Melt In Your Mouth Doughnuts, Made At Home! (Foolproof and GREAT For Beginners!)
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Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
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 doughnuts (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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[...] assistant (aka – my niece) and I made a batch of Christy Jordan’s (of Southern Plate fame) Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. WOW! They were delicious!! They were so easy to make and they definitely melt in your [...]
Christy,
My niece and I made a batch of these for Sunday brunch today. OH MY WORD! They were delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe (I’m new, directed here from Southern Savers!). I’m really looking forward to trying a lot of the recipes you have posted here!!
Thanks again!
I needed something quick for breakfast so I made these! They were great! As a kid we used to make them and just sprinkle with powdered sugar but this way is MUCH better! Thanks!
My mom use to make these for me growing up. It was such a treat for us, especially when we got old enough to help her make them.
We just made these for the first time.
SOOOO easy, and soooo tasty! I’m convinced
you’re TRYING to keep me fat! lol
Thanks for the easy recipe. My teenagers will
love using this recipe for sleepovers.
Thanks for the recipe, I will try this one out some day. First I need to run off some kilos……..
I just have to let you know that we made these the other night for my daughter’s sleepover party. Actually we made all the boston cream and the jelly too. She was SOO excited to be making them for her friends breakfast! She turned 9 and had her first sleepover! Not sure why the word sleep is in that word!! lol These were the best donuts I have ever had! A HUGE hit with all of the girls. We will be making these again. I think I will include them in our camping menu too!
Thanks so much
hey Christy,
I made these for 5 of my grandchildren over the weekend!! They loved them..will be making more!!!
[...] true. I couldn’t help myself. I’m such a pushover. I’ve been thinking about these doughnuts for months and while perusing the biscuit aisle of my grocery, well…you know what happened. [...]
Why don’t you include a link on your homepage (or recipe pages) so that we could easily print your recipe. I love your idea for homemade doughnuts, but I won’t spend 30 minutes writing down the recipe. Help us out–we’re your fans!
I’m doing the best I can, honest!
I already spend over six hours each day working on Southern Plate and it’s about all I can do. I know some days my family wonders what life must be like with folded laundry and a clean house, lol.
Making recipes printer friendly requires software that I don’t have on my computer so I have to put them in document form, email them to my husband, have him format them and upload them, then embed the link. It takes quite some time to get all of that done and so far I just haven’t been able to come up with it.
Most folks just copy and paste and then print it in a word document on their computer. I have instructions on how to do this on my Frequently Asked Questions page, its super easy and will revolutionize the way you use the computer!
Thank you very much for reading and commenting, Barry, hope my response helps!
Gratefully,
Christy
Hey Christy i think you doing a wonderful job
i love to cook and i really like all the easy and inexpensive recipes that you have.
Thank you and keep up the good work!!
And a Happy New Year to you and your family and all of Southern Plate
Oh my gosh!!! I’d forgotten all about making these when I was in college (in the dark ages) when the only cooking equipment we were permitted to have were electric hot water kettles and popcorn poppers. You know — the kind you had to put oil and popcorn kernels in and then turn on until it was mostly finished popping??? Well, the WONDERFUL thing about those popcorn poppers is that they also get oil the PERFECT temperature to make these doughnuts! We’d skip Chapel (required attendance every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.) occasionally to stay in the dorm and eat doughnuts. What a treat!
Thanks for the trip down memory land and yet ANOTHER great idea of a way to make memories for my family, Christy!
I tried making these today, and the insides were still a little doughy, okay, a lot doughy, as in, not cooked.
What did I do wrong? I used the Pillsbury Grand’s Buttermilk biscuits (but not the flaky layers kind).
They even got darker (deep golden brown) than shown, so I THOUGHT I had left them in long enough.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Don’t use the GRANDS Pilsbury for this. The little butter nuggets they put in to make AWESOME biscuits do not make awesome donuts. Use store brought brand, and the 4 cans for like a buck fifty work WONDERS.
Hope that helps.
We are snowed in and I made these for my family today. I didn’t realize until everything was ready to go that I had the flaky style biscuits. I decided to try anyway and they were really good – I’m sure they’re even better w/ the recommended biscuits. I will be making these again. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
I remember these! Made these with my mom in the winter when I was a wee one! Nice memory.
[...] Melt In Your Mouth Doughnuts [...]
We made these when I was little. You can top em with powdered sugar too, or dip em in melted chocolate (or whatever you like).
Mom called em Cub Scout Donuts.
Mmmmm
Memories.
In Hawaii where I grew up we didn’t cut the wholes out, just fried them whole. We call them malasadas!!
We don’t cut the holes out in Mississippi either. We dip them in honey butter.
My mom made these growing up and they are wonderful! All I have to say is “Dooooouuuuuugggghhhhhhnuts!” Thanks
I made these tonight finally. They were so easy and very yummy too.
Now if I can just get the fried oil smell out of my house–yuck!
This looks very interesting. I had been thinking about making some doughnuts for awhile now but your temperature guide is a bit vague. Many new electric skillets have a setting for the temperature. For doughnuts it should be 375 degrees. Lacking that, use a fryer thermometer. If they are fried at 360 degrees, they will be loaded with oil; that is experience talking. I never thought about your trick with the bottle caps for the holes, I was planning on making a hole and widening it with my fingers. I was thinking about using an open can to cut out the doughnuts(I like the idea of making the from scratch but using a recipe from the internet for potato doughnuts).
Oh my, Christy. You have just changed breakfast possibilities in our home. My mother in law used to make these when myhusband was small, but she didn’t share the recipe. Now I can surprise my husband (who doesn’t think much of my cooking). Yay. Thank you so much. You may just become my secret weapon girl!!!! My kids are silly with sugar this morning.
I love these doughnuts! I posted the recipe on my blog. Here’s the link if you would like to check it out: http://megwilson06.blogspot.com/2010/05/cinnamon-sugar-whop-doughnuts.html
LOVE donuts like these! We used to make ‘em in college like this when all we were permitted to have cooking-wise was one of those old popcorn poppers that actually used oil! Delicious!
Gonna make some at the beach in two weeks! YAY!
These bring back memories of my Grandmother making them for us….those were the days!
We would make these too, but sometimes we just rolled out the bisquit and put it in a non stick skillet. Brown it on both sides, and shake them in a little powdered sugar. Hmmmm good.
I am so proud of you, drinking that Dr Pepper for you readers. What a woman. lol Girl I am waiting and waiting, for that new cook book to come out. Wish it could be sooner.
My best friend Rachel gave me a recipe once while we were camping for what she refers to as ” camping donuts” and they were so delicious that it’s a tradition now to make them “only” when were camping!! It is the same recipe as above, however were using powered sugar to coat the donuts and with out using the melted butter! We don’t use a fancy gadget either, just an empty water bottle to make the hole. They are soooo delicious!!!
These turned out great and you are right…they do not taste like canned biscuits at all! Everyone loved them and wanted the recipe.
Been wanting to make biscuit doughnuts for my 14 year old Son for a while now, forgot all about these….Had them often growing up. I used store brand Buttermik biscuits, and they turned out delicious. Cant wait to make them with my nieces.
I just tried these, and they are so good. I used butter-flavored generic-Walmart-brand biscuits, and they’re just melt-in-your-mouth awesome. I brought the extra ones to work with me so my husband and I wouldn’t eat them all. So good!
Thank you for posting this recipe! I had already been nominated for “Queen Mother” for the cinnamon rolls but with these donuts it was no contest! Talk about motivation to get your kids ready on time! My whole family thanks you for posting your recipes. Life is good and GOD is better!
Hello, I tried the recipe you shared and it was fantastic but I noticed that the donuts could only stay soft for an hour. Could you please share tips on what additive or ingredients we can add that would keep the donuts soft for 8hrs in room temp? Donuts from Dunkin or KK has a soft staying power of 24hr in room temp. (I conducted an experiment). Please email me at Louelljoy@yahoo.com for the tips thanks
When I use to cook these I didn’t bother cutting the holes out ~ I just took my finger stuck it in the middle and then stretched the hole open!! Quick and easy!!
Oh how I love these! These are the smile makers, I can remember times sitting in my aunts kitchen and her and my mom would fix these for all of us kids, so so super yummy a favorite special treat. The only difference was she made a thin glaze with 10x sugar a touch of milk and butter and they were heavenly!
O M GOSH!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!! If you are out & see a crazy gal squealing & running @ you to hug you……that would be me!!
I’ve wanted to make homemade donuts for FOREVER, but don’t have the patience for the rising of the dough & all that jazz….THIS is right up my alley!! Not to mention that NOW I can justify drinking a Diet Dr P, BEFORE breakfast!! These WILL be made tomorrow morning!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! XOXO!!
My sister learned how to make these in junior high Home Ec class back in the 50′s. They were taught to cut the biscuits in quarters and they became “Puff Balls”. I was the queen of slumber parties and these were always served for breakfast.
I made these for breakfast this morning, and they were delicious. My husband said that they were better than the ones from the store, and then he said that he was going to eat the whole plate. My two year old, who has never had a doughnut before, said yummy doughnuts. Thanks for a great recipe and a fun Saturday morning at our house.
M y husband has always wanted to make “real” doughnuts. I surprised him with these the other night. From start to finish, it took about 10 minutes! He was impressed, and my kids can’t wait for me to make these again!
Don’t you just love those times when you do something that is so easy yet makes everyone think you are SuperWoman!!
I just made these for my guys and they were sooo good! I let my 4 year old help with cutting the holes and he decided to use a star shaped cutter. They actually retained their shape. My 2 year old just loved them and my husband (who is watching his diet) told me that he wished they were gross so that he wouldn’t want to eat them all!
Next time I make them, I believe I will experiment with powdered sugar and making a glaze. This recipe was so quick and easy and turned out great!!! Love it!
Just got done making these but I must of had my heat on too high. I turned it to #5 but they were burnt within 30 seconds. Oh well, maybe next time…lol.
[...] – The donuts! They were [...]
We love these too. my mom used to make them all the time when we were little. I made them with my girls a few years ago and we made a variety of topping. Sugar, chocolate and sprinkles…what fun!!
http://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2009/01/donuts-and-weather-update.html
What a great and fun memory!!
Our local lions club does these at a booth during our annual festival and they sell so many over a 3 day period it is crazy! They fry and dump the hot donuts into paper bags full of either powdered sugar or cin/sug and shake.. done!
You buy by the bag! Its a great tradition!
What a great fundraiser! Yummy too!!
Oh, my goodness…my mom made these in the 60′s, minus the extra butter at the end. She used a deep fat fryer ( does anyone still use those?) It makes my mouth water thinking of them. Home made donuts! So delicious!
Wow! Those were amazing! I let my 3 year old help cut out the holes and mix the cinnamon-sugar. Then we enjoyed eating them:) Thanks Christy!
[...] Granny! We miss you tons! In her honor I tried a new southern style recipe…… Melt in your mouth Doughnuts, Made at Home! by SouthernPlate.com Get THIS….they are soooooooo easy cause they are made [...]
Just a quick question: Does it make your house smell like fried food? They look amazing, and I want to eat them NOW, but I can’t abide eau de greasy restaurant.
)
It doesn’t mine, to me it just smells like fresh doughnuts.
[...] my kids these biscuit donuts again..my plan was to make them after my protein pancake was cooking but kids were awake and hungry [...]
[...] September 12th, 2011 Amy Allred No Comments I found these delicious looking doughnuts on SouthernPlate.com and I am going to make them today. I know my girlies will love them as an after-school snack!Visit [...]