the time you have put them all in, some may already be ready to turn. It takes less than a minute for them to be ready to turn over.
This is how they look, nice and golden. Turn them all over and let them cook until the undersides are this way. All in all, this should take less than two minutes.
Remove cooked doughnuts from oil and place on paper towel lined plate.
Now do the same thing with the doughnut holes.
Here is our plate of cooked doughnuts, now lets add a little bit of heaven to them!
The doughnuts should have cooled slightly so that you can handle them but they will still be very warm.
Pick each one up and dip both sides in melted margarine…
The press them down into the cinnamon sugar on both sides. Repeat with all doughnuts and doughnut holes. Eat them warm. They will positively melt in your mouth, they are so good!
No one will believe you started out with canned biscuits so lets just keep that little tidbit to ourselves ~grins~
Ingredients
- 1 ten count can Texas style biscuits (or your preference, just not flaky layers)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 stick margarine, melted
- Vegetable Oil For Frying
Instructions
- Pour oil into skillet to the depth of a little less than 1/2 an inch and heat on medium to medium high for about five minutes. In a bowl, melt margarine. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
- Using a plastic bottle cap, cut the center out of each biscuit. Drop dough into hot oil, watching carefully and turning when golden. Once doughnuts are golden on both sides, remove to paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all dough is cooked, including doughnut holes.
- Dip both sides of each doughnut into melted margarine, then press both sides into cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm.
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jan 3 2009. Filed under Breads, Breakfast, Dessert, headline, Southern Plate Kids.
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We made these donuts 48 years ago. I was just 19 and we were poor always looking for a goodie. For some reason I have not given them another thought. I will try them again for sure. My Grandchildren will think wow Grandma has all the good idea’s. Thank.s for your share.
~giggles~ Every grandchild should think that about their Grandparents!! Grandparents are such a special blessing and I just know yours already think you are the best ever!
just made these donuts they were soo good and soo easy to make. but i wanted glaze so maybe u can make some with glaze recipe with it.
just made these donuts they were soo good and soo easy to make. but i wanted glaze.
You can make a glaze for them!
We made these as a kid. We didn’t use butter, but put the hot donuts in a tupperware container when they were still warm and shook them up. Just used the residual oil for the cinnamon sugar to stick. We also would use powdered sugar. Delicious!
[...] Monday features come from three Pinterest recipes I saw floating aroundThe first comes from Southern Palate. She whipped up some Melt in Your Mouth Doughnuts and I want on right now! I saw this [...]
[...] out how to make them chocolate glazed I will post another with that how to! I got this recipe from southernplate.com. The glaze was something I threw [...]
[...] Monday features come from three Pinterest recipes I saw floating aroundThe first comes from Southern Palate. She whipped up some Melt in Your Mouth Doughnuts and I want on right now! I saw this [...]
[...] (Doughnut recipe idea came from Southern Plate) [...]
I make these all the time with the cheap 4/$1.25 biscuits, which is good since I haven’t been able to find the Texas sized biscuits lately. It’s one of my family’s favorite weekend breakfasts!
I made these just this past week while we were on vacation at the beach. It is a tradition that I make them every year on our trip to the beach! I do make a glaze though by simply using a whole box of confectioners sugar mixed with milk (add alittle milk at a time and stir until you have the consistency that you like).
We have made these for years & love them.
A few variations (no butter dip required)…
* sprinkle w powdered sugar on one side
*mix equal parts (3TBSP do 1 batch) coco powder & powder sugar & sprinkle on one side
*drizzle w warmed honey
*drizzle w favorite warmed jam (or dip one side)
When my late mother made doughnuts she used a drinking glass to cut the doughnuts, then as she put them in the fat to fry them, she used her thumb and finger to pinch a hole in the middle of each one. Once in awhile she would use a doughnut cut and fry the doughnut holes for us kids, but not very often. She said the doughnut cutter made the doughnuts too large.
My Mother used to make these. Like others I had forgotten them. Will make for hubby soon.
When is your new cookbook coming out?
These bring back some fond memories. I learned to make these when I was in the 4th grade in 1976. The teacher gave all of us students one canned biscuit and we got to make a hole in the center with our finger. When we were finished we handed them to her and she added it to an electric skillet filled with the oil. (I understand now, why she didn’t let us drop them in:) After they cooked, we put them in a brown paper lunch bag with powdered sugar and we got to shake our own doughnut. It was heaven!
oh my goodness!!! Made these this morning for “first day free of school” for my kids….SUCCESS!!!! They love them! Thank you Christy, for another WONDERFUL recipe!!!
Ohhh, I am so glad to hear they were a hit!!! Happy Summer Vacation!!
I used to make these with my Mom and now I do it with my kids!
Oh my word! Just made these for our breakfast for dinner night. Love them! Thanks so much for sharing!
I am so glad to hear they were a hit!!!!
[...] You can find the recipe here, http://www.southernplate.com/2009/01/melt-in-your-mouth-doughnuts-made-at-home-foolproof-and-great-f… [...]
[...] Homemade donuts from this recipe were beyond easy and such a hit! All you needed was buttermilk biscuits, vegetable oil, a stick of [...]
[...] decided I would make these doughnuts (to have with the coffee I was making, of course!): Source: southernplate.com via Britnee on [...]
I had these as a child and have made them more time than I care to think about.. but hadn’t thought about making them for my Grandkids. I never used butter though. I’d put the sugar/cinnamon in a paper sack (lunch sack size works great) and then drop the hot donuts into the sack and shake. That was the fun part as a kid. We got to help!! They are delicious and SO easy!!
What wonderful memories Jill!! I hope you get the opportunity to make them with your grandkids and make even more memories soon!
Hello!
I featured your recipe on my blog! Thanks so much for sharing! Love it!
Hmmm…. Doughnuts!
I am going to do this with the kids!! Can you use a stick of butter instead of margarine? Or would it change the flavor too much? Thanks!
Thanks for the reminder. This would make a GREAT Christmas morning breakfast! Actually they are great anytime! Unfortunately I have to restrain myself!
OOOH – such a favorite, we make these with our scout troops and simply cut a biscuit in 1/4ths to have “Fried Dough”… each scout fills their own bag with goodies then shakes away!! YUMMY!!!
I just made these[while listening to ya'all of course] I used the flaky kind b/c that’s all I had. and used Olive oil b/c that’s all I use… OH MAMA!!! These are AWESOME!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!! And you can make ‘em if you’re camping too, which we do! Thank you Christy!!!
I’ve made these but just cut the biscuits in half . Taste just the same. Also, I don’t dip in melted margarine. Just drain slightly on paper towel and roll in the sugar /cinnamon mixture. Fww less fat and calories that way. Yummy!
[...] carbs, calories, whatever. So, I thought to celebrate such a joyous occasion, I would try making homemade “foolproof” doughnuts for breakfast. Look how gorgeous they [...]
I made these doughnuts over 50 years ago and still make them to this day. I like to place the hot doughnuts in a plastic bag of powdered sugar and shake to coat. I have even added strawberry jam to the biscuits to make jelly-filled doughnuts. Just be sure to fold the biscuit and crimp the edges securely before adding to the hot oil.
I had not thought about my grandmother’s doughnuts in years. I am going to make some for my daughter today! Does anyone know if these can these be made using Splenda instead of sugar?
I have found that Splenda isn’t good as a coating agent but you could either eat them as they are or make a glaze using Splenda.
Delish as always
Teenager gobbled them up! Even better it fits right into my budget …. and I used a cap from a Sprite bottle… it MY Dr. Pepper 
My mom made a simple syrup with water and sugar and dipped the donuts. It’s awesome too!
Oh that does sound good!!
My great grandma made them for her kids, my grandma made them for her kids, my mom made them for her kids, and I made them for my kids. Waiting for grandkids to pass along.
I have never had these as a child, as I recall, I don’t think any one in my family ever made them.. granma always made biscuits and jam for breakfast (Mmm, jamface). However, I whipped these up this morning, and I don’t think I’ll ever get store bought again. These really are incredible and so easy!! Thanks Christy!!
These turned out so awesome! Tasted just like a doughnut, sweet and light. I had a lot of left over melted butter and a ton of sugar. I will cut both in half next time…and there will be a next time!
I am so glad to hear that you liked them Emily!!
These were amazing! They were so fun to make and just absolutely delicious
I made them for a party and they were a bit hit!
Here’s my post about the party: http://notevenclosetomartha.blogspot.com/2013/01/pajama-party.html
Making these this morning for my 11 year old son. I got Gran ds on sale for 80 cents for the jumbo size. My sons eyes nearly popped out of his head as he was jumping up and down…..
He loves these donuts. The thought of making them at home gets him so excited he can barely sleep the night before
We do a simple glaze once donuts cool. We use powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until a thick creamy consistency
Thanks for sharing a multi-generation goodie!!
Been one of our favorite quick treats for years – love to make a glaze out of powdered sugar and water instead of the cinnamon sugar – but delicious both ways
I’ve made these for many years, usually use a glaze or powdered sugar, I think I’m going to try them this way. My kids like them so much, they beg me to make them for breakfast after sleepovers and it never, ever fails to impress their friends. Always when the friend sleeps over another time, they ask my kids ahead of time, to make sure that’s what will be for breakfast.
My Mom made these for us when we were kids (a good 50 years ago!). She just made the hole in the middles with her index finger and thumb and then made a white glaze with powdered sugar, milk and a little vanilla to dip the tops in. Put in a little chocolate syrup instead of milk and you get chocolate.
Love your recipes and so does my family
THank you so much Kristin!