Name: Chocolate Glazed Donuts - Dunkin Donuts Copycat Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Yield: 18
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup Whole Milk; 1 TBSP Instant or Active Dry Yeast; 2 Eggs; 2 TSP Vanilla Extract; 6 TBSP Butter; 1/8 cup Powdered Sugar; 1/2 TSP Salt; 4-5 cups All Purpose Flour; Oil for frying; 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder; 3 cups Powdered Sugar; 2-3 TBSP Milk; 1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract

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If you love dough-y donuts that instantly transports you back to when you were in elementary school eating a donut with a glass of milk, than these chocolate glazed donuts are for you!

One of my favorite memories growing up was getting one on one time with my dad and going to Dunkin Donuts to eat chocolate glazed Dunkin Donuts with sprinkles or our favorite diner to drink black and white milkshakes!

That’s what inspired me to learn how to try to figure out the dunkin donut recipe! While I’m sure that my recipe isn’t exactly like theirs, it tastes so close that it’s practically a time machine!

This is an easy yeast donut recipe and after one batch of these Chocolate Glazed Donuts, your kids are going to be begging you to make them more! You won’t even mind, though! There are so many ways that you can eat these delicious donuts, I recommend doing a donut bar (described below) so that everyone can make their own version!

This really easy chocolate glazed donut recipe contains ingredients that you likely have on hand already which means that you can start making these right away! Eggs, sugar, butter, milk, yeast, flour etc… it’s all ingredients that you have on hand! I especially love to make these on the weekends so that I can let the dough rise completely and not feel rushed to cut it short.

Trust me – it’s worth letting the dough rise because you’re going to get the most amazing texture! I can’t even describe it. You’re just going to have to make them and see for yourself!

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How to Enjoy These Glazed Donuts – A Donut Bar!

I am a firm believer that families bond over food and in the kitchen! That’s why I often talk about doing “bars”. When it comes to donuts, I love doing a “Donut Bar”. I’ll make the chocolate glaze, sometimes I’ll make a vanilla or strawberry glaze too.

Then I’ll gather some fun toppings like graham cracker crumbs, sprinkles, nuts and anything else I can find, and lay it out on the table! Then, we can each make our own unique donut!

It’s so fun (and sometimes scary) to see what combinations the kids come up with! It’s a fun activity, delicious, and the crazy combinations often spark conversation!

Is there anything better than chatting with the kids and developing memories while eating yummy donuts?

If topping a donut in a chocolate glaze and candy or nuts isn’t your style, you can also pull out a can of whipped cream or whip up a batch, and then stuff your donuts with fresh fruit and cream! It’s delicious!

If something a bit less is still your style – These donuts are delicious with dipped in powdered sugar! They are so good that you don’t need much to enjoy them! Actually, I’ve caught my husband grabbing the donuts from the cooling rack without ANYTHING on them!

Chocolate Glazed Donut Ingredients:

Yeast Donut Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Whole Milk
1 TBSP Instant or Active Dry Yeast
2 Eggs
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
6 TBSP Butter
1/8 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 TSP Salt
4-5 cups All Purpose Flour
Oil for frying

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
3 cups Powdered Sugar
2-3 TBSP Milk
1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract

How to Make Chocolate Glazed Donuts

Melt your butter and allow it to cool.
Warm your milk and then add your yeast and a teaspoon of your powdered sugar. Set aside to proof. If you are using the yeast I recommend, you can skip the proofing step and proceed to the next step immediately! I’ve been using this type of yeast for years and it’s my favorite! I buy multiple packs at a time and freeze what I don’t need right away. I keep just a little bit of it in my fridge and this way I always have some on hand and it has never failed me!
Combine your milk/yeast mixture, butter, eggs, vanilla extra, powdered sugar and salt and mix to combine.
Slowly add 4 cups of flour until well combined. I mix the ingredients with a dough wisk. I actually didn’t have a dough wisk for yearas and now that I do, I can’t believe that I ever baked without it! For just a few dollars, it makes mixing dough ingredients a breeze! I especially love to use it with my “no kneed” recipes
Add up to one additional cup of flour until your dough comes together and it barely sticky.
Kneed your dough for 2 to 3 minutes. I love this step. Kneading is so satisfying and relaxing for me. I hope you agree!
Add a drop of oil to a bowl and coat the sides. Then add your dough tot he bowl and turn it around until the dough is coated in oil.
Cover the dough and allow it to rise in a warm spot for 90 minutes.
After the dough has risen, roll it out to about 1/2 to 2/3 inch thick depending on the type of donuts you want. (You likely won’t need to flour your surface because the dough will have oil on it).
Cut out your donuts using a cup for the outer circle and a water bottle cap or tip of a water bottle for the inner circle.
Cover your donuts in plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise for another 30-60 minutes in a warm place until ready.
Fill a stock pot or dutch oven with 3-4 inches of oil and heat on medium.
Carefully place 2-3 donuts in the heated oil at a time flipping often. Remove from the oil when your donuts just begin to turn golden brown.
Place your donuts on a wire wrack and cover with paper towel to soak up any excess oil and allow your donuts to cool.
Repeat steps 13 and 14 until you have finished all your donuts.
Make your chocolate glaze! Just stir all the ingredients together and voila! Chocolate glaze! If you want your glaze to be a bit more glossy and smooth, you can add a drop or two or light corn syrup but that’s absolutely optional!
Once your donuts are completely cooled, dip your donuts in chocolate glaze (and add any other toppings like sprinkles if you desire while the glaze is still wet)
Return to the rack for the glaze to harden.

What’s the difference between a fried donut and a baked donut?

A fried donut, like the chocolate dunkin donuts I’m so fond of, is a donut that’s made from yeast dough. That means that the dough rises and puffs up like bread would and you can get a similar dough-y texture as bread with large pockets of air and a nice spring.

Baked donuts on the other hand, are more like little cakes that are shaped like a donut. Many donut holes or donut cake pops are made in this style. They taste just like a moist cake and have a similar crumb-like texture though they are moist and have some spring too.

These are completely types of donuts and I prefer yeast donuts like the ones in my recipe here a lot more! Baked donuts just taste like cake too me which is delicious – but not what I think of when I think donut.

What is Donut Glaze made of?

Donut glaze is mostly made out of powdered sugar and milk. There are many variations. Some include butter and others include corn syrup. While they are all delicious, I like to keep things as simple as I can so I stick to a very basic recipe and make my chocolate glaze out of powdered sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and vanilla!

How do I know when I’m done kneading the dough?

There are a a few ways to know but my favorite method is the Poke Test! If you poke your dough, does the hole immediately fill back in? If so, you’re good to go! If not, you’ve got some more kneading to do.

How do I know when my dough is done proofing and ready to fry?

Unlike during your first rise, you don’t want your dough to “over rise” or your donuts may collapse. After 30 minutes, check on your donuts. If you press lightly on one of the donuts, does the indentation fill back up?

If so, they aren’t done proofing. If it doesn’t, you’re good to go! And yes… you read that right! This is the opposite of how you know when you are done kneading. Just check on it every so often and fry them when they are ready!

I like to have my pot of oil filled and ready to heat up after the first 30 minutes. Once the dough is ready, I’ll remove the towel to let the donuts dry a bit and heat the oil.

Chocolate Glazed Donut making tips:

If your kitchen is cold, or you just some some extra assurance that the dough will rise perfectly, turn your oven into a proof box! A proof box is what bakers use to proof their dough perfectly every time. Some newer ovens have a “bread proofing” setting which makes this super easy. If yours doesn’t, just place your covered dough on the middle rack in a cool oven. Then bring some water to a rolling boil. Place a metal (not glass!) pan on the bottom rack of your oven and carefully pour the hot water on the pan. Half a cup to a cup is enough – it doesn’t need to be much. Then carefully but quickly close the oven door to trap the steam! Your dough will rise beautifully now!
After you have let your shaped donuts rise (the second rise), uncover your donuts and let them sit exposed to the air for 5-10 minutes so that they get a bit dry on the outside. This will help them retain their shape when they begin to cook.
When frying your donuts watch the oil temperature carefully! You may need to increase or decrease it as you go. If your donuts look like they are getting soggy and you don’t see lots of bubbles coming out of the donut you need to raise the temperature. If they are turning a dark brown before they puff up or in less than a minute, turn the temperature down.
Turn your donuts often when frying them. If you try to cook one side and then flip it you risk ending up with burned sections or very deformed donuts. Plus if you turn them often you won’t be tempted to walk away and end up burning them!

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Printable Chocolate Glazed Donut Recipe:

Chocolate Glazed Donuts - Dunkin Donuts Copycat Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

These donuts have the perfect amount of sweetness and a whole lot of soft dough-y texture! They will remind you of your favorite childhood memory eating donuts with your family at Dunkin Donuts! After you make these once, you'll want to make them weekly! I use this recipe to make delicious chocolate glazed donuts with sprinkles on top of course!

Ingredients

Donuts

1 1/2 cup Whole Milk
1 TBSP Instant or Active Dry Yeast
2 Eggs
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
6 TBSP Butter
1/8 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 TSP Salt
4-5 cups All Purpose Flour
Oil for frying

Chocolate Glaze

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
3 cups Powdered Sugar
2-3 TBSP Milk
1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Melt your butter and allow it to cool.
Warm your milk and then add your yeast and a teaspoon of your powdered sugar. Set aside to proof. (If you are using the recommended yeast, you can skip the proofing step and proceed to the next step immediately!)
Combine your milk/yeast mixture, butter, eggs, vanilla extra, powdered sugar and salt and mix well.
Slowly add 4 cups of flour until well combined.
Add up to one additional cup of flour until your dough comes together and it barely sticky.
Kneed your dough for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add a drop of oil to a bowl and coat the sides. Then add your dough tot he bowl and turn it around until the dough is coated in oil.
Cover the dough and allow it to rise in a warm spot for 90 minutes.
After the dough has risen, roll it out to about 1/2 to 2/3 inch thick depending on the type of donuts you want. (You likely won't need to flour your surface because the dough will have oil on it).
Cut out your donuts using a cup for the outer circle and a water bottle cap or tip of a water bottle for the inner circle.
Cover your donuts in plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise for another 30-60 minutes in a warm place.
Fill a stock pot or dutch oven with 3-4 inches of oil and heat on medium.
Carefully place 2-3 donuts in the heated oil at a time flipping often. Remove from the oil when your donuts just begin to turn golden brown.
Place your donuts on a wire wrack and cover with paper towel to soak up any excess oil and allow your donuts to cool.
Repeat steps 13 and 14 until you have finished all your donuts.
Make your chocolate glaze!
Once your donuts are completely cooled, dip your donuts in chocolate glaze (and add any other toppings like sprinkles if you desire while the glaze is still wet)
Return to the rack for the glaze to harden.

Notes

My favorite donuts are chocolate glazed donuts with rainbow sprinkles like the ones I used to get from Dunkin Donuts as a kid which is what inspired this recipe. You don't have to make these donuts this way though! Replace the cocoa powder with powdered sugar and you've got yourself vanilla glaze!

Or skip the glaze all together and coat in powdered sugar!

You can even slice them open and fill them with fruit and whipped cream!

The sky is the limit!

How to make Chocolate Glazed Donuts – Dunkin Donuts Copycat Recipe

How to Enjoy These Glazed Donuts – A Donut Bar!