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Hi Bold Bakers!
Sometimes you just really, really, want a donut — specifically a delicious, yeasted, light, fried one from Dunkin’ Donuts. But if you’re anything like me, you rather not have to get up, get dressed, and wait in line at your local shop. The magic of this homemade Dunkin’ Donuts copycat donut recipe is you can make them in your pajamas!
[ Want to skip the yeast? Try my popular No-Yeast Homemade Donuts! ]
This homemade donut recipe gives you the fluffiest donuts EVER — and they’re crazy good when you top them with one of my 5 Donut Glazes!!
Plus, if you think donuts from Dunkin’ are great, wait until you have them fresh and warm from your own kitchen!
What Are Homemade Dunkin’ Donuts?
These donuts taste just like the real deal at your local Dunkin’ because of the ingredients and technique of making them. The trick to getting seriously addictive donuts is, of course, by frying them! Not ideal, healthwise, but what would life be without a good batch of freshly fried donuts once and a while?

What You Need To Make Homemade Dunkin’ Donuts
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Standing mixer fitted with a dough hook
- Plastic wrap
- 3-inch round cutter and one smaller round cookie cutter
- Medium, deep pan
How To Make Dunkin’ Donuts At Home
The longest part of this recipe is allowing the dough to rise properly, and then frying is a cinch! (But always be super careful while cooking with hot oil!!) Here is how you make homemade Dunkin’ Donuts (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- In a bowl of a standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook), mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together. Put the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other before mixing. If combined directly, it could deactivate the yeast.
- In a measuring jug, heat the milk and butter until melted. Stir in the vanilla.
- Turn your standing mixer on low and slowly add the milk mixture until the dough comes together to form a ball. If it is too dry, add a little more milk.
- Increase the speed to medium for about 6-8 minutes, until the dough is shiny and smooth. The dough should also be saggy.
- Rub a mixing bowl with vegetable oil (or any flavorless oil) and place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat lightly.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, usually around 2 hours.
- Once risen, turn the fluffy dough out onto a floured work surface. Roll it out to be 1/2-inch thick.
- Cut your donut circles using a 3-inch round cutter. (Dust the cutter in flour, so it doesn’t stick to the dough.) Then, using a smaller cutter, cut out the donut holes. Re-roll your leftover dough and cut more donuts. You should get 12-14 donuts.
- You can put the donuts in the refrigerator at this step until the next morning. When you are ready to fry, take out and let it come to room temperature and rise, roughly 30 minutes before frying. If you do not want to wait until the next day, cover the donuts with plastic wrap and let them rise at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
How to fry the donuts:
- Into a medium, deep pan, pour in around 2- to 3-inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium/high heat until it heats up. If you’re using a thermometer, bring the heat to 350°F (180°C)
- Once the oil is hot, carefully drop 3 or 4 donuts into the oil at a time. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned on one side. Flip the donut and fry the other side until browned.
- Set the cooked donuts on a paper towel to drain until they have all been cooked.
How to glaze the donuts:
- Dunk the donuts, while fresh and warm, into one of my donut glazes, one by one. All the excess glaze to drip off before placing the donut on a wire rack to dry. Add some sprinkles if you are using!

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Homemade Dunkin’ Donuts
- You can keep yeast in the freezer to keep it fresher longer.
- Make sure your oil stays around 350°F (180°C) to allow the doughnuts to cook properly.
- The donuts puff up a lot when they are in the oil, so be sure to roll them out no thicker than 1/2 inch.
- Oil is HOT when frying! Make sure you stay safe: place doughnuts carefully in the oil to avoid splash burns, watch carefully to make sure that the oil doesn’t start to smoke, and never walk away from the oil heating on the stove! If you are a child making this recipe, make sure to get an adult’s help!
- Use my Chocolate Donut Glaze!
- You can also BAKE your donuts. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for roughly 15 minutes.
How Do I Store Leftover Dunkin’ Donuts?
Donuts always taste best the day they are made — I strongly urge you to eat them when they are as fresh as possible! If you want to keep them overnight, I suggest wrapping them in a napkin and placing them in a paper bag.

Make More Donuts!
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!