Glazed Air Fryer Donuts

These Glazed Air Fryer Donuts are really tasty! They’re soft, and light, and have a yummy vanilla glaze on top. You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to make these delightful snacks using an air fryer. Instead of deep-frying, you can achieve the same delicious results with less oil and hassle. Give it a try and enjoy these homemade treats!

Recipe Tips

1. Fresh yeast is key: If your yeast doesn’t froth up within 5 minutes, it’s best to discard it and start over with fresh yeast. Old or cold yeast may not work properly.
2. Double-rise the dough: It takes a little extra time, but it’s totally worth it. Allowing the donut dough to rise twice will create more air pockets, resulting in light, fluffy, and incredibly tasty donuts.
3. Absorb excess oil: While this air fryer recipe uses less oil compared to deep-frying, there can still be some oil that gets absorbed into the donuts, making them soggy. To avoid this, use a paper towel to soak up any excess oil after cooking.
4. Glaze while warm: For a beautiful shiny appearance, glaze the air fryer donuts while they are still warm. Then, let them set before serving, so the glaze can fully adhere and create a delicious coating.

Prep Time    Cook Time    Dough Rise        Total Time                    Servings
15 minutes     5 minutes        1 hour             1 hour 20 minutes        12 Donuts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• 2¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon
• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (add more as needed)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Froth up the yeast

1. In a large measuring cup, add 1/2 cup warm water, 1/4 cup warm milk (108 degrees Fahrenheit), 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast, and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
2. Let the yeast mixture froth up and rise for about 5 minutes. If it doesn’t froth up, discard it and start again with new yeast.

Add everything into the mixer

1. Now in a stand mixer, add 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup unsalted melted butter, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled off), and ½ teaspoon salt. Then pour in the yeast mixture and pace the hook attachment on.
2. Begin mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated into liquids. Then take the speed up to high and beat for 5 minutes. Then scrape down the sides of the beater bowl.
3. If the dough looks too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. Make sure to mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition of flour. You don’t want to add too much flour or the donuts will be too dry. They should have a slightly sticky texture to them.
4. Let the dough rise

   Now place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about one hour or until it doubles in size.

5. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release air bubbles. Then transfer it to a floured surface

Roll the dough and cut out donuts

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Use a donut cutter or 2 different sized biscuit cutters to cut out as many donuts as you can. Then reshape the scraps and cut out some more donuts. Continue doing this until you have no more scraps left. My larger biscuit cutter was 4 inches in diameter and the smaller one was 1 1/4 inches in diamter.

Rise 1 more time, then air-fry

1. Now place the cut out donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then cover them lightly and let them rise again for about 20-30 minutes.
2. Preheat your air fryer to 345 degrees Fahrenheit. Then spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
3. Now place a few donuts into the air fryer basket and spray them with some more cooking spray. Make sure that the donuts are not touching..
4. Air fry the donuts for about 4 minutes. Repeat this process with the remaining donuts and donut holes. Then transfer the donuts onto a plate lined with paper towels.

Make the glaze and dip while the donuts are warm

1. To make the glaze, in a large bowl combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon light corn syrup, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
2. While the donuts are warm dip them in the glaze and let them set on a cooling rack. The glaze sets shinier when the donuts are hot, so you don’t want to let them cool down first.