Sour Cream Donuts

These tender on the inside, crispy on the outside Sour Cream Donuts are made with brown sugar, sour cream and hinted with vanilla and nutmeg. They’re easy to make, fried to perfection and coated with a sweet powdered sugar glaze.

Sour Cream Donuts

I think everyone should have Sour Cream Donuts on their brunch/dessert recipe roster. They’re easy to make and yeast-free and have that delicious old fashioned donut taste and texture!

EASY TO MAKE

I know the idea of making homemade fried donuts can feel like an ordeal. Luckily the dough is super easy to make and they’re so worth making! There’s just nothing like a super fresh donut that you make right before your eyes!

DESSERTS WITH SOUR CREAM

Sour cream gives these donuts their signature taste and texture. It adds a slightly tangy flavor and lots of moisture.

Try my Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies for another delicious recipe with sour cream. For a lemon version, you’ll love these Lemon Sour Cream Cookies!

THESE DONUTS ARE:

• Cakey and Tender.
• Crispy and Perfectly Golden.
• Flavorful: Thanks to the sour cream, brown sugar and hints of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sour cream donuts are usually made with a good amount of nutmeg. To change things up slightly, I added a hint of nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. The result is delicious! Oh and the sweet glaze is pretty delicious too.
• Easy: The dough is super simple to make and to roll out. The glaze takes literally a minute to stir together.
• Fun to Make: It’s fun to mix things up and make something new. You’ll have fun cutting them out and frying them and will feel proud of yourself for making them!
• Yeast-free: These donuts use baking powder to give them their rise. Using baking powder results in donuts with a tender, dense middle AND a delicious crispy exterior.

OTHER DONUT RECIPES

Sour Cream Donuts definitely give you that old fashioned donut taste. I’d say they are somewhere between baked donuts (more cakey but easy) and yeasted donuts (yeasty but a little more effort).

For some super simple yeast free donuts that you can bake in the oven, check out these  Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts. For a lemony, fruity donut, definitely try these Lemon Blueberry Donuts. Another yummy recipe are these Baked Banana Donuts.

WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE THESE DONUTS?

• A DONUT CUTTER OR ROUND BISCUIT OR COOKIE CUTTER
• A CANDY THERMOMETER: Hook it to the side of your pot. To get an accurate oil temperature, make sure it’s not touching the bottom of your pot.
• A DUTCH OVEN OR DEEP, HEAVY BOTTOMED POT: For frying.
• TONGS: To carefully add donuts to and remove them from the hot oil.

HOW TO MAKE THIS SOUR CREAM DONUT RECIPE

To start, make the dough. Here are the basic steps:

1. Combine the dry ingredients.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add the vanilla and egg yolks. Add the sour cream alternatively with the dry ingredients.
3. Chill the dough for one hour. (This will make the dough less sticky and easier to roll out).
4. Roll the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. You may need to first fold the dough over on itself to smooth it out a little before rolling it out. The dough is very easy to roll out and work with. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thickness. Hot tip: Dip your donut cutter in a small bowl of flour to prevent sticking.
5. Chill donuts for at least 15 minutes: This will help the donuts keep their shape when fried.

TIPS FOR FRYING THE DONUTS

While the donuts chill, gather what you need for frying:

• Line a plate with paper towels: You’ll put the donuts here after frying them.
• Place a cooling rack over a baking sheet: You’ll put the donuts here after they’re glazed.
• Take out a spider strainer and/or tongs: Since we’re dealing with hot oil, you’ll want to be careful putting the donuts in oil, flipping them over and removing them. I like to have both a spider strainer and tongs handy. If you don’t have a spider strainer, a spatula will be a little messier but it will work.

POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE

I used to go to Dunkin’ on a pretty regular basis when I lived in Boston. I usually went just for coffee, but when I grabbed a donut, I’d go for plain or glazed. Love them both! Same with these donuts-they are delicious plain or glazed!

HOW TO MAKE THE GLAZE

Like the donut dough, the glaze is also super simple. Just stir together powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Next, add hot water by the tablespoon until you get the consistency you like. It’s important to use hot water so that the glaze doesn’t clump up.

GLAZING THE DONUTS

I love this glaze with these donuts. It kind of gets absorbed into all the cracks of the donuts and is absolutely delicious! It’s best to glaze the donuts while they’re still warm. As soon as you finish frying the donuts, start glazing them. Just dunk them, flip them over and cover the other half in the glaze.

There’s nothing not to love about these Sour Cream Donuts! They’re fun and easy to make and are best enjoyed while still warm and as a treat for making them!

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